East Coast Wineries: WENDY CRISPELL: Hudson Valley Wonder Woman

I lived and worked in New York City for more than two decades. Actually I worked in the City in four different decades. I have known literally hundreds of people in its countless neighborhoods. But I never ran into any one more than I ever ran into Wendy Crispell. Don't know why that was. But I ran into her, unplanned, just walking in the streets, more than anyone else I knew. It was always fun conversation. News. Information. Gossip. Always a laugh. She was fantastic that way.

I can't tell you the first time I met Wendy Crispell. Our paths crossed so many times, by the time we became friends, it was almost like, oh, it's just you. But we had a terribly good relationship. She was a cutting edge cocktail wonder woman in the Hudson Valley, and I was an idiot publisher/editor with a wine blog, and a fledgling winery when we first started really actively started engaging. This was in 2009 to 2011 range. And then in 2013, around the time of the New York Drinks New York event, we became buddies. And you were really fortunate if you became buddies with Wendy. She was sharp. Funny as hell. A little gossipy, but terribly. But she was always a great conspirator.

Wendy was a great champion of things local. She believed early on in HV spirits, wines, beers, and ciders. She also believed that a proper Manhattan was made with rye. And when she believed in something, she wrote about it. She wrote a lot. And her writing was as lively and as interesting as she was. Hers was an important voice in the valley. And of she wanted, she could back it up with a buy for her cruises, which she often did.

Wendy Crispell (WSET Advanced Certificate, CSW) was a wine and cheese specialist and blogger based in the Hudson Valley and NYC. She conducted private and corporate tasting events and classes aboard the yacht Manhattan. She wrote for Hudson Valley Wine magazine and she was a judge at the Hudson Valley wine competitions. She had literally traveled the world in search of her passions - wine and cheese. And of course, she just liked travel in and of itself.

I was always very proud of the fact that someone so accomplished liked our wines. And I of course was someone immensely appreciative. She was a champion of the wines we were making then, and of others' products as well.

Recently, she passed away. It was a major shock. She was still way to young, of course. She had been ill, she she had kept a secret. But had recently been declared cancer free. And then she died. For someone one so lively, so absolutely curious, for someone so feisty, and vivacious, it was such a blow.

Wendy Crispell was born June 20, 1961 in Newburgh, NY and passed peacefully in Newburgh on May 1, 2021 at the young age of 59. She was a world adventurer, a jeweler, a lover of fine wine and food, a sailor; a true Renaissance woman. Wendy graduated from NFA in 1979. She was a lifelong resident of Newburgh, who transplanted to NYC shortly after attending FIT. She loved the urban life and happily settled in Brooklyn in her final years.

During her short life, Wendy celebrated many accomplishments. She was a jewelry designer in the city, became a beverage manager at the Newburgh Holiday Inn, went on to establish a new restaurant in Wallkill, NY, W.C. Gunks. After selling the restaurant, Wendy moved to New York City where she became interested in wine-making and went on to become a Wine Master and writer for numerous Hudson Valley publications. Wendy traveled extensively throughout the world to further her knowledge of wine and cheese, making many friends and memories along the way.

She was last employed in New York City at Classic Harbor Lines in Chelsea Piers, where she supplied a varied and secular gourmet menu of food and drink for their fleet of yachts and sailboats.

Wendy was married to Gary Crispell of Wallkill, NY who predeceased her. Surviving family includes her father Robert Wells of Newburgh, NY, her mother Barbara Peck of Riceville, TN, her sister Bonnie Pierce of Pond Eddy, NY and her brother Michael Wells of Athens, GA. She is also survived by her dear nephews Dustin Pierce of Port Jervis, NY and Kieran Pierce of Kerhonkson, NY and her beloved great niece Avalyn Pierce. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her. Her stories, laughter, pure love of life and gypsy spirit have left a lasting impression in our hearts.

I went to the memorial service yesterday. I wasn't sure if there would be anyone there I knew. But I felt I owed it to her. The place was packed. Family. Friends. People who'd worked with her over the years. And there in the crowd were some folks I knew. Diane Letulle and Barbara and Tom Best. It was a good crowd and the speakers could not have been more loving. Diane spoke as well.

Afterwards is the often awkward drifting apart, one by one. People saying their goodbyes. Going home to their family lives. Their jobs. Running errands. Everyday life rolls on, like a speeding freeway. But I decided I was down in the Shawangunk, in her old stomping grounds. So Diane and I went to Benmarl (one of the places Wendy had worked). We saw Matt Spacarelli the winemaker at Benmarl, and tasted, and toasted Wendy. Because, I thought, if she were at the back of the room, the first thing she would have said is, in her funny conspiratorial voice, 'I need a drink!' And we did . Cheers, Wendy!

Here's some of Wendy's writings on the Hudson Valley. Enjoy!