George Nosis

Winemaker/Owner

A native of Hamtramck, Michigan, and received a B.S. in Agricultural Science from Arizona State University and spent almost fifteen years working in the veterinary medicine industry. At VetMed Associates, George was manager and chief of operations, responsible for day to day operations of a veterinary internal medicine specialty center employing five veterinary specialists and twelve support staff.

He switched focus in 2008 when he started working at a Sweet Land Farm, a CSA in Trumansburg, New York. There, he learned the fundamentals of managing a 20-acre farm operation and gained hands-on experience in the fields producing both vegetable and fruit crops. At the same time, he founded a self-financed, small-scale educational winery to explore vinifying techniques of red vinifera varieties from the Finger Lakes Region. During this period, he produced wines from five different vintages to establish his specific style making wine for the region.

Since 2013, George has been assistant winemaker at Atwater Vineyards. There, he has innovated with orange wines, pétillant naturel, revamped the laboratory, and brought his signature inventiveness and determination to the position. In December 2018, he added to his responsibilities at Atwater by overseeing operations, and in December 2020, he purchased Atwater with business partner, Matt Russo.

Wes Andrew

Head Winemaker

The viticulture and enology program at Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) along with the cool growing climate what initially brought Wes to the Finger Lakes. He enjoys all of the beautiful scenery, delicious local food, and of course the world class wine! His first experiences with wine and grapes was pruning and suckering in the vineyard at his uncle's winery Owl Creek Vineyard, now named Wichmann Vineyard, located in the Shawnee Hills AVA of Illinois. He didn't consider viticulture and winemaking as a career until his early twenties after he left the classical music industry. Prior to joining the FLCC program he spent a summer back in the Shawnee Hills as a vineyard worker for Blue Sky Winery. Afterwards, he moved to Geneva, NY and started his studies at FLCC, during which he got an internship here at Atwater. He’s been here ever since!

The most satisfying feeling he gets is when he gets to see the wine he makes come full circle when it's released to the public. Wes’s favorite style of winemaking is traditional method sparkling. One of the first observations he made when arriving in the Finger Lakes was how good some of the traditional method sparkling wines were compared to Champagne and other sparkling wine regions, but also that there was a potential for them to be even greater with the right viticultural and winemaking practices. The long-term aging of the wine on its lees has always fascinated him, along with the complexity and skill required of blending the base wine. Like with any wine, the result of what the winemakers do in the cellar, i.e., blending, aging, choice of yeast, etc. will alter how the wine does or doesn't taste and impact the wine in their own way, allowing for endless possibilities.



Wes’s favorite Atwater white wine is whatever our current traditional method wine is, because they're always spectacular. His second choice would be our Dry Riesling. He loves pairing Riesling or any acidic white wine with his homemade Massaman Curry as well as Indian Rogan josh with homemade naan bread. For red wines his favorite is the Pinot Noir or Syrah. He loves to break out the Atwater Pinot Noir when he makes poulet roti or Xian style cumin lamb noodles. Wes is also an avid road cyclist, listens to a wide array of music, ranging from metal to rap to classical, and loves to cook.

Chris King

Vinyeard Manager

Chris’s interest in winemaking began with a simple wine kit. While he calls the first batch of wine he made only “entirely tolerable,” he fell in love with the processes. After college he was fortunate to become the assistant winemaker at Castel Grisch Winery, where he spent about half of his time in the winery and half in the vineyard, and there, he realized he loved the growing process even more.

His first vineyard management position was with Standing Stone Winery, where he worked with exceptional consultants. He next moved to Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards where he helped to install and refine techniques for managing some of the first Scott Henry trellis systems in the Finger Lakes, which are now commonly used in many premium wine grape vineyards. His next position was at Sawmill Creek Vineyards, one of the premier sites in the Finger Lakes, where he was responsible for running the trellis and canopy management team.

From there, Chris was hired to manage Knapp Vineyards. Over ten years, in addition to managing Knapp, his responsibilities grew to include Varick Winery, Welliver Vineyards, and Chateau Lafayette Reneau. In all, he was responsible for approximately 120 acres of vineyards. His final stop before Atwater was Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyards and Standing Stone Vineyards. As Director of Vineyard Operations, he oversaw 140 acres spread across both sides of Seneca Lake and five sites. At Atwater, he is excited to returning to a hands-on approach to growing super premium grapes on one of the most exceptional sites in the Finger Lakes were it is a privilege to work at such a beautiful site with the potential to grow amazing fruit and gratifying to set up vineyards like these for the future so that they can continue to thrive.



His grape growing philosophy centers on balanced vines and balanced vineyards, which he believes is the foundation for crafting the highest quality wines. Chris focuses on thorough and thoughtful canopy management and efficiency with a goal to balance perfectionism and a minimalist philosophy. He evaluates each input is evaluated for its merits and cost from both an economic and environmental standpoint. Being a good steward of the land is foundational to being an excellent grape grower.

As a native of the Finger Lakes, Chris has taken great pleasure in watching our area develop into a world-class wine growing region, and he looks forward to being part of the continued growth and success of our industry. He is married to his high school sweetheart, and they currently live their two sons in Hector on fifty acres off-the-grid surrounded by Finger Lakes National Forest. They have two dogs, a cat, a horse, chickens, and honeybees.

Amanda Gumtow

Wine Club Manager

Having wine in her life from an early age, working at a local winery while attending college seemed a natural fit. In 1997, Amanda's summer winery job quickly became her passion, and Amanda joined the Atwater Team in May 2002. She loves the diverse experiences working at a winery, from interacting with an eclectic mix of people from all over the world in the tasting room to behind the scenes work on the bottling line, picking grapes, hand waxing wine bottles, managing the case club, and refinishing the tasting room floors.



As a passionate outdoor person, she has always loved everything that the Finger Lakes has to offer. The region is always inspiring and changing with the seasons. Being an avid hiker and lover of all things outdoors, she has found her own personal paradise. Her interests in photography, running, hiking, kayaking, and wine go hand-in-hand in this area.