Our Staff
Carl Fribolin, Owner
Carl is no stranger to agriculture. He founded Seedway, a seed-growing and distribution business in Hall, NY in 1963. In the beginning, they serviced farmers in New York state, as well as throughout New England. As business increased, Carl eventually operated six seed production farms to meet the growing needs of his customers. Although he sold Seedway to Agway Inc. of Syracuse in 1987, he is still active in the buisness.
Carl purchased White Springs Farms in 1973 and used the deep sandy soil to produce seeds for his company.
In 2003, Carl wanted to address a problem with soil erosion caused by the sloping nature of the farmland. This lead to the planting of 13 acres of grapes and White Springs Winery was born. Currently, there are 40 acres of vineyard made up of predominately vinifera grapes used in the wines produced by White Springs Winery.
Morten Hallgren, Winemaker
Morten, a European Winemaker and Oenologist grew up in the vineyards of his family’s centuries –old estate in the south of France, and earned his graduate degrees in oenology and viticulture at one of Europe’s premier winemaking schools. He worked for the prestigious Bordeaux Estate, Cos D’Estournel and the famous American Biltmore Estate.
He arrived in the Finger Lakes well-versed in the art of traditional European winemaking and then honed his skills as chief Winemaker for Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars for 6 ˝ years. He and his wife, Lisa, started Ravines Wine Cellars in 2002 where they focus on making fine, classically-styled wines and have created their own unique expression within the burgeoning Finger Lakes Wine Region.
He arrived in the Finger Lakes well-versed in the art of traditional European winemaking and then honed his skills as chief Winemaker for Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars for 6 ˝ years. He and his wife, Lisa, started Ravines Wine Cellars in 2002 where they focus on making fine, classically-styled wines and have created their own unique expression within the burgeoning Finger Lakes Wine Region.
Jan Van Allan, Tasting Room Manager
Jan handles the day-to-day operations of the tasting room and retail shop. Additionally, she is responsible for many of the marketing efforts for the winery. Jan came to White Springs from Ventosa Vineyards in July of 2007, where she held a similar position. Previously, she had been the Tasting Room Manager for the Finger Lakes Champagne House and the Off-Premise Sales Manager for Swedish Hill and Goose Watch Wineries. Before moving back home to Geneva in 1999, Jan was Development Director for the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco and Director of Marketing for the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas. Jan resides in Geneva with her daughter, Madalyn.