Winemaker,
Viticulturist,
Author

Richard Olsen-Harbich is the North Fork’s longest-tenured winemaker and has worked in the region since 1981. Over the past 40 years he has been a leader in the region, implementing pioneering techniques for Long Island vineyards while consulting for many wineries in the Eastern United States. In 1984, he became the second president of the Long Island Grape Growers Association and the youngest person to ever lead the organization. He is the author of all three federally recognized Long Island American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) - The Hamptons, Long Island (1985,) The North Fork of Long Island, (1986) and Long Island (2000.) In 1997, he orchestrated the first Bordeaux/Long Island consultation partnership between M. Paul Pontallier of Chateau Margaux and Raphael Winery in Peconic. Since 1995, he has been on the advisory board for Cornell University’s Wine Grape Research program based in Riverhead, N.Y.

In 2004, he helped found the Long Island Merlot Alliance – the first wine Quality Alliance on Long Island. In 2012, he was one of the founders of the East Coast’s first third-party sustainable certification program – Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing. In 2013 he won the Unity Award for “major achievements for promoting unity in the New York wine industry” - the highest honor given by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. From 2012-2020 he served on the Cornell University Extension Enology Advisory Committee and in 2019 he served as the Long Island representative on the multi-state Sustainability Wine Project sponsored by the Wine Institute in California.

As the winemaker at Bedell Cellars, his work is dedicated to producing delicious hand-crafted wines through the exploration and identification of the North Fork terroir while perfecting the fine art of sustainable and natural winemaking techniques.