Latest news with #Klocke
Eater
14 hours ago
- Business
- Eater
Brandy From New York? This Upstate Distillery Is Counting on It.
Since the brandy distillery Klocke Estate opened last summer in Claverack, New York, the restaurant has been the draw. It's dazzling, situated on a hilltop above 160 acres of farmland, orchards, and vineyards. The seasonal American menu from chef Becky Kempter shows off leek croquettes, a spring cavatelli with ramps, asparagus, peas, and mains like roast chicken or lamb shank. Klocke deserves its spot among the handful of mid-Hudson Valley restaurants that are destinations. Of those, it's undoubtedly the most luxurious. In the dining room, chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling windows cast soft light over myriad textures: crushed velvet and William Morris-style floral designs on the walls, a marble fireplace with a Victorian tapestry hanging above, and exposed wood beams. Tables are situated around a custom glass cabinet in the middle of the room which displays co-owner John Frishkopf's library of brandies, Armagnacs, and Calvados. It's a lush setting to observe the sage-colored Catskills in the distance. Still, the restaurant, Frishkopf says, primarily serves to 'set the table for our brandy.' At the moment, brandy isn't flying off the shelves in the U.S, but Frishkop and his husband, Brett Mattingly, are playing a long game to establish regional brandy's preeminence. It already has provenance: Laird's Applejack in New Jersey, founded in 1780, is the very first distillery in the United States (It's also one of the few legacy brands today run by a woman.) And there's evidence that a man named Jakob Planck brought several stills from Holland to the northern Hudson Valley, around the time brandy was first being exported from Europe by Dutch fleets, in 1638. The state of brandy in the U.S. doesn't daunt the founders. 'Eventually, the brandy we make here in Claverack,' says Caleb Gregg, director of farming and production, 'will sit beside the world's great brandies, specifically Cognac caliber.' Frishkopf, a Boston native, was first inspired to make brandy on the plum and apricot orchards of friends' estates while based in Prague early in his finance career. Returning to the Northeast in his 60s, he wanted to make brandy commercially. The region is one of a few places, he says, where conditions for growing cider apples and grapes were always ideal— for brandy, not for wine. Brandy grapes are harvested earlier than wine grapes, when they have a sugar content (or brix) between 16 and 18 percent. That relatively low sugar produces an alcohol content between eight and ten percent after fermentation, ensuring it will be below 60 percent after distillation. Additionally, lower sugar levels result in higher tannin and acid content, according to Gregg, providing the necessary structure for brandy's prolonged aging process. In 2017, Frishkopf and Mattingly purchased the property. With the help of veteran distiller Dan Farber in California, Cornell University, and expert wine and apple farmers around New York State, they selected 43 varieties of organic cider apples and nine organic white grapes, all suited to the climate and terroir of the Hudson Valley. Mattingly, an MIT grad, raised on a family farm, designed a master plan for planting using a permaculture approach that weaves sustainability and self-sufficiency into the design. In 2020, the team planted the first trees and vines. Despite that most apple growing in the East has moved south due to risks like fireblight, the team remains committed to organic farming — with an eye to bring back cider apples that used to grow in the region for hundreds of years — with the help of old and new technology. They monitor digital wind, temperature, and sun on large flat screens. They implant organic bacteria cultures to battle fireblight, powdery and downy mildew, and other bacterial infections. They position black locusts posts where eagles and red-tailed hawks can sit and hunt larger pests, like voles. As of this writing, four successful grape and apple harvests have been pressed and fermented into wine and cider, and distilled in a copper Alembic Charentais still imported from Cognac. Right after distillation, the spirits are transferred to barrels made from aged French oak, where they will mature for another three to thirty years, depending on the batch. 'It takes patience,' according to Gregg. '...and we may find out, in 25 years, that the grapes we're growing are better suited for younger brandies, for example. That's the fun part.' Consumers might not try the estate's best brandies for decades. Perhaps they'll keep improving long after Frishkopf and Mattingly retire. With hope, they've invested in infrastructure that will outlast them — including the storage facility, the still, and above all, people like Gregg, who, in his late 20s, manages all aspects of brandy production. While customers wait for the first batch of brandy, Frishkopf sees his role as a teacher and host. In addition to the brandy library, they're also producing ready-to-drink vermouth. Klocke currently sells their white vermouth and sweet red vermouths under the Brevis label, three cocktails—an appletini, a brandy manhattan, and a brandy old-fashioned—three eau de vies, and what they call an unoaked brandy, or the Klocke Estate 00. Frishkopf says that their customers will be able to taste the evolution of their brandy over the years, which reinforces the time theme as the through line of the brand. Frishkopf points to the Dutch word for clock as inspiration for the name; the vermouth label Brevis, named after the Latin word for brief; and the ready-made cocktail label, Flyback, named after the term for when a chronograph returns to zero. During dinner service at Klocke, diners often catch magnificent sunsets. It quickly became a tradition for everyone to emerge onto the west-facing patio with their drinks for twenty minutes to stare toward the mountains where Rip Van Winkle mythically fell asleep for twenty years, across land that has fallen in and out of cultivation for generations. Often, the waitstaff and cooks join them, signaling there's no need to rush. Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nonprofits agree they are worse off under Trump
BOSTON (SHNS) – Hundreds of workers and leaders at nonprofits across Massachusetts overwhelmingly agreed that the Bay State will fare worse under the Trump administration, voicing concerns about funding cuts and heightened stress on vulnerable populations. New survey results published Monday by the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, The Boston Foundation and MassINC Polling Group found that only 2% of nonprofit staff polled feel Massachusetts will be 'a little better off' or 'much better off' with President Donald Trump in office. Ninety-one percent of respondents said the Bay State will be 'a little worse off' or 'much worse off,' with more than three in four selecting the latter, more dramatic assessment. Jim Klocke, CEO of the Mass. Nonprofit Network, described the results as indicative of an 'existential threat.' 'The nonprofit sector is under attack, as are other pillars of civil society,' Klocke said at an event to unpack the survey. 'We have a long, hard road to travel, but we as a sector, we also have a lot of great strengths that we can bring to this work.' Nearly six in 10 organizations covered by the survey receive federal funding. Asked how their nonprofit's work would be affected by the Trump administration, 31% said they think the administration's policies will impact the populations they serve professionally, 16% said federal policy conflicts with their organization's mission or values, and 11% described fear, anxiety or low morale as a result of the Trump administration. The survey involved 523 respondents and ran between Feb. 25 and March 24. MassINC Polling Group President Steve Koczela said in that span, many nonprofit workers feared potential Trump administration actions and funding cuts that have since become reality. About 8% of respondents said they had lost federal funding during that February-to-March survey window. MassINC senior research associate Zayna Basma-Doyle added 'we anticipate that number would be a lot higher if we did the survey right now.' Koczela also said the pessimistic trend remained consistent across different facets of the nonprofit sector. 'It varies only a little bit when you look at different nonprofits based on which populations they serve. In other words, they all pretty much — this is kind of the shape for all types of nonprofits and whoever they serve and whatever their mission is,' Koczela said. 'You're seeing 75 to 85% [think Massachusetts will be] much worse off, and 90 to 95% saying some variation of worse off.' More than 500,000 Bay Staters work at nonprofits, according to Klocke, who said more than 1.1 million residents also made charitable donations to nonprofits last year and hundreds of thousands more served as volunteers, board members and advisors. During his first four months in office, Trump has ramped up immigration enforcement, moved to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and sought to slow clean energy development such as offshore wind, many of which are ideas on which he campaigned. He's also pushed to curtail federal spending, including on grants and programs that both nonprofits and state governments use to help build their own budgets. 'It's really not only federal dollars, because as federal dollars shift, the shape of the need shifts, and the shape of where philanthropic dollars go shifts — [that's] what a lot of nonprofit leaders are anticipating,' Koczela said. Most nonprofit workers who participated in the survey said they expect to face higher demand for programs and services they offer under Trump, and nine in 10 said the administration will make it harder to do their jobs. Diane Yentel, president of the National Council of Nonprofits, said at Monday's event she sees 'no way for the nonprofit sector to end this year in a neutral place.' 'There's no way to end the year more or less where we started,' Yentel said. 'We'll either end the year somewhere on a spectrum of harm, from somewhat harmed to really potentially decimated, or I really believe we can end it strengthened in the way that we respond to this moment.' The National Council of Nonprofits is part of two lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's actions, Yentel said, and is also crafting communications strategies to help navigate a response to the upheaval. Other nonprofit leaders are similarly fashioning their responses. Shanique Rodriguez, executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table, said her group is 'looking at pulling together rapid response funding' alongside partner groups like Lawyers for Civil Rights. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ceva Animal Health renews its shareholding structure with all its long-standing partners and opens its capital to Mérieux Institute and ARCHIMED to accelerate its growth.
LIBOURNE, France, March 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceva Animal Health (Ceva), the world's fifth-largest animal health company, announces the restructuring of its capital. All investors, whether "Friends of Ceva" or pure investors led by Temasek, have renewed their investment, demonstrating their confidence in the company's ability to continue its sustained growth. Ceva's management, led by Dr. Marc Prikazsky, has reinforced its participation and still retains the majority of voting rights, reaffirming the company's commitment to remaining independent. It is supported by a core group of long-term investors, known as "Friends of Ceva" ensuring a stable and committed shareholding structure for the group's development. With 7,000 employees, Ceva is a global leader in animal health, particularly in vaccination. Operating directly in 47 countries, the company delivers its products, services and equipment's worldwide to veterinarians, livestock professionals, and pet owners. To support innovation in animal health, the Bettencourt-Meyers and Mérieux, have increased their stake through the investment holding Téthys Invest and Mérieux Institute that joined forces with investment fund Mérieux Equity Partners. Canadian pension investor PSP Investments, a long-term investor in Ceva, has also significantly increased its ownership in the group. Other companies participating in the "Friends of Ceva" include Sofiprotéol, the investment branch of the French group Avril, the Japanese company Mitsui & Co., as well as some local investment funds and the Klocke family. The long-standing minority investors have renewed their commitment, demonstrating their confidence in Ceva's future. Leading this group of partners is the Singapore-based global investment firm Temasek, joined by French investors EMZ and Sagard, Asia-based HOPU Investments, and U.S.-based Continental Grain Company. This sixth funding round also welcomes the addition of the French investment fund ARCHIMED, led by veterinarian Dr. Denis Ribon. Specializing in the healthcare sector, ARCHIMED focuses on supporting companies in expanding internationally and accelerating their research programs. Since its founding in 1999, Ceva has grown its revenue fourteenfold, reaching €1.77 billion last year. Driven by innovation and deeply committed to preventive medicine, Ceva was the first veterinary company to develop and commercialize a cutting-edge nucleotide vaccine and invest in gene therapy for companion animals. Aware of its responsibility in addressing major global challenges, Ceva is strongly committed to reducing its environmental impact and promoting the preservation of animal biodiversity. "I am delighted to see that in this new round of financing, the management's participation, supported by the 'Friends of Ceva', is being strengthened alongside our historic financial investors and new entrants. Ceva plays a major role in animal health, particularly in the fight against emerging diseases, sometimes zoonotic, and in the treatment of chronic diseases affecting our loyal four-legged companions. At Ceva, we are convinced that we must continue to create bridges between different health sectors to protect the health of ecosystems and humans as well as global food security," said Dr. Marc Prikazsky, Chairman and CEO of Ceva Animal Health. Ceva would like to thank its advisors, Lazard, Rothschild, Weil, and Callisto, and their teams for their support. About Ceva Animal Health Ceva Animal Health (Ceva) is the 5th global animal health company, led by experienced veterinarians, whose mission is to provide innovative health solutions for all animals to ensure the highest level of care and well-being. Our portfolio includes preventive medicine such as vaccines and animal welfare products, pharmaceutical solutions for farm and companion animals, as well as equipment and services to provide the best experience for our customers. With more than 7,000 employees located in 47 countries, Ceva strives daily to bring to life its vision as a One Health company: "Together, beyond animal health". 2024 turnover: €1.77 billion Contact: Emilie Barrail, Head of external communication, View original content: SOURCE Ceva Santé Animale
Boston Globe
16-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
‘A whole ripple effect': Mass. nonprofits fear drop in donations under proposed charitable deduction cap
'[Losing donations] would mean we would have to not see as many young people,' said Elisabeth Jackson, CEO of Bridge Over Troubled Waters, which supports homeless and at-risk teens and young adults. 'It might also mean [we have] to close programs.' Advertisement Of Bridge Over Troubled Waters' $12 million budget last year, $2 million came from individual donors. If the cap takes effect, Jackson fears that segment of funding could decline. 'It's not just a cap on the deductions given to individuals that give to a nonprofit. It's the whole ecosystem of how that money gets used to service young people, to pay for staff and their livelihood,' said Jackson. 'It would be just a whole ripple effect.' The concerns are adding to what Jackson called a 'double hit,' as many nonprofits face a climate of uncertainty amid the Healey has acknowledged the 'evolving situation' of cutbacks in federal funding for nonprofits since she first filed her budget proposal. The governor said in a 'With what's happened in the last few weeks, there's been concern from not-for-profit organizations, which we know are going to probably be facing even greater strain than ever,' said Healey. A cat named Sonja awaited adoption in Boston this week at the MSPCA, one of many nonprofits that have concerns about a proposed state cap on charitable deductions. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, which represents more than 700 of the state's charities, opposes the cap and worries that it will threaten a substantial income source for vital community organizations, said CEO Jim Klocke. 'The state charitable deduction matters,' said Klocke. 'It's an important, significant, positive tool that promotes giving in Massachusetts, and we should not be cutting back on it in any way right now.' Advertisement Nonprofits' funding often comes from a few different sources, such as government grants and foundation contributions, Klocke said, but individual donations are something nearly every nonprofit relies on. 'When one type of funding comes under attack, it can have very direct, very significant effects right away,' said Klocke. In order to hit the maximum deduction, a person would need to donate $5,000 in a year – so the proposed cap would not impact many middle-class donors, experts said. The 'everyday American' is the target for the current state deduction, said Ray Madoff, a professor at Boston College Law. The federal deduction more benefits the ultra wealthy, she said. Under the federal charitable deduction, 90 percent of Americans do not receive any tax benefits for what they donate because they claim the standard deduction, Madoff said. Meanwhile, she said, the wealthiest Americans can deduct up to 74 percent of what they donate in tax savings. 'For federal purposes, a wealthy donor who makes a well-planned donation can save income taxes, capital gains taxes, and estate and gift taxes. And that's how it gets to be such a high number,' said Madoff. Brianna Leon, a community outreach manager with MSPCA, handed free items to a Boston resident at the MSPCA in Jamaica Plain. The MSPCA is among the nonprofits that are concerned about a proposed state cap on charitable deductions. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The state charitable deduction was The cap is a 'sensible compromise,' said Phineas Baxandall, policy director at the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, as it would free up a large portion of the state's budget for other initiatives and make the state tax system more equitable by limiting how much the wealthy can use the deduction to grow their wealth further. Advertisement More than half the people who take the state charitable deduction have incomes over $1 million, according to Baxandall. By placing a cap, he said, it allows the deduction to benefit middle-class donors most. There is also no guarantee that people who take the deduction donated to a Massachusetts charity, a factor Baxandall said makes the costly deduction not directly benefit the state in many cases. 'For the state, the deduction is really a lose-lose with half the promise of a win,' said Baxandall. With the heavy reliance on donations for many nonprofits, any loss of income can have long-lasting impacts. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals depends on individual donors to fund many of its programs, said Mike Keiley, vice president of the MSPCA's Animal Protection Division. 'Anything that runs a potential risk on limiting that is worrisome,' said Keiley. Allyson Barr, a volunteer, cleaned up the dog pens at the MSPCA, one of many nonprofits concerned about the proposed cap on charitable deductions. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff In 2023, close to a third of the MSPCA's budget came from donations, according to a spokesperson. Keiley said he's optimistic state leaders will consider the stability of nonprofits, as he believes they have in recent years. 'We're hoping for the best but are preparing for challenges ahead,' said Keiley. Capping the state deduction could cause changes in how people plan out their giving. Financial planners often advise their clients on how to best time donations to claim maximum deductions, often leading to larger sums being shelled out to nonprofits. With the cap, this strategy would only go so far, lessening an incentive to donate big, said Jack Heintzelman, a financial planner at Boston Wealth Strategies. Advertisement 'We might not need to accelerate or make a large, significant contribution, and we can just do it over several years if there's not really much benefit in doing either,' said Heintzelman, who added his clients are passionate about their charitable causes and want to make donations in the most beneficial manner for both the organizations and themselves. The Legislature will review the budget and vote on a final version that will take effect July 1. The Senate Ways and Means committee is reviewing the governor's proposal now, said a spokesman for committee chair and Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, a Fall River Democrat, who added the budget should be one that 'uplifts residents and increases opportunity while maintaining our fiscal discipline.' Maren Halpin can be reached at
