New Crop Opportunity at Haverhill’s Whittier Birthplace as it Welcomes Grape Farmers

By Caroline Louise Cole | July 10, 2025

Two young wine makers are planning an experimental vineyard at Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill.

Eliot Martin and his wife Katie Luczai are preparing to plant 26 varieties of grapes on 1.7 acres of land at Whittier Birthplace next spring. Martin explained the allure of the Haverhill farm.

“Our focus is on varieties we think are going to produce excellent wine in our climate and growing conditions that we can’t get our hands on very easily or where it may be cost prohibitive,” Martin said.

Martin and Luczai are familiar faces in Haverhill as they have offered their Marzae wines at the Tattersall Farms-to-Taste events for several years. In fact, they learned about the potential for using Whittier acreage through Jimmy Carbone who runs local food events and is a trustee of the historic Birthplace.

Martin said he had been scoping out agricultural land on the North Shore because the climate favors grape wines when he mentioned his search to Carbone. The Whittier property at 305 Whittier Road, off Route 110, fits the bill.

“It’s got the right growing season, potentially a bit less disease pressure than some other parts of eastern Massachusetts. It a prevailing south south-east slope which is beneficial for maximizing solar energy to the vines. Being on a slope helps with frost drainage, potential to help with humidity creating a great microclimate in the vineyard,” Martin explained.

Carbone said he is thrilled to have made the connection, saying, “They will be using traditional, regenerative methods of agriculture that fit in with the history of the Whittier Birthplace.”

Carbone organized a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony at the farm on June 27. In addition to the farmers, Ward 4 City Councilor Melissa J. Lewandowski attended along with Alison J. Gulubicki, executive director of the Greater Haverhill Foundation.

Lewandowski said the project offers economic, environmental and cultural benefits for the city.

“I am thrilled these two young entrepreneurs have chosen the Whittier Birthplace for their experimental vineyard,” she said. “The project is good for the farm as I understand the grape blossoms will attract beneficial pollinators and the vines will retain carbon in the soil. And it is such a beautiful and peaceful location.”

Martin said planting a vineyard is a long-term investment as it will be three years before the vines bear fruit and five before he realizes a full crop. He is working with a wine supplier in Vermont, Vermont Vineyards, that will do the actual planting of the vines.

Martin holds a master’s degree from the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Medford where he studied sustainable farming practices.

Martin and his wife opened their wine making company two years ago after Martin fell in love with the business while they were in England. There he learned the tricks of the trade while managing the one vineyard within London’s city limits.

They currently source most of their grapes from Vermont and New York. He said if the Whittier farmland produces good wines, he and Katie hope to expand their operation.