Vermont

Wild Hart Distillery in Shelburne Closes

Published

2 years ago

March 13, 2024

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Wild Hart Distillery in Shelburne Closes

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File: Daria Bishop
Owner Craig Stevens

At the end of February, Craig Stevens officially ceased production at his Wild Hart Distillery in Shelburne. Stevens did one final production run in mid-February, he told Seven Days, and expects the state’s 802Spirits stores to be stocked with bottles of Wild Hart gin, vodka and other products for the next two to four months.

Stevens cofounded the distillery in 2017 and has been its sole owner since June 2018. Wild Hart was a fixture at Vermont farmers markets, selling products such as its Vermont Classic, blood orange, and pear and ginger gins at as many as 19 markets from Burlington to Montpelier to Rutland. The distillery had several local tasting rooms over the years, and its products were distributed as far as the mid-Atlantic.

“As a small, owner-run business, I’ve been doing everything from accounting to cleaning toilets to marketing and sales to actually making the alcohol,” Stevens said. “You get caught up in the grind.”

As the costs of bottles and other production materials, staffing, and shipping rose, “margins were getting smaller and smaller,” he continued. Wild Hart’s accessible pricing — a sweet spot of $29.99, Stevens said — was no longer realistic in the changing market.

In the fall, emergency surgery on a torn retina forced Stevens to pause and consider his work-life balance. He closed the distillery’s bar and tasting room at 26 Sage Court in December, hoping staff could find new jobs before Dry January. Rather than sign a new multiyear lease at the end of February, he opted to close the business.

Wild Hart served as an incubator for small spirits brands such as Rectified Bourbon, Linchpin and Arcana Botanica Spirits, maker of Fernet Vexia. Stevens mentored their owners while they used Wild Hart’s equipment to produce their spirits, paying commissions rather than rent. Matt Grant of Linchpin will now be based at South Hero’s Snow Farm Vineyard & Distillery, Snow Farm co-owner Dave Lane confirmed, and Stevens is working with the others to find homes.

“We’re always oscillating between investing in our careers and investing in ourselves, and I’m moving back to investing in myself and my family,” Stevens said. “Now I get to be on the other side of the table for all these farmers markets, supporting our huge community of makers.”

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Related Topics:bars beer breweries Burlington drink Featured food Montpelier restaurant reviews restaurants vermont wine

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Vermont

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

Published

5 hours ago

April 19, 2026

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Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

BOLTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A wrong-way driver was safely stopped on Interstate 89 overnight Sunday.

Vermont State Police say just before 12:30 a.m., they stopped the car near marker 77, near Bolton.

The driver, Denise Lear, 60, of Revere, was charged with driving under the influence and gross negligent operation.

Lear is expected in court Monday.

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Vermont

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Published

17 hours ago

April 18, 2026

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Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14

Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.

Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)

Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.

Key Stats

Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.

Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.

Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.

Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.

Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.

How It Happened

The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.

Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.

The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.

Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.

Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.

Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.

The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.

Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.

Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.

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Vermont

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Is creativity the missing key to better health?

Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.

Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.

Plus, it has another within the top 15.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.

The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.

To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.

Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.

South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11

South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15

Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.