My wife and I are thinking about visiting the Finger Lakes area. Any recs for wineries, lodging or meals? I understand the area is strongest in Riesling.
Thanks in advance.
We went and had a good time…these were the two we went to and the third one was the one we missed.
- Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery
- Hermann J. Wiemer
- Ravines Wine Cellars
Center around Lake Geneva - the right side of the lake is the ‘Banana Belt’, where most of the top Riesling sites are located - Start from the north, and work your way south -
WAGNER VINEYARDWS
BOUNDARY BREAKS VINEYARD
SILVER THREAD VINEYARDS
DAMIANI VINEYARDS
RED NEWT CELLARS
FORGE CELLARS
BLOOMER CREEK WINERY
And on the other side of Lake Geneva is a very unique winery:
SHAW VINEYARDS -
A must stop as well -
All produce superb wines -
Don’t forget the cabernet francs as well!
Funny, I do the opposite. And it is SENECA LAKE, not Lake Geneva: we don’t live in Europe.
My favs.
Ravines
Forge
Boundary Breaks (appt only)
Keuka Lake Vinyards
Damiani - solid pinots
Its fun to goto Red Newt as they have a huge range of sweetness levels to taste through, plus their cafe is really nice.
Th great thing about finger lakes is that the tasting fees are about 1/4 of what you find in Napa or Sonoma.
My apologies, I’m actually planning a trip to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin next week for biz, and just had that on my mind. I actually work as Wagner, Shaw, Boundary Breaks & Red Newt’s broker in the Midwest and have been to Seneca Lake more times than I can count - so double shame on me -
Too funny. You must be having ‘lakes-on-the-brain’!
At least you didn’t confuse advice and advise.
If you get tired of the wine, I recommend Two Goats Brewing for beer. Cool little spot on lake Seneca. There is also a cheese trail in the area that is interesting.
Thanks for the wine and spelling tips. All are appreciated.
Fox Run Vineyards
Anthony Road Wine Company
These two place are run by Christopher Bates, MS and he is the chef.
FLX Table https://flxtable.com/
FLX Wienery [u]https://flxwienery.com/[/u]
He also has a winery with his brother.
http://elementwinery.com/
I have met Chris a few times as well as attending a session at Texsom and eating at the Hotel Fauchere in Milford, PA when he was the chef there.
In addition to the suggestions above, I’d recommend stopping in at Serenity Vineyards – a super down-to-earth spot with some surprisingly decent Riesling.
Fox Run has a great light lunch. I mostly find their wines to be okay at best, though. The Finger Lakes Cider House is a fun stop if you get tired of wine and/or are into ciders.
I agree with most of the recommended wineries above. I’d also throw in Kemmeter wines for a very educational, thoughtful tasting with the former winemaker of Anthony Road who has gone out on his own and is a rock star.
Two Goats is great. They offer one food item: a terrific hot roast beef sandwich on an onion roll.
Also, don’t miss Lucky Hare brewing. I think I like the beers at Lucky Hare better, but the experience at Two Goats is better.
for a local dining experience (if it has not closed for teh season when you go), check out the Seneca Lodge. There’s finer dining but you won’t find places like this everywhere.
the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel is solid.
What Kirk said…
Ravines
Konstantin Frank Winery
who makes the best reds there?
I was in the region this past summer and enjoyed Damiani for reds