My wife and I are planning to visit the FL’s in late May/June. Looking at various info it looks like we wil be staying somewhere around Seneca Lake. Looking for an upscale place to stay and any must see/do in the region. We are driving up from Maryland and only plan to stay for three nights (it is about a five to six hour drive).
Cheers,
Curt
Curt,
I’m not an expert, but my wife and I had a great time there last year. Came up from Virginia, stayed between Keuka and Seneca for about 5 days.
We are thinking about heading back this spring, and were seeing nice stuff on VRBO.com.
We pretty much stuck around Keuka and the Seneca, but hit some exceptional wineries at each lake. On Keuka, Ravines is a must, but Konstantin Frank is great slice of history if you have the time.
Around Seneca, we were big fans of Herman Wiemar, Anthony Road, Bloomer Creek and Red Newt. There’s also a great distillery on the west side of the lake. (Finger Lakes Distillery, I think.) That’s just scratching the surface. No doubt many more have popped up in the last year or so.
My only other advice would be that the dining options were sparse. We ended up buying some dinner foods at Wal-Mart in Watkins Glen.
We thought it was a gorgeous place with great wine, though. Wish I had bought more while we were there…
Thanks Dave. WIll make a note of the winerys you listed. Looks like will visit around the third week in May. Have no problem bringing a nice takeout back the hotel and opening a bottle of wine to have with it! Again, thanks for the info.
Cheers,
Curt
You bet! I suspect you’ll have a great time. And just to narrow that previous list further (which should also include Shaw), the three that you should absolutely not miss are Bloomer Creek, Weimer and Ravines. Again, not an expert, but we tried to do a lot of research beforehand and grill the local wine folk.
Let me know what else you discover when you’re up there. Hope you like riesling! 
I haven’t been there, but others have raved about the food at Stonecat cafe in on rte 414 east of Seneca lake.
For wineries, I would add Damiani to the list (their new digs happen to be near Stonecat). The old tasting room was very basic, haven’t been to the new one. Regardless, the wines are excellent and hard to find outside of the FL.
M @ r k
Do a search. Lots of threads on this.
Ping Evan Dawson — and buy his book about the wineries in the area. The book is Summer in a Glass and profiles many of the wine makers. Very good look into the area.
I had a longer response somehow not go through and I can’t find it so shorter this time. No wineries in this list since you can find plenty of threads on that.
Waterfalls. Lots of them and good walks to some of them. Watkins Glenn is highly recommended.
Cornell. Maybe not for everyone but I found walking the campus quit beautiful and relaxing.
Moosewood. A vegetarian landmark. Not as funky as the old days but still a good meal last time I was there.
Corning Glass Museum. Never been there but it gets praise from those I know that have.
Bully Hill. For the tour and the cafe. Taste at your own risk.
Unfortunately, you will not be there during harvest. I have always been able to hook up with a pick and its so peaceful to experience sun rise in the vines overlooking the lake.
Looks like Watkins GLenn is where we will be heading, probably on 20 May. Glad to see there are plenty of non-wine things to do. Enjoy visiting tasting rooms but also other activities as well.
Cheers,
Curt
Hi Curt! I visited the Finger Lakes for the first time in November, returning this April on an official media trip. Please take a look at some of the posts on my blog for winery/wine recommendations, as I’ve written extensively about the Finger Lakes (this link will take you to all of my posts that mention the Finger Lakes: TravelInGwineChick.com is for sale | HugeDomains as well as my post for Plum Deluxe: Plum Deluxe: Home of the Best Monthly Tea Subscription Service – Plum Deluxe Tea Some must-taste wineries are: Anthony Road Wine Company, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, Fox Run Vineyards, Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars, Ravines Wine Cellars, Red Newt Cellars Winery and Bistro, and Sheldrake Point Vineyards. Cheers!
Short suggestion as I’m iPAD bound…Do try to miss the Cornell and Ithaca College commencement weekends as the wineries can be a zoo.