Finger Lakes Wine Country

Amber and I headed north on July 31 to hit the Finger Lakes region and visit some New York vineyards. It was our first trip and we only had the day, so we only intended to visit about 4 vineyards and spend a fair amount of time at each. We decided to stick to the Cayuga Wine Trail, which is the first organized and longest running wine trail in the United States.

Our first stop was Montezuma Winery. When we pulled up I said OH NO! It was a dreaded store front off a major road. Very similar to some of the places in VA that don't have the tastings at the vineyard. We walked in and it reminded me of Cracker Barrel, a little old country stores that sales crafts and candles, oh, and by the way, wine. We walked right out. Way to many tourists excited to pay for wine that was overpriced. It turns out, these guys don't even make the wine.

Next, we headed to Cobblestone. Nice place, great tasting room, and decent wines. We picked up a few bottles and enjoyed it. We continued our drive taking in the scenery and making a few stops along the way. It was really cool that many of the vineyards have dock access so you can take a boat to them off the lake! One tip, ensure you have cash! Good luck finding an ATM. Also, they seem to have one gas station ran by an Indian reservation that must have had 50 cars waiting!

Off the trail map, but interesting looking, was Lake Shore Winery. We pulled up and was greeted by an old farm house built in the 1800's. We walk in and to my surprise a few couples were sitting in the old tasting room, near the giant stone fireplace, on church pews, enjoying a wine tasting. I discovered later they came on a boat docked outside. This was the most interesting and enjoyable tasting I ever had. He greeted us, we made a few jokes, and Amber and I say down on an old church pew, paid $3, and started tasting wines. The stories were great, the pairings that were included were interesting (I really loved the brownie), and it was a really neat atmosphere. I could imagine sitting here in the dead of winter, fire place blazing, drinking wine and telling stories. These guys get an A+ for the tasting. Be warned though, I have a feeling either you'll love it or you'll hate it. If you know me, I like to chat and make jokes, so I blended right in!

After that pleasant experience at Lakeshore we bought 6 bottles or so and headed over to Goose Watch. This was a very large and modern facility. The tasting room had a private upstairs where they took the large groups, which I appreciated. The gentlemen giving our tasting was superb. We picked the 6 wines to taste and he gave us many extra tastings of wines they win awards with, etc. He really helped us experience things we never would have.

On our final stop, we swung by Sheldrake Vineyard and Simply Red Bistro. We wanted to have lunch and this place exceeded my expectations. We waited about 10 minutes for a seat but all the staff were pleasant. I did note many guests were a bit snotty and I think they expected way more than you can get from a bistro at at vineyard. All they did was complain, NY snobs. Amber and I enjoyed a remarkable lunch and superb dessert. We were FULL!

The evening ended sitting along the lake watching boats and just relaxing before the drive back to PA, where we were staying for the weekend. I really enjoyed the trip and hope to visit again soon. I will have journal entries of the tastings as we open the 20 bottles or so we purchased! Stay tuned.

-jason