Visit Wineries in New York State this Fall

by Sonny DaveFood, Life Style, Travel

Follow the Trail

These food experience trails offer the best of the region – from quality hops to cheese-y goodness. While you’re in the area for apple or pumpkin picking, make these stops along they way and fill your belly with the local favorites.

Plan your next beercation on the Niagara Ale Trail and explore this award-winning craft beer scene. Make the Merchant Ale House your first stop – it has been brewing on site for over 2 decades and has an innovative menu, live music and a great atmosphere – then trek on to taste quality craft beer and seasonal favorites in this list of local breweries. Their website even gives you suggestions of what to try at each spot – you can’t go wrong!

America’s first wine trail, Cayuga Lake Wine Trail is an association of wineries located around Cayuga Lake that was established in 1983. As the first organized and longest-running wine trail in America, it promoted the wineries in the area as a collective and over the years have collected over 5,300 national and international medals. Taste award-winning wine while you enjoy breathtaking views of Cayuga Lake, secluded waterfalls, and rolling vineyards.

If you are a cheese lover, this Trail makes for the perfect vacation. The Finger Lakes Cheese Alliance is made up of 12 working family farms and producers, each creating their own brand of artisanal and farmstead cheeses.  Each farm various in hours, but are all within driving distance of each other and make up the Cheese Trail – some farms you can visit include Engelbart Farms, who has been offering certified organic jacks, gouda, swiss and more since 1984; Shtayburne Farm, who makes over 15 blends of cheddar and Monterey Jack; and Side Hill Acres Goat Dairy Farm, a family-friendly farm that can show you around their goat cheese, cheese plant, milk house and goat barn.

More Wine Trails

Adirondacks Coast Wine Trail (7061 Route 9, Plattsburgh, NY 12901) http://adkcoastwine.com

Nestled on the shores of Lake Champlain, on the edge of the Adirondack Mountains, lies a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. Officially established in 2013, the Adirondack Coast Wine Trail is the newest and most recently celebrated wine region in the United States. The Adirondack Coast Wine Travel travels 33 miles through farmland, small towns and the historic city of Plattsburgh linking six wineries. The unique wines embody the character of the Adirondack Coast; rugged and wild yet relaxed with a casual warmth.

The grapes grown here are hybrids of European grapes and hardy American rootstock that can withstand cold temperatures such as Frontenac, Cayuga White, Petite Amie and Louise Swenson. Many of these grapes were introduced to the world in just the last 10-15 years, so they’re like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Travel the trail and taste America’s newest wines, including the celebrated and expressive Marquette, our region’s masterpiece. Visit welcoming family-owned tasting rooms operated by vintners and cider makers proud to call the Adirondack Coast home.

  • Wineries:
      1. Amazing Grace Vineyard
      2. Vesco Ridge Vineyard
      3. Elfs Farm Winery & Adk Hard Cider
      4. The Champlain Wine Company
      5. Everett Orchards
      6. Hid-In-Pines Vineyard

Cayuga Lake Wine Trail (2770 Ernsberger Rd, Romulus, NY 14541) https://cayugawinetrail.com/

America’s first wine trail, Cayuga Lake Wine Trail is an association of wineries located around Cayuga Lake. Over the years the wineries have collected over 5,300 national and international medals. The first organized and longest-running wine trail in America was established in 1983 to promote wineries located within the Cayuga Lake American Viticultural Area (AVA) as a collective. Taste wine that’s earned over 6,000 national and international medals. See breathtaking views of Cayuga Lake, Taughannock Falls, and rolling vineyards.

Wining and dining are favorite pastimes, but there is so much more to explore along Cayuga Lake. Follow the trail and experience an abundance of breathtaking views, from secluded waterfalls to lakefront restaurants, this quintessential Finger Lake sets the scene for unforgettable day trips and getaways. Area restaurants and farmers’ markets are experts at pairing their products with the local wines and often do so at events.

  • Wineries:
    1. Americana Vineyards
    2. Buttonwood Grove Winery
    3. Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery
    4. Goose Watch Winery
    5. Hosmer Winery
    6. Knapp Winery
    7. Long Point Winery
    8. Lucas Vineyards
    9. Montezuma Winery
    10. Six Mile Creek Vineyard
    11. Swedish Hill Winery
    12. Thirsty Owl Wine Company
    13. Toro Run Winery
    14. Varick Winery & Vineyard

Keuka Lake Wine Trail (2375 New York 14A, Penn Yan, NY 14527) http://www.keukawinetrail.com/

Visit the eight wineries of the Keuka Lake Wine Trail, along the shores of beautiful Keuka Lake, the most picturesque of New York’s pristine Finger Lakes. The Finger Lakes of New York is the largest and most celebrated wine producing region in the Eastern United States. At its heart lies Keuka Lake, whose spectacular beauty and glacially-deposited soils inspired early grape cultivation and the birth of America’s wine industry in 1860.

The Finger Lakes of New York is the largest and most celebrated wine producing region in the Eastern United States. At its heart lies Keuka Lake, whose spectacular beauty and glacially-deposited soils inspired early grape cultivation and the birth of America’s wine industry in 1860. Our wineries have been in business for an average of 25 years and continue to receive critical acclaim, including Best Wine in America and Chairman’s Awards from prestigious wine competitions, multiple Governor’s Cups in New York State and 90-point ratings from Wine Spectator.

  • Wineries:
    1. Heron Hill Winery
    2. McGregor Vineyard
    3. Hunt Country Vineyards
    4. Keuka Spring Vineyards
    5. Vineyard View Winery

Niagara Wine Trail (113 West Center Street, Medina, NY 14103) https://niagarawinetrail.org/

Minutes from Niagara Falls, and a short drive from Buffalo and Rochester, New York, the Niagara Wine Trail USA is regarded as a new up-and-coming region, but the art and science of grape growing and winemaking has been in our area for many years. There are records of a winery that was open during the 19th century, and one of our current member wineries produces fruit on vineyards that are over one hundred years old. Each winery on the trail offers a diverse selection of traditional vinifera style, native, late harvest and ice wines, as well as unique styles such as award-winning fruit wines, meads and ciders.

Geographically situated between the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario, the wine region has a unique micro-climate. Located at Latitude 43 degrees North, the cool climate region of Niagara enjoys long days during the growing season. This makes it suitable for the production of the types of fruit that are used to create its fine wines. We enjoy the second longest growing season for grapes in New York State – the longer the growing season, the better the fruit.

  • Wineries:
    1. 810 Meadworks
    2. A Gust of Sun Winery
    3. Arrowhead Spring Vineyards
    4. BlackBird Cider Works
    5. Black Willow Winery
    6. Chateau Niagara Winery
    7. Freedom Run Winery
    8. Honeymoon Trail Winery
    9. Lake Ontario Winery
    10. Leonard Oakes Estate Winery
    11. Liten Buffel
    12. Long Cliff Winery & Vineyards
    13. Midnight Run Wine Cellars
    14. Niagara Landing Wine Cellars
    15. Salamaca Estate Winery
    16. Schulze Vineyards & Winery
    17. Spring Lake Winery
    18. Schwenk Wine Cellars
    19. The Winery at Marjim Manor
    20. Victorianbourg Wine Estate
    21. Vizcarra Vineyards at Becker Farms