New York Wine and the Finger Lakes Annual Wine Festival, July 26-28th

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Finger Lakes Wine Country is home to three distinct wine trails, each offering exciting wine and food pairing events throughout the year. It’s also home to the Finger Lakes Annual Wine Festival. Spectacular Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noirs attract wine lovers from all over the world. And New York State is now one of the largest wine trails in the country. Three well-organized wine trails help visitors most of them. The trails often include wine and food pairing, barbecues, and festivals. In addition, wine country also offers great restaurants, markets, breweries, and distilleries.

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The Finger Lakes Wine Trail

Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes Wine Trail has three wine trails that offer distinct differences. Rochester is the perfect base for exploring the Finger Lakes wine country, a region producing some of the tastiest wines in the U.S. and Canada. Eleven long, narrow, finger-like lakes in central New York give the region its name. The lake’s depth creates a lake effect that protects the grapes from the worst winters in Upstate New York. As a result, more than 100 wineries cropped up in the region.

If you find yourself in Rochester, check out Casa Large Winery in the town of Pittsford, just outside of the city.

Wine and Food Lovers

Finger Lakes Wine Trail events range in theme from chocolate, cheese, herb, barbecue, harvest, and holiday.  All are fun, unique, and affordable.  Some events offer souvenir glasses, herb plants, and holiday ornaments. Best of all?  When you purchase a wine trail event ticket, unless otherwise specified, it is for use the entire event weekend.  Additionally, all three wine trails offer passport programs for wine and food tasting discounts.

Finger Lakes Wine Annual Festival

Did you know that New York is the 3rd largest wine-producing region in the country after California and Washington? And the Finger Lakes Annual Wine Festival brings all that wine together in one place. We attended the Finger Lakes Wine Festival a few years ago, which was fabulous. It is held at the beautiful Watkins Glen International every year in July. This year, the festival is July 26-28th. It is the largest one-stop venue for New York State wines, local artisans, musicians, culinary and wine pairing classes.

If I were to attend the festival again, and that’s a real possibility, I would not pay for the wine pairing dinner. It was billed as a highlight of the festival, but it was a disappointing affair for several reasons. There were a number of wines placed on the table.

First, there was no instruction provided about wine pairing and the foods served. Secondly, it was buffet style and not a sit-down dinner. And finally, the food just wasn’t that good. Many of the foods were cold or bland. It was definitely not worth the $90 per ticket my husband and I forked over to attend.

The Seneca Lake Wine Trail

Seneca Lake’s natural combination of deep water and sloping hillsides provides the ideal micro-climate for grape growing. It’s a great combination to grow native grapes and premium hybrids as well as Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir. It’s a paradise for wine and food lovers.

Formed in 1986, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail forms the heart of New York State’s Finger Lakes Wine Country. It attracts more visitors to its rich history, beauty, and production of world-class wines. Today, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail is the largest and most active wine trail in New York State. Thirty-five wineries, a distillery, two cider producers, two breweries, and a meadery are on the trail.

The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail

The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail is America’s first organized and longest running wine trail.  Established in 1983, the trail has 16 dog-friendly member wineries, cideries, a meadery, four distilleries. Wine lovers love the family owned and operated boutique wineries that have award-winning wine and food. The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail wineries have won over 6,000 national and international medals.

The Keuka Lake Wine Trail

The first bonded winery was established on Keuka Lake in 1860. It’s the smallest trail in the Finger Lakes but offers the most diverse group of wineries– dry or sweet, fruity or savory. The Keuka Lake wineries have designer hybrids and native wines sure to please any palate. And each winery has its own unique character. Round out your visit drinking in the shops, restaurants, and lodging.

I like this trail because its small enough to meet the winemakers and owners. The five family-owned wineries of the Keuka Lake Wine Trail are dedicated to producing high-quality wines. Stop and enjoy some delicious wine and food while taking in the breathtaking views.

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