About Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes is the most remarkable wine region east of California, eleven glacier-carved lakes stretching north-south through central New York, their extraordinary depth creating a thermal buffer that makes viticulture possible in a climate that should be far too cold for wine grapes.
Wine trails: the Finger Lakes has three established wine trails. The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail is the oldest in the United States, founded in 1983 and running along the longest of the Finger Lakes. Note that a wine trail is a tourism association, not an appellation: the Cayuga Lake AVA is a separate federal boundary granted in 1988.
The region is best known for Riesling, both dry and off-dry styles that consistently rank among the finest in the world outside Germany and Alsace. The combination of slate, shale, and limestone soils with the lake-moderated climate produces Riesling of remarkable precision and age-worthiness. Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake are the primary centers of quality.
Beyond Riesling, the Finger Lakes produces excellent Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, and increasingly successful Cabernet Franc. The 2000s saw a dramatic shift from sweet native-variety wines toward dry, food-friendly vinifera wines, a transformation that brought national critical attention and a new generation of serious winemakers.
Getting There
The Finger Lakes is approximately 4-5 hours from New York City by car, or a 1-hour flight to Rochester or Syracuse followed by a 45-minute drive. The region's two main wine corridors, Seneca Lake Wine Trail and Cayuga Wine Trail, are each accessible from Watkins Glen or Ithaca respectively.