The vineyards are one of the main attractions of the Finger Lakes. The deep lakes provide a microclimate that is great for growing certain grapes. There is a lot of weather similarities to Germany, and the grapes that do the best here are also the grapes that do well in Germany: Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Lemberger (Blaufränkisch). They grow many other types of grapes, but those are some that we liked best from here. Lemberger was new to us, and we were pleased to discover this variety.
As you might guess, the fields of vines were a prominent feature when driving around the lakes. We spent most of our time around Seneca Lake where we were staying. Since our trip was in early November, the leaves on the vines had turned color.
These next pictures nicely show the vineyards on both sides of the lake. The lake is fairly narrow, although not as narrow as it looks - pay attention to how small those houses appear to be on the other side of the lake!
Those pictures were taken at one of the wineries, Glenora, which is very picturesque.
Admire Paul's depth of field in this picture, where the background gazebo is pleasingly blurred:
On Friday we did a drive around the entire lake, and saw some men working in the fields. Having a vineyard is farming, and certainly a lot of work. These pictures, particularly the 3rd one, also give a nice view of how the vines go down the slopes to the lake.
We didn't try any of Fox Run Winery's wines, but they had a cute statue in front of their tasting room.
We did try some Red Tail Ridge wines. Their tasting room arrangement was very interesting. The tasting room itself was rather boring, but getting there involves driving through some of their vines, very well kept and labeled.
Red Tail Ridge had some of the most consistent quality of the wineries that we visited. Dr. Frank's Vinifera Winery had one of the most knowledgeable people in the tasting room, and they are credited with first realizing the potential of the area. They are the only winery we visited on the other lakes, although there are certainly many others that we could have tried.
Damiani Winery had a Lemberger and a Cabernet Franc that we would order delivered, if they delivered here.
Updated July 2020