The Finger Lakes Region of New York

A great wine tourist area and even a few exceptional wines

Earlier this month, I took my wife and kids and we spent a few days vacationing in the Finger Lakes.  For those of you who don’t know, the Finger Lakes comprise a region in western New York State.  These lakes are remnants of the glaciers retreat at the end of the last ice age.  They are long and thin and run north south.  Hence on a map, the largest of these lakes look like 10 fingers that left deep scratches along the map.  The area is just beautiful with soft hills between the lakes.  The water is a deep blue shade.  The map is dotted with small towns connected by two lane black top roads surrounding all the lakes.  This was a short family vacation, before the kids went back to school.  Nevertheless, one day was put aside for Dad to visit wineries. 

It turns out the lakes have a nice effect on grapes grown near the shore.  They moderate temperatures in the summer, provide moisture and keep the vines from freezing in the winter.  The godfather of wines in this area is Dr. Konstantin Frank.  This was the first successful winery that utilized European varietals of grapes.  Started in the 1962, this winery is still producing some of the best wines the Finger Lakes have to offer.  Although I did not have any of their wines on this trip (that winery is located on Keuka Lake), I have had the Riesling and the Dry Riesling before.  Both wines are very good, possibly the best domestically produced Riesling. 

Finger Lakes wineries are primarily tourist wine destinations.  By that I mean the wineries sell a high percentage of their wines in their tasting rooms or in restaurants attached to the wineries.  Driving around the edges of the lakes, a tourist encounters a winery seemingly almost every 30 seconds or so.  Many of these wineries have newly constructed tasting rooms with beautiful views of the lakes.