Most Finger Lakes wineries sit on the slopes above four long glacial lakes, and the best of them still feel like working farms: a tasting room in a barn, a view of the water, someone pouring who knows which block the Riesling came from. These eight cover Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga, from the cellar that brought European vines to New York to a small estate on the quiet side of Cayuga, with what each tasting costs and how to book it.
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In this article
How we chose these Finger Lakes wineries
Each of the main lakes has dozens of producers, and most of them pour wine any day of the week. The Finger Lakes Wine Alliance counts more than 10,000 acres of vineyards around the lakes, which is why a list has to be selective to be useful. Three rules cut the field to the eight below.
First, each winery makes a serious case for the grapes the region does best: dry and off-dry Riesling above all, then Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and the sparkling wines. Second, each one takes reservations, so you can build a day around fixed times instead of hoping for a free seat at the bar on a Saturday in October. Third, the list covers more than one lake, because the drive between Keuka and Cayuga is longer than the map suggests and most visitors base themselves on one shore.
None of these wineries sells its tastings through a booking platform, so there are no platform ratings to quote: you book on each winery’s own site. The guided tours further down are the exception. More on how we pick in our editorial methodology, and for the wider region, start with our Finger Lakes wine country guide.
Keuka Lake: where the vinifera story starts
Keuka is the Y-shaped lake on the west side of the region, with Hammondsport at its southern tip. The slopes are steep and the wineries fewer than on Seneca, which makes it the calmer place to start.
1. Dr. Konstantin Frank: The Cellar That Changed New York
Why it’s on the list. Every Finger Lakes Riesling you will taste on this trip owes something to this hillside. Konstantin Frank arrived in 1951, planted European vinifera grapes in 1958 when nearly everyone said they would not survive the winters, and opened Vinifera Wine Cellars in 1962. The winery is still in the family.
The signature tasting is seated and grouped around a theme, so it works as an introduction to the region as much as to the estate. On summer and fall weekends a guided walk through the vines adds the story outdoors, and the 1886 Wine Experience pairs a deeper visit with small bites. Start your Keuka day here, before the afternoon crowd.
Good to know
2. Heron Hill: Two Lakes, One Tasting Format
Why it’s on the list. The only winery here with a tasting room on two lakes, which makes it easy to fit into either a Keuka day or a Canandaigua one. The format is simple and good value: you choose from a rotating selection and taste five small pours.
The Keuka room sits above Hammondsport; the second room is on the west side of Canandaigua Lake, the least visited of the four lakes on this page. If you are driving in from Rochester, the Canandaigua room is the natural first stop of the trip.
Good to know
Seneca Lake, west shore: the Riesling road
Route 14 runs along the west side of Seneca, the deepest of the lakes, and the cellars come one after another. The Seneca Lake Wine Trail lists dozens of members; these three are the ones to book ahead.
3. Hermann J. Wiemer: Riesling Taken Seriously
Why it’s on the list. If you only book one Riesling tasting in the Finger Lakes, make it this one. The range runs from dry to dessert styles and single vineyards, and the seated tasting lets you build your own flight with a wine educator rather than follow a fixed list.
The Library tasting is the reason to come back: five older vintages, poured privately, which is the clearest way to see how well these wines age. Walk-ins are welcome when there is space, but the seated tables fill quickly from late summer.
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4. Fox Run Vineyards: A Tasting and a Walk in the Vines
Why it’s on the list. The easiest stop on the lake to fit into a loose day: no reservation for groups under 12, a seated tasting of five wines and a vineyard tour that leaves every hour. It is also where to understand how the vines are grown here, with a 45-minute walk through the vineyard and the cellar.
There is a café on site, so it works as the lunch stop between two booked tastings. The tour is weather-permitting, so on a wet day plan on the tasting room alone.
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Book it
Rather not drive between tastings?
A small-group day on Seneca Lake, with the driving and the bookings handled.
5. Ravines Wine Cellars: Dry Riesling at the North End
Why it’s on the list. Ravines makes the bone-dry, mineral style of Riesling that many people now associate with the region, and says it pioneered that style in 2002. The estate was founded in 2000 by Morten Hallgren, a French-trained winemaker, and his wife Lisa, a chef, and farms about 130 acres on Seneca and Keuka.
The Geneva tasting room is a few minutes from town, which makes it the obvious first or last stop if you stay at the north end of the lake. Our guide to hotels in Geneva, NY covers the places within a short drive.
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Seneca east shore and Cayuga: the quieter side
Across the lake, Route 414 is less busy, and Cayuga to the east is quieter still. The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail is made up mostly of family-owned cellars, and the two below are among the best reasons to cross over.
6. Lamoreaux Landing: The View Across Seneca
Why it’s on the list. The east shore’s classic stop, and the place to see the west side of the lake from across the water. The tasting is simple: a welcome pour, then four wines you pick yourself, paid when you book.
It sits on the stretch of Route 414 between Watkins Glen and the north end, so it pairs well with a day of east-shore cellars. Book a morning slot in the fall, when the room fills from midday.
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7. Sheldrake Point: Five Wines on Cayuga, and a Library Room
Why it’s on the list. The best way into Cayuga for a first visit: a lakeside estate with a custom flight of any five wines, so you can taste across Riesling, the reds and the sweeter styles in one sitting.
On Fridays and Saturdays the Vintage Room pours library wines with local cheeses, a seated hour that is worth the trip on its own. The tasting room closes on Mondays in winter, so check the day before you drive.
Good to know
8. Heart & Hands: Pinot Noir and Rare Grapes on Limestone
Why it’s on the list. A small family estate on the quiet east side of Cayuga, and the most unusual tasting on this page. Limestone soils, Pinot Noir as the main focus, and a series of small-lot wines from grapes almost nobody else grows here: Aligoté, Petite Arvine, Pinot Auxerrois and Lagrein.
The signature tasting is seated and led by the team or by co-owner Susan Higgins; the UTV tour takes you out into the vineyard with her for a progressive tasting of six wines. It is open only on weekends for much of the year, so this is the stop to plan the trip around rather than squeeze in.
Good to know
Planning a day of Finger Lakes wineries
Three tastings in a day is the realistic limit, four if two of them are on the same stretch of road. Seneca alone is close to 40 miles long, and crossing from Keuka to Cayuga eats a good part of the morning, so pick one lake, or two neighboring shores, for each day. Book the fixed-time tastings first and fill the gaps with a walk-in stop like Fox Run.
Fall is the busiest season, from harvest in September to the end of October, and weekend slots at the best-known cellars go days ahead. Weekdays are calmer, and several tasting rooms cut their hours in winter, so check before you drive. If you would rather not do the driving at all, a small-group Keuka Lake winery tour or a day on the south end of Seneca handles the cellars and the timing for you.
Most wineries ship within New York and to a number of states, but rules change from state to state. If you want more than you can carry, read our guide to shipping wine home to the US before you go.
Prices are indicative and set by our booking partners and the wineries.
Where this fits in a Finger Lakes trip
Two or three days are enough to see the best Finger Lakes wineries without rushing: one for Keuka and the west shore of Seneca, one for the east shore and Cayuga. Base yourself in the middle, on Seneca, and no tasting on this list is more than an hour away. Our guide to Finger Lakes hotels covers six places to sleep across the four lakes, and for the north end of Seneca there is our pick of hotels in Geneva, NY.
Whichever way you plan it, book the tastings first and build the rest of the trip around them. The wineries are the reason to come, and the good slots go before the rooms do.
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