by Jim Hofman » Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:10 am
Reporting back as promised ...
My wife and I decided to do two wine trails on this trip (there are 4 in the Finger Lakes area btw), the Canandaigua Lake Wine Trail and the Keuka Lake Wine Trail.
Canandaigua is a fantastic small town, just gorgeous. It's a very walkable historic town, well worth a day's visit. There are a couple of terrific restaurants and two wine related attractions, the Finger Lakes Wine Center and the New York Wine and Culinary Center. The Finger Lakes Wine Center is adjacent to the Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion, and is an excellent introduction to Finger Lakes area wines and the whole wine scene. I recommend it as a perfect first stop for anyone visiting the Finger Lakes region.
As for wineries ... there are well over 100 in the area so there's plenty to discover. On the Canandaigua Lake Trail, we particularly enjoyed Imagine Moore Winery on the south side of the lake for their dry riesling. The setting is spectacular! Another we really liked was Wilhelmus Estate Winery just outside Canandaigua.
On the Keuka Lake Wine Trail, we discovered several we liked. There are about a dozen wineries around the lake. The villages of Penn Yan (on the north) and Hammondsport (south) bookend the lake and are well worth exploring for restaurants, shops, etc. Hunt Country Vineyards, Ravines Wine Cellars, and Heron Hill Winery are just a few of the wineries turning out interesting wines. Rieslings are more or less king of the mountain in the Finger Lakes, but winemakers there are producing some very interesting wines.
The full travelogue for the Canandaigua Lake Wine Trail is now up at Wine Trails USA, and the Keuka Lake travelogue will be published 9/16.
For a travelers perspective on unique local wineries, U.S. wine travel, and wine trails, visit: http://www.winetrailsusa.com .