Finger Lake Vineyards

[looking4home]

Is it true that the lake has to be of a certain depth in order to have a micro-climate suitable for vineyards? Seneca lake is the deepest, I believe. Cayuga Lake is also deep and very large and wide. The other smaller Finger Lakes obviously don't have have the capability to effect climate change in the same way.

[Tioga]

..CBaillo..I wondered if we'd hear from you. Never did get my "training" started on winemaking from my neighbor this fall...oh well..next year, maybe. How's the deer huntin' over your way?...........

[CBaillo]

i have a 2 month old infant now so its harder to get out there..this weekend though i'm going out w/ my winery boss on his private land, so hopefully we get lucky, as i need some meat in my freezer this winter. how about you? thats a shame about your missed training.

its not necessarily the rule (since microclimates exist for a ton of reasons, aside from bodies of water), but the presence of a big body of water DOES affect the weather, often times to the benefit of grape growers, and other crops that require certain conditions.

the other smaller lakes are big enough to create spots of specific microclimates,obviously, since there are some very successful wineries along the smaller lakes, but the right spots are harder to find amongst the smaller lakes.

cayuga isnt as successful for a lot of reasons..not so much the land and climate, more that its land is divided differently. The seneca communites are made up of wide open properties, and pieces of land, while the cayuga side is made up of lots of bigger towns that are more populated, therefore smaller plots of land w/ lots more housing. It also costs more on the cayuga side, since a lot of the lake adjacent properties are in popular areas, and cost more per acre.

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ You, sir, are a Finger Lakes treasure yourself. Thanks for the quick course on winemaking and why the Finger Lakes environment is working so well in the process.

[CBaillo]

call the record books...that must be the first time a year and some months transplant has been called a "finger lakes treasure" LOL.

[Tioga]

....CBaillo..I too, have been called many things...most unprintable here...lol! As for the deer....One...so far.

[Ellie C.]

I'm chiming in to say I bought all Finger Lakes wine to our Thanksgiving celebration and they were a big hit with some very discerning winos! I bought Wagners Delaware, Dr. Frank's Salmon Run Meritage, and my fav fun take wine - Love My Goat Red.

I'd highly recommend a wine tour in the summer up here. It's beautiful around the lakes.

[sunshineleith]

I went camping in upstate New York once and we went to this winery:

Castel Grisch Winery - Watkins Glen, New York

Their Baco Noir was so incredible . . . it made my socks roll up and down . . .

[Ellie C.]

I'm glad this got bumped up again. I was just talking to Carol L. about Taylor wines and high school days ... I knew Taylor had been in Hammondsport a long long time, but I just looked it up and they've been here since 1880. Pleasant Valley started in 1860. Hardly newbies to the winery biz... who knew?

I can wait for the season to start up again!

[proulxfamily]

I grew up going with my mom and her old college friends from Poughkeepsie and Long Island to the Finger Lakes wineries in the 80's. It was an amazing experience, even as a kid... winding my way through the vineyard nearest the tasting barns, getting my fill of popcorn and grape fruit juice from the proprietors, playing with their children or grandchildren around the ponds or with their animals... going out to dinner in Hammondsport or Ithaca afterward. Keuka is my favorite Finger Lake, still. Dr. Konstantine Frank, Bully Hill, Swedish Hill... absolutely stunning views and a wonderful experience that even your children would enjoy, especially with a picnic overlooking the valleys.

And all within an hour of Syracuse. Truly, most Syracusans don't even realize what they're missing.