Seneca Lake Winery Association

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Welcome to the Seneca Lake Wine Trail ~ A Tasteful Experience!

About the Seneca Lake Wine Trail

Surrounding the sapphire waters of Seneca Lake, our 35 wineries invite you to experience a destination rich in history, beauty, and the production of world-class wines. Located in the heart of New York's Finger Lakes Region, our climate supports not only the growth of hardy native grapes and premium hybrids, but also more delicate varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. Along the Seneca Lake Wine Trail you will truly find a wine to suit every taste. Request information or contact us if you have questions. Journalists can visit our newly built Press Room to find out detailed information on the Trail plus download high resolution images. And to see a newly formed list of the many fine restaurants in our region that proudly serve wine crafted on Seneca Lake, click here. To view some recent interviews with attendees of our 2009 Cruisin' The Tropics Weekend, as well as clips about various wine/grape processing activities, click here for our video page. For more information on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail you're also always welcome to give our office a call during regular business hours toll-free at 877-536-2717.

Deck The Halls Weekend

Tickets are still available for this incredibly popular event, and while it probably seems a little early in the year to be thinking about holiday-themed events, be assured that this consistently popular event sells out every single year, oftentimes weeks, even months, in advance. Co-sponsored by The Christmas House in Elmira, NY, Deck the Halls Weekend spans two different weekends and is an excellent way to kick off the holiday season. Both Deck the Halls Weekends are held Friday afternoon at all participating wineries from 1pm - 5pm and then Saturday and Sunday from 10am - 5pm both days. The first event is scheduled for the weekend of November 20 - 22, and the second event the weekend of December 4 - 6. Ticket holders are given a handmade grapevine wreath (literally made from vines harvested in the Finger Lakes Region) at their starting winery, and then can enjoy over 2 days worth of carefully crafted samples of food paired expertly with Seneca Lake wines at each of the 32+ participating wineries, picking up unique ornmanents to adorn your wreath at each winery. For more information on the event, click on the link under our Events link above. To purchase tickets, click on the Tickets link above. Like most of our events, we have also cobbled together some terrific, affordable packages (consisting of tickets, accomodations and transportation, and more) which are described in greater detail on the Tickets page. We will also be running our "12 Wine Days of Christmas" promotion whereby selected wineries will be selling wine with a limited-edition label, each reflecting one of the stanzas from our renowned parody song based on the 12 days of Christmas. Both Couples tickets (where only one wreath and one ornament/winery is preferred) and Single person tickets are available for purchase. For more information on the Deck the Halls Weekend event, please call our office during regular business hours toll-free at 877-536-2717.

Deck The Halls and What's New on the Trail

Latest News - Enjoy this brief clip of Paul Thomas, executive director of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, being interviewed for the locally produced Finger Lakes Wine Show discussing our most popular event, Deck the Halls Weekend, sponsored by The Christmas House, new travel packages and other news about the Trail.

Senecal Lake Wine Trail on MySpace

The Seneca Lake Wine Trail has officially opened up a MySpace page, joining the digital revolution more fully than ever before! Visit our page at: http://www.myspace.com/senecalakewinetrail to become our official MySpace Friend! And to view our latest YouTube music video, create entirely by our friend the Finger Lakes Weekend Wino Blogger, Rob,

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Rolling out the new SLWA website look!

In order to keep up with the online digital revolution, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail (SLWA) is undertaking renovations in its online presence. You may have been a visitor to the SLWA youtube page already. If not check it out! Paul has been going at a lightning pace (and if you have met Paul in person, this won't surprise you) to generate all manner of engaging, exciting, and sometimes silly videos that may lure you to visit Seneca Lake. (If you have already visited us, we hope that they will help to bring back some enjoyable memories!) So go ahead, relax, and enjoy the new site. And...keep a watch out for new exciting features that are coming soon!

Thanks for being here!
SLWA webmaster

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Seneca Lake Winery Awards

In the October 2009 issue of Wine Enthusiast, several Seneca Lake wines were awarded some superb scores: Miles Wine Cellars 2005 Pinot Noir (87), Red Newt Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc (87), Glenora 2007 Cabernet Franc (85), Fox Run 2007 Gewurtraminer (87) and Glenora 2007 Golden Glen Chardonnay (85).

Seneca Lake wineries competed brilliantly at the 2009 New York Wine & Food Classic competition, with Anthony Road Wine Company receiving the coveted Governor's Cup award for their 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling.The Anthony Road 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling was also voted Best White Wine, Best Riesling and Best Medium Dry Riesling on its way to the ultimate award. The “Best of Category” awards, all eligible for the Governor’s Cup, went to Anthony Road Wine Company 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling for Best White, Miles Wine Cellars NV Wisteria for Best Blush, and Earle Estate Meadery NV Pear Mead for Best Specialty Wine, among others.

The “Best of Class” awards for different varietals or proprietary blends, amidst our membership, which were tasted off for “Best of Category” awards went to Belhurst Estate Winery 2008 for Best Dry Riesling, Highland Cellars 2007 Cayuga White for Best Cayuga White, Lakewood Vineyards 2008 Niagara for Best Niagara, Glenora Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Mason Vineyards for Best Cabernet Sauvignon, Fox Run Vineyards 2007 Merlot for Best Merlot, Earle Estates Meadery NV Pear Mead for Best Mead.

The following wines were awarded Double Gold medals: Anthony Road Wine Company 2006 Tierce, Anthony Road Wine Company 2008 Semi-Sweet Riesling, Atwater Estate Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc, Cascata Winery 2008 Regatta Red, Earle Estates Meadery NV Pear Mead, Fox Run Vineyards 2007 Merlot, Highland Cellars 2007 Cayuga White, Rock Stream Vineyards NV Grappa.

The following wines were awarded Gold medals: Atwater Estate Vineyards 2008 Riesling, Atwater Estate Vineyards 2008 Gewürztraminer, Belhurst Estate Winery 2008 Dry Riesling, Chateau LaFayette Reneau 2008 Late Harvest Riesling, Earle Estates Meadery NV Autumn Harvest, Earle Estates Meadery NV Apple Enchantment, Fox Run Vineyards 2008 Reserve Riesling, Fruit Yard Winery NV Natural Plum Wine, Fulkerson Winery 2007 Riesling Traminette, Glenora Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Mason Vineyard and 2008 Meritage, Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2008 Pinot Gris, Lakewood Vineyards 2008 Niagara, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars 2007 Chardonnay Reserve, Miles Wine Cellars NV Wisteria, Red Newt Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc Red Newt Cellars 2007 Merlot, Torrey Ridge Winery NV Summer Delight, Ventosa Vineyards 2008 Pinot Gris, Ventosa Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc, Villa Bellangelo 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling, Wagner Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay Reserve, 2007 Semi-Dry Riesling, and 2007 Meritage.

Click on the "Read More" link below for additional information on the terrific wines and wineries on Seneca Lake including numerous listings of medals and awards won.

For more information on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail please call us during regular business hours toll-free at 877-536-2717, or click on the Contact Us link under the Info tab above.