Seneca Lake Wineries & Breweries

During our recent visit to the Finger Lakes, we decided to hit up a few Seneca Lake vineyards & breweries that we hadn’t previously visited. Seneca Lake has a rather famous wine trail, but the brewers are quickly catching up with high quality beer featuring the same jaw-dropping views as the vineyards. Note that many of these wineries aren’t on the official wine trail map, but don’t be afraid to pull into any one that looks interesting.

Shalestone Vineyard

Shalestone Vineyards is located on the east side of Seneca Lake, right down the road from the neighborhood where we’ve stayed the past two years, yet somehow we had never stopped. This is puzzling because Shalestone only makes red wine & if there’s one thing I love, it’s red wine. Since the 1970s, the owners have been in the region making wine & are now cranking out reds in a Finger Lakes world filled with whites. We did their ample sampling of a variety of reds & brought home a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Best of all, we felt like we were sipping wine with old friends – the owners daughter led us through the tasting with a smile,  laughter & knowledge that comes with growing up around the vineyards.

Grist Iron Brewery

Grist Iron Brewing Co. has been in business since May, but judging by the crowds of beer lovers that flock to their beautiful tasting room on the east side of Seneca Lake, they’re having no problem fitting right in. We stopped by one afternoon for a flight & lunch. We enjoyed our flight (B’s favorite: porter, my favorite: pale ale), our hearty steak sandwiches (made with slices of real steak grilled right on the premises) & a game of corn hole on their expansive lawn. Turns out we were lucky to stop by on a Thursday afternoon – when we thought about stopping by for post-dinner drinks on Friday night, the place was packed! Visiting on a quiet afternoon also let us talk with the bartender a bit & sample their Blueberry Porter, a beer we thought would be fruity & turned out to be anything but. If you can’t visit on a weekday afternoon, it’s definitely worth swinging by at night, as they have an amazing fire pit.

Atwater Winery

Atwater Vineyards has one of the most beautiful views of any Seneca Lake winery. In addition to the panoramic view from their tasting room, they have a huge deck filled with comfortable adirondack chairs that face the lake. Their wines are all crisp whites, perfect for patio sipping.

Rooster Fish Brewing

We previously visited Rooster Fish when their brewery & tasting room were in one of our favorite restaurants in Watkins Glen, Nickel’s Pit BBQ. They’ve now moved to their own space just down the street (complete with outdoor bier garden!), but they’re still serving the same brewed-on-site drafts, along with a small menu of Nickel’s favorites. After a morning of hiking, we stopped by Rooster Fish for a late lunch of pulled pork sandwiches on old school toasted buns & a flight of their seasonal beers. Their space may be new (or old since it’s a former auto shop), but their beer is just as good as it always has been.

Hermann J. Weimer Vineyard

A friend who has been visiting the Finger Lakes for many years insisted that Hermann J. Wiemer is the best vineyard in the entire region, so of course we had to stop by their winery on the west side of Seneca Lake to check it out. He might have been right.

Our tasting was with Carol, the most joyous person I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing a wine tasting with. I love that the vineyard greets each guest personally as they come in from the parking lot & everyone gets a personalized tasting. On a busy day, you may wait a bit, but it’s worth it to not just be another glass along the line. We sampled a variety of their wines, letting Carol pick her favorites & the most popular. She even convinced me that I would like their non-oaky Chardonnay – & was right! We enjoyed walking around the vineyards afterward & exploring their beautiful space. This is definitely a more upscale winery, but with down-home friendliness. We will definitely be back!

Headed to Keuka Lake on a wine hunt? Be sure & visit my two favorite wineries on the west side of the lake.