Our Top 10 Sips on Seneca Lake

Coming to Seneca Lake for the first time? Want to take in the libations but you aren't sure where to start? Don't worry, we've got you!

Based on years of us visiting and living in the area, we got to see firsthand and be a part of the inner workings of the wineries and the stellar vineyard practices of the winemakers that make the magic happen. 

Local Tip: Our properties are on the east side of Seneca Lake and that is where the majority of the wineries and breweries are, particularly southeast Seneca. However the west side of Seneca Lake, has some great options too! 

*A note from experience. Don't try and do the whole lake in one day. Dedicate a day or even two, to each side of the lake. Taking your time at this makes it so much more special.

Here's our Top Ten Wineries, Breweries and Distilleries on Seneca Lake.

TOP 10 Seneca Sips on the EAST Side of the Lake (from south to north)

·        Ryan William Vineyard & Tasting Barn is our go-to winery. A husband and wife team, Ryan runs the wine side and Samira runs the food side. They have a sommelier on staff, Michael, and he is super knowledgeable and passionate about wine and the region. You can do a private tasting with him, call to reserve it and tell them Mark and Danielle sent you! All of their wines are from their own estate grown grapes and they do a killer lunch and brunch.

·        FLX Distilling is where we go for spirits. We are big fans of their Bottled in Bond Bourbon Whiskey and Seneca Drums Gin and they have a great deck to enjoy cocktails on too.

·        Damiani Wine Cellars is known for hearty and bold reds and they usually have live music and a food truck on the weekends in the summer. MC2 is a solid wine year after year and their Cab Francs never disappoint.

·        Two Goats Brewing has excellent beer, try the cream ale, also makes a killer beef-on-weck sandwich. They also have killer lake views with expansive decks to enjoy and their crew is always fun with lots of live music.

·        Forge Cellars is great for intimate tastings they are doing some really good wines here. Very focused on terroir and viticulture, you'll notice how much they really care about what happens in the vineyard and how that translates into the bottle. You'll need a reservation most likely, so plan ahead.

·        Hector Wine Company we love the Soul Red for a table red wine that pleases a crowd and we tend to get a bottle here and sit outside with some cheese and crackers and enjoy a hour or so just relaxing and sipping. We love their little local market of fresh and local foods and provisions too.

·        Lucky Hare Brewing Company some of the best beer on the lake and has a burger and fry shop inside it, how cool is that!

·        Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars has a great selection of well-made reds and whites with a great view of the lake. If they has their moscato, we always find it is done really well.

·        Standing Stone Vineyards purchased by Hermann Wiemer Vineyard, Standing Stone has a great outdoor deck and is known for their unique reds like Saperavi.

·        Boundary Breaks has some of the best whites on the lake and stunning grounds to enjoy amazing views of the lake. Do you tasting outside.

Okay, so it’s really hard for us to list just 10 for the East side. Some of our other favorites are:

·        Hop Notch Brewery a farm brewery with cocktails, beer, wine and darts. A local love and laid-back vibe that is close to the FLX Escape properties.

·        Solera Taphouse is a local watering hole with a great selection of beers on tap, craft cocktails, slushies and lite bites. Play darts or cornhole outside and enjoy lite bites.

·        JR Dill Winery for fun, easy to drink wines. We love the Jabber Walkie Rise, a sweet and sparkling red wine that is a crowd pleaser!

·        Leidenfrost Vineyards has the best port on the east side and their winetenders are so much fun! Ask for Connor!

·        Hazlitt Vineyards is where we play cornhole, drink wine slushies outside and enjoy sweet, fun wine in the summer.

·        Grist Iron Brewing Company is a brewery with lots of outdoor seating in a really fun atmosphere that also serves a few wines and has fun food like flatbreads, mac & cheese and tots.

·        Three Brothers Winery is the place to go if you want to taste wine, beer, cider and slushies with lots of options in regards to flavor, style and taste! It is not close though, so either start or end here, it is at the top of the lake in Geneva.

TOP 10 Seneca Sips on the WEST Side of the Lake (from south to north)

·        Lakewood Vineyards has the best Port on the lake with lots of options for tastings so this is a good choice if you like reds and whites, sweet and dry wines.

·        Seneca Lake Brewing Company for traditional British cask ales + pub food this is the place to go. They are always expanding and have lots of live music and cool events happening so check them out of on social media for what's happening when you are here.

·        Hickory Hollow is know for Nathan Kendall's wines, he's pretty well known in NYC for his wine, so most people stop here for this tasting experience.

·        Once Finger Lakes has a very cool concept. They are a regional tasting room. They don't make their own wine. They pick the best in the region and sample and sell that. So the tastings are rotating and they offer unique food pairings to go with them. This is a really nice way to experience many wineries at once. We highly recommend this experience, we loved it, and you book your tasting on their website.

·        Hermann Wiemer Vineyards is a MUST on the west side! They do stunning wines, both dry reds and dry whites, in a very well-guided and informative tasting experience and their tasting rooms are really enjoyable and relaxing. We never pass this one up when we are on the west side. An elegant experience.

·        Miles Wine Cellars has a nice selection of wines, a cool ghost history (you'll have to go there to find out what it is...) and great views of the lake. We love to get a bottle and sit out on the lawn and enjoy the view. If you are boating, this is one of the few wineries on Seneca that you can boat up to.

·        Climbing Bines is the place to go if you want to visit a hop farm & taste some tasty beers, with lots of hops of course!

·        Red Tail Ridge Winery loves to experiment and they really dive into it! Danielle is a researcher at heart so we love this about Red Tail Ridge. Go here for a tasting based on chemistry.

·        Fox Run Vineyards is great! Their wines are top notch and they have a cafe that is just as good. You can eat there or get food on the go. They do vineyard tours too with food pairing events that always sell out. We always enjoy stopping here.

 ·       Ravines Wine Cellars has 2 tasting rooms and we prefer the one on Seneca in Geneva. It's in an old rustic barn and it just has all of the feels. They are a top 100 winery by Wine & Spirits Magazine and do lots of great food pairings too!

Want to see more? Check out the Seneca Lake Wine Trail website, CLICK HERE, for wine trail members. Note, these are not all of the wineries on Seneca Lake, just members of this organization. There are many more.

Want to explore beyond Seneca Lake? While Seneca has the most wineries/breweries on it, the next two largest are the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail to the east and Keuka Lake Wine Trail to the west. These 2 lakes are only about 30 minutes from the FLX Escape properties, so if you want to explore more, definitely spend a day or two checking them out. Here's a link to the Finger Lake Beer Trail and the Finger Lakes Cider Trail too!