"There are few things so pleasant as a picnic eaten in perfect comfort." -W. Somerset Maugham
Covid 19 changed a lot of things about the year and our summer in the Finger Lakes, but it didn't stop us from enjoying picnics at wineries. We have a lot of favorite places to go, like Long Point State Park, Sheldrake Winery and Boundary Breaks Vineyard, but this summer we also had a chance to check out a few new places.
Keuka Spring Vineyards
Keuka Springs Vineyard is a family run operation that has been bottling wine since 1985. The vineyard is located on the east side of Keuka Lake and the tasting room has a beautiful view of the lake and it was a wonderful place to enjoy a picnic. As a farm winery, they source all of their grapes from New York State. Roughly 30% of their wine is made from estate-grown grapes, while nearly all the rest are from nearby Finger Lakes vineyards.
An enjoyable way to spend a few hours. We chose the 2019 Dry Riesling to go with our lunch.
Our very for lunch
Climbing Bines Brewery
We visited Climbing Bines Brewery when we were with our family in Penn Yan in August. The brewery started in 2007 when friends wanted to perfect their home-brewing by growing hops. After expanding and increasing both their yield and passion for home-brewing and hop-growing, Climbing Bines Hop Farm was established. The farm is currently a 1.5-acre hop yard that consists of seven cultivars (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Hallertau, Magnum, Nugget and Willamette) and nearly 1,500 hills.
Anyela's Vineyard
Anyela’s Vineyards sits above Skaneateles Lake. The vineyard planted it’s first vines in 2001, but the owners have generations of experience, We visited their facilities after hiking at Carpenter Falls. It’s a beautiful spot and the wine was good, but they weren’t very friendly. This vineyard only sells wine for conception on their grounds by the glass and won’t let you bring any picnic food in. All things we found out after we purchased a bottle of wine for a picnic lunch. No problem...we drove into Skaneateles and enjoyed a nice picnic at the city park.
The view from the vineyard's beautiful garden
We chose a bottle of Dry Riesling from Anyela's Vineyard...it was very good.
We took our bottle of wine and our picnic to the city park in Skaneateles. This lake is extremely clear and beautiful.
Since I didn't blog much this summer, I thought I'd add info on this cute little farm we visited in this post.
Indian Creek Farm
I’ve seen advertisements for Indian Creek Farm for awhile and we’ve driven by it several times...I loved all the beautiful flowers, so one afternoon we drove over and checked it out. Indian Creek Farm is a 100-year-old orchard that sits above Cayuga Lake. It's a u-pick spot with lots of seasonal fruits and vegetables....apples, peaches, pumpkins, berries, and pumpkins, just to name a few. The orchards, veggie fields, and berry patches are your “grocery aisles” with a view.
Keuka Springs Vineyard is a family run operation that has been bottling wine since 1985. The vineyard is located on the east side of Keuka Lake and the tasting room has a beautiful view of the lake and it was a wonderful place to enjoy a picnic. As a farm winery, they source all of their grapes from New York State. Roughly 30% of their wine is made from estate-grown grapes, while nearly all the rest are from nearby Finger Lakes vineyards.
We visited Climbing Bines Brewery when we were with our family in Penn Yan in August. The brewery started in 2007 when friends wanted to perfect their home-brewing by growing hops. After expanding and increasing both their yield and passion for home-brewing and hop-growing, Climbing Bines Hop Farm was established. The farm is currently a 1.5-acre hop yard that consists of seven cultivars (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Hallertau, Magnum, Nugget and Willamette) and nearly 1,500 hills.
Anyela’s Vineyards sits above Skaneateles Lake. The vineyard planted it’s first vines in 2001, but the owners have generations of experience, We visited their facilities after hiking at Carpenter Falls. It’s a beautiful spot and the wine was good, but they weren’t very friendly. This vineyard only sells wine for conception on their grounds by the glass and won’t let you bring any picnic food in. All things we found out after we purchased a bottle of wine for a picnic lunch. No problem...we drove into Skaneateles and enjoyed a nice picnic at the city park.
Indian Creek Farm
I’ve seen advertisements for Indian Creek Farm for awhile and we’ve driven by it several times...I loved all the beautiful flowers, so one afternoon we drove over and checked it out. Indian Creek Farm is a 100-year-old orchard that sits above Cayuga Lake. It's a u-pick spot with lots of seasonal fruits and vegetables....apples, peaches, pumpkins, berries, and pumpkins, just to name a few. The orchards, veggie fields, and berry patches are your “grocery aisles” with a view.
The vegetable fields have a wonderful very of the Cayuga Lake valley.
The u-pick flower fields are huge...$6 a large handful.
You can read about other wineries we've visited in the Finger Lake area at the following links.
