Seneca Lake Wine Trail

Seneca Lake sits 618 feet deep — deepest of the Finger Lakes — and that depth is the whole story. The water rarely freezes, the hillsides hold heat, and the result is a cool-climate growing condition that winemakers have been working since the 19th century gave way to serious modern production. The trail, which began in 1986, now counts dozens of member wineries circling the lake, offering somewhere north of 600 varieties. Come for the Riesling. Stay because the lake itself demands it.