Usually for my birthday Alex plans something as a surprise. I've been dropping hints to Alex since forever that I wanted to go wine tasting, particularly since I heard about the Fingerlakes region in upstate NY. He had been planning on taking me, but when we heard about the rally for sanity going on the same weekend, which he knew I also was interested in, he let me chose where I wanted to go.
I opted for a weekend up north.
Even though I didn't end up being surprised, I was SO excited to go! Wine tasting is one of my most favorite things, and the fingerlakes did not disappoint.
First off, upstate NY is BEAUTIFUL. We drove through beautiful mountain valleys and rolling farmland and even though we missed the peak foliage, it was still breathtaking.
We left Brooklyn on Friday morning and it was a about a 4 hour drive to Ithaca where we stopped for lunch at Moosewood Restaurant, whose cookbooks I've been enjoying for awhile now. From there we headed out around Lake Seneca and found our B&B, The Red Brick Inn, which was about half-way between Lake Seneca and Lake Keuka. The Inn was very nice, and I would recommend it if you're ever looking for a nice affordable place in the area.
We spent the remainder of Friday going for a walk around the farmland, relaxing, and then heading out to dinner in neighboring Watkins Glen which sits right next to Lake Seneca.
Looking back at the town.
On Saturday we enjoyed breakfast at the Inn and then headed out for the wine!
So much fun! The wineries in this region are SO relaxed, there is no snobbery at all. In fact, perhaps one of the highlights was a winery that had a little fun poking fun at those who take their wine a little too seriously.
Yes, their wine was actually quite good! :-)
After going tasting in California and Long Island, I was pleasantly surprised to find the wineries here so affordable! Most of them were either free or $2, and with that came 5-7 tastings and a free wine glass! Many of the vineyards offered delicious cheeses, fresh pesto and crackers, handmade fudge, or other snacks with their samples as well! The priciest vineyard of the day charged a hefty $5. NICE! This fit our student travel budget for sure.
Views from the Glenora vineyard, the oldest in the region. Not too shabby, even if most of the colors on the trees were faded.
Alex and I decided we definitely want to come back in the summer and rent a cabin on the lake.
Even though the trees had lost their leaves, the grape vines were a beautiful shade of gold.
A fantastic time had by all!
Our haul back in Brooklyn!
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