Seneca Lake Winery Association

Visit the Trail during the best time of year: the off season! At only $12 plus tax, the Polar Passport gives residents and visitors alike a convenient and affordable way to enjoy many of the wineries on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail. And while many people enjoy visiting the wineries during the busy summer and autumn season, the winter season is actually the best time to visit when owners, winemakers and vineyard managers are more likely to be in the tasting room.

The Seneca Lake Wine Trail's 2013 event season launches with our annual Bargain Bash! Unlike our other events, this week long sales event does not require tickets. Think of Bargain Bash as being like a big, Trail-wide spring cleaning, garage sale where the early bird gets the proverbial worm!

Winemaker Wednesdays is really for one kind of person: the type of person that not only loves to drink wine, but adores learning about it, talking to people about it, experiencing it. Certainly everybody is invited to this limited series of unique, custom winery experiences, though it has been conceived for passionate, curious fans of wine, winemaking and all that goes into that. Each winery has crafted some kind of unique, or special event or activity for these days. And the programs may change from one Wednesday to the next. It is necessary for you to call the winery and make an appointment for these, and at that time you can confirm their offering. The reason an appointment is required, is because many wineries commit one or two members of their senior leadership (owner and/or winemaker or vineyard manager, oftentimes) to conduct the program, and typically those individuals have  a slew of other tasks and chores they should be doing, and appointments enable them to manage their time best. Some of these offerings have fees associated with them, most do not. Most have limited time constraints, some do not. Every Winemaker Wednesday takes place on the second Wednesday of the given month. These are unticketed events, though additional fees may apply. 

We are happy to bring back the Pasta & Wine Weekend again this year! Enjoy a self-guided tour around beautiful Seneca Lake, sampling delicious pasta themed dishes paired with wine at over 30 participating wineries. Pick up your gift item at your chosen starting winery then start sampling pasta dishes paired with delicious award-winning wines. Regular tickets purchased in advance are $35 per person.

This is the Seneca Lake Wine Trail's newest series of more intimate, smaller wine and food pairing events. Partnering with the Finger Lakes Cheese Trail, Preferred Pairings are a series of three, one day events the last Saturday of each month in the first quarter of 2013. Each participating winery will be matched up with a creamery, offering ticketed attendees 3-4 delicious pairings of regional cheese paired with our members' wines. In some cases a creamery may offer one cheese, paired against 3-4 different wines to see which pairing best appeals to your palette. At other locations, the creamery might present 3-4 different cheeses, paired with 3-4 different wines. Creameries will also be providing a brief presentation about their farm and product(s) at 10:30am, shortly after the event has begun. Therefore it is best that you select your starting winery principally based on which creamery you would like to learn more about. Each of these three events (January 26, February 23 and March 30) are individually ticketed. This series of events are co-sponsored by the Finger Lakes Cheese Trail. Tickets purchased in advance are $15 per person. 

Enjoy a self-guided tour around beautiful Seneca Lake. Pick up your gift item at your chosen starting winery then start sampling chocolates, or foods prepared with chocolate, creatively paired with wine. Over the 2-1/2 day event, visit over 30 unique wineries and enjoy a weekend of fun and relaxation. And with the event's proximity to Valentine's Day, spending the weekend with a loved one, sampling wine and eating an diverse variety of chocolate and chocolate-themed dishes, there is no better way to your love for each other than by enjoying this weekend-long event, together.  Regular tickets purchased in advance are $35 per person. For the first time ever, this event is being generously co-sponsored by our friends at Lindt USA Chocolate, purveyors of world-class chocolate. 

Pull out your tropical shirts, put on your sunglasses, go sockless in your boat shoes, wear your favorite beach hat, and join us for a weekend of relaxation in the tropics . . . just remember, life is what we make it! Each ticket holder receives a gift item at their starting winery. A self-guided tour "cruising" around beautiful Seneca Lake, visiting over 30 unique wineries, each with their own tropical theme, over the 2-1/2 day weekend of "fun in the tropics". This event is co-sponsored by the Elmira Regional Airport. Regular tickets purchased in advance are $35 per person. 

Our region is known for literally some of the world's finest Rieslings. 2013 will be the eighth year of our Riesling to Visit Passport celebrating our award winning Riesling wines and providing terrific value. Armed with this little booklet, the Passport enables wine enthusiasts to explore many different wineries, enjoying a free flight of wines at each of the participating wineries, many of which may include a sample of Riesling. The cost is $18 per person plus sales tax. The Riesling to Visit Passport is an especially great value for regional residents that can readily visit our Trail more than once, enabling them to explore all of the many participating wineries across multiple weeks. One time visitors to the region that plan on visiting at least 8-10 wineries will likely also find this product to be a good value. If your plan is to visit fewer than 8 wineries, than it is probably wise to not purchase the Passport, and instead pay the incremental tasting fees that are common to most of wineries in the region. The Riesling to Visit Passport is not valid for groups of 8 or more people. Riesling to Visit Passports can no longer be purchased at Lakewood Vineyards or Belhurst Winery. 

This event is now sold out! There are literally no tickets remaining for purchase. We apologize to those that were hoping to attend this popular event, and hope that you will be able to attend it next year. This is an incredibly popular event, combining the classic tastes of wine and cheese into one delectable weekend. It is a self-guided tour around beautiful Seneca Lake visiting over 30 unique, participating wineries. You start this event by picking up your gift item and tickets at your chosen starting winery and receive your first sampling of wine paired with a sample of a cheese-themed dish the winery has prepared. This event is co-sponsored by the Finger Lakes Cheese Trail. Regular tickets purchased in advance are $35 per person. 

This is one of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail's newest wine and food pairing weekend event. Come celebrate summer, the many wonderful foods associated with this beautiful time of year, and the fantastic wines that pair with grilled and summertime foods!  Start your summer season off with this fun-filled wine and food pairing weekend, check in at your chosen starting winery, pick up your ticket and gift item, then enjoy a self-guided tour around beautiful Seneca Lake during this 2-1/2 day event. This event is co-sponsored by JAVA-GOURMET. Regular tickets purchased in advance are $35 per person. 

TWO separate weekends, November 22-24 or December 6-8, 2013 - Go to your assigned starting winery and begin a weekend of fun and festivities while sampling holiday wines and food tastings. The wineries are decorated for the holiday season. Over the two day weekend event, visit the participating wineries, receive a recipe book and collect ornaments to decorate your handmade grapevine wreath. These events are both co-sponsored by The Christmas House, located in nearby Elmira, NY. Cost $53 per person or $75 for a couple.