The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, established in 1983, is the first and longest-running organized wine trail in America, looping around the longest of New York’s Finger Lakes just north of Ithaca. Its lake-moderated slopes — a federally recognized AVA since 1988 — produce Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and cold-hardy hybrids across about a dozen visitable wineries.
The Cayuga Lake AVA, established in 1988, was the first sub-appellation granted within the broader Finger Lakes AVA; the deep lake extends the growing season well beyond the surrounding region.
Best time to visit Cayuga Lake
Base yourself in Ithaca, home to Cornell University at the lake’s southern tip, and pair the wine trail with Taughannock Falls — a 215-foot single-drop waterfall taller than Niagara. The trail is open year-round; fall, from mid-October into early November, is peak, with harvest events and foliage.
More about Cayuga Lake
Best Wineries to Visit on Cayuga Lake (2026)
- Sheldrake Point Winery (Ovid) — an estate winery on the western shore since 1997, with a lakeside tasting room and the Point of Flavor bistro.
- Hosmer Winery (Ovid) — founded 1972, one of the trail’s early members, known for estate Rieslings.
- Buttonwood Grove Winery (Romulus) — a western-shore winery with lake views and on-site log cabins.
- Thirsty Owl Wine Company (Ovid) — an estate with a bistro and a 14-slip dock, on a property with some of the Finger Lakes’ oldest vinifera plantings.