On Seneca Lake’s eastern slopes, Atwater Vineyards makes expressive, small-batch wines, most of them from grapes grown on its own farm. Its low-intervention winemaking emphasizes the character of each vintage, while the tasting room and Vista Bar turn the vineyard’s lake views into a setting for live music and community gatherings. Atwater was among the first cohort of vineyards certified through the New York Sustainable Winegrowing Program.
NY Sustainable Winegrowing Program
New York Sustainable Winegrowing Certification
Red Tail Ridge WineryOn Seneca Lake, Nancy and Michael Irelan turn 30 acres of Finger Lakes vines into expressive cool-climate wines, with Nancy’s winemaking philosophy giving each variety and vintage room to speak for itself. Red Tail Ridge is particularly distinctive for bringing unusual European wine grapes to the region and for pairing technical winemaking with environmental stewardship—the winery is Gold LEED certified. Its tasting room, pavilion, and food-and-wine experiences invite visitors to explore those wines in a setting shaped by lake views and native Finger Lakes materials.PENN YAN, NY
Fox Run VineyardsRooted in the Finger Lakes since its first vines were planted in 1984, Fox Run Vineyards grows 50 acres of grapes and crafts estate-grown wines at a winery established in a restored Civil War-era barn. Now exclusively family-owned, the winery pairs its crisp, food-friendly wines with a welcoming tasting room and café overlooking Seneca Lake. Fox Run was named a certified sustainable vineyard by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation in 2023.PENN YAN, NY
CJS Vineyards, LLCSince 1995, family-owned CJS Vineyards has grown grapes and made handcrafted vegan wines at a small, hand-tended Finger Lakes estate in Aurelius, New York. The Scholomiti family produces estate wines with sustainable viticulture and a minimalist approach, welcoming small groups to meet the winemaker and walk the vineyard by appointment.AUBURN, NY
Chateau Niagara WineryOn 31 acres along 18 Mile Creek in Newfane, husband-and-wife winemakers Jim and Kathy Baker grow their own grapes and make predominantly dry wines shaped by the Niagara Lake Plain. Founded in 2006, Chateau Niagara Winery is family-owned and known for pairing classic French varieties with less-common Eastern European grapes such as Saperavi. The Bakers host intimate, hands-on tastings themselves, and the vineyard is among New York’s first certified sustainable vineyards.NEWFANE, NY