Husband-and-wife team Tom and Susan Higgins run Heart & Hands Wine Company, a boutique Finger Lakes winery crafting cool-climate still and sparkling wines from its limestone-rich estate overlooking Cayuga Lake. Founded from Tom’s return to his Finger Lakes roots, the Union Springs winery now produces about 2,000 cases annually, with roughly 95 percent made from estate-grown grapes. Its vineyard is certified through New York’s Sustainable Winegrowing program, and the small scale supports careful, hands-on farming and winemaking.
New York Sustainable Winegrowing Program
Frontenac Point Vineyard & Estate WineryFounded by Jim and Carol Doolittle in 1978 on a former fruit-growing property overlooking Cayuga Lake, Frontenac Point Vineyard & Estate Winery grows its own grapes and makes small-batch Finger Lakes wines. The Doolittles handle the work from planting and hand-picking through winemaking, bottling, and presentation, with son Lawrence continuing the family business as its second generation. Licensed as New York’s farm winery No. 44 in 1982, Frontenac Point is especially distinctive for wines made entirely from grapes grown on its Cayuga Lake estate.TRUMANSBURG, NY
Sawmill Creek EstateOn Seneca Lake’s east shore, Sawmill Creek Estate makes handcrafted Finger Lakes wines from a vineyard farmed by the Hazlitt family for seven generations. Founded in 2010 by seventh-generation grower Jason Hazlitt and veteran Finger Lakes winemaker Justin Boyette, the estate’s wines are shaped by the long history of Sawmill Creek Vineyards and Boyette’s low-intervention approach. Its Hector tasting room pairs those wines with a laid-back welcome and a marketplace featuring local food products.HECTOR, NY
Lamoreaux Landing Wine CellarsLamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars is a family-run Finger Lakes winery that grows grapes and produces and bottles its wines in house from estate-grown fruit. The Wagner family farm dates to 1948, and the winery began its first vintage in 1990 before opening to customers in 1992. Its vineyards on the east side of Seneca Lake have been certified sustainable through the New York Sustainable Winegrowing program since 2022.LODI, NY
Bet the Farm WineryFounded in 2006 by Nancy Tisch, Bet the Farm Winery is a woman-owned Finger Lakes winery producing fruit-forward, food-friendly wines from its Trumansburg vineyard and carefully selected regional fruit. Nancy and Kit Kalfs planted the Jacob Thomas Vineyard in 2018, later harvesting their first estate reds in 2020, and today welcome visitors to a deliberately quiet tasting room overlooking the Cayuga Lake valley. The vineyard is certified sustainable through New York Sustainable Winegrowing, and the winery has built a community-supported model around its wine club.AURORA, NY