Since 2003, Margo Sue Bittner’s woman-owned Winery at Marjim Manor has made fruit wines in Western New York’s fruit belt, using produce from the family’s Bittner-Singer Orchards. The winery occupies an 1800s, 9,500-square-foot mansion with a restored enclosed porch and a reputation for resident ghosts, pairing tastings with the history of Appleton Hall. Its wines have earned repeated medals, including a 2014 New York State Fair Best Fruit Wine award for Katapalooza.
Woman-Owned Winery (W.O.W.)
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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
Thorpe VineyardKnown as the “Little Winery on the Great Lake,” Thorpe Vineyard grows grapes and makes wine on the southern shore of Lake Ontario beside Chimney Bluffs State Park. Established in 1988, it is New York’s oldest winery in Wayne County and has been 100% woman-owned and operated, with Fumie Thorpe serving as owner and head winemaker. The estate vineyard’s lake-influenced growing season and Fumie’s background in meteorology and astronomy also give the tasting room an unusual stargazing tradition.WOLCOTT, NY
Mazzotta WineryMazzotta Winery is a small, family-owned Gibsonia winery making hand-crafted wines in small batches, including fruit wines made from actual fruit juice rather than added flavors. Winemaker Frank Mazzotta learned the craft from his father, carrying on traditions rooted in his grandfather’s Southern Italian heritage, and opened the winery in February 2015 with his daughter Lauren involved in the business. The winery’s fruit-focused approach has brought recognition including Pennsylvania Fruit Winery of the Year and multiple competition medals.GIBSONIA, PA
Buttonwood Grove WinerySince David and Melissa Pittard purchased the property in 2014, Buttonwood Grove Winery has grown into a family-run Finger Lakes winery producing estate wines beside Cayuga Lake. Dave’s roots at the fourth-generation Beak & Skiff Apple Farm inform the Pittards’ blend of agriculture and winemaking, while the family’s expansion of the vineyards and new winemaking building carries the property into its next chapter. Its 2016 Riesling won the 2017 Governor’s Cup as New York State’s best wine, and the site now pairs tastings with lakeside music and cabins among the vines.ROMULUS, NY