After our night at the Belhurst Castle, we headed straight to Three Brothers Wineries and Estates. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to discover they offer a passport option that permits you to partake in tastings at all three of their wineries AND their brewery. The passport option also comes with a souvenir wine glass! We had a great time at this venue.
Each winery was unique and provided a fun morning for us. I really enjoyed trying the four levels of Riesling and the wine slushy. The brewery was a hit, too! We loved the cider...and their homemade root beer, too!
Next, we ventured to Fox Run Vineyards. Before our tasting, we managed a private tour. It was the last of the day and we just happened to be the only takers! Our guide was quite knowledgeable about not only the grape growing and harvesting process, but also the bottling machine since he works the assembly line there during peak production time. It was really neat to see how the whole process works from beginning to end. And we got a fabulous photo with the vineyard and Seneca Lake in the background, too!
Since the wineries close between 5-6pm, we figured our day was done and began our journey south toward our hotel in Elmira. Out of nowhere, we see a sign for Magnus Ridge Winery that indicates they are open late so we do what any good Finger Lake visitor would do - turn around at the next opportunity and go check it out!
We were SO glad we did because it turned out to be quite a unique experience! Each of the wines in the tasting were paired with a specific cheese (that they also sold there) or a dipping sauce. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this winery since I'm not the most daring with my food choices normally. We actually wanted to buy a couple blocks of cheese, but unfortunately we didn't have a way to keep it from spoiling before we arrived back in the city. Guess we'll just have to return more prepared in the future!
We were surprised to find this winery offered a cider tasting as well. The 1911 cider was familiar to us from the Good Cider event last spring, but we were able to try a new flavor (Sweet Apple) that was spectacular!! Definitely went home with a bottle of it!
Eventually, we made our way to Elmira where we enjoyed dinner at Curly's and rested up for our journey home the next day.
Chris and I had such a wonderful weekend getaway in the gorgeous and peaceful Finger Lakes region. I highly suggest spending some time here if you enjoy wine at all. It is absolutely lovely and we could have spent a full week checking out even more of the area. We hope to visit again before too long! Truly a great trip!
Andrea :)
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