The Finger Lakes

the view at Lakewood WineryIt takes all year to make wine. At least, tending to the vines is a year-round process. (Most) Grapes come in as early as September or hang until as late as November. The variables that determine when they're harvested are plenty, but there's more to making wine than cutting clusters of ripe berries from vines.

Digest NY editor Craig Cavallo experienced harvest first-hand and got a taste of the extensive, intensive, year-roud work that goes into every bottle of wine. His classroom was upstate, in the beautiful, budding Finger Lakes wine region.

What started as a handful of independently owned wineries in the late 70s has grown to over 130. What is now a multi-million dollar industry supplies hundreds of jobs and has become the foundation of a thriving community. The Finger Lake's history, terroir, and climate make it a truly remarkable and unique wine region and half the reason wine from there continues to garner national and international acclaim. The other half is the passionate people who make it.

Craig wrote about his experience for Serious Eats. Read it over here.