That Place in New York: The Reputation of Finger Lakes Wine

A few years ago, my husband and I took a cross-country road trip. We avoided main highways and big cities, preferring to see America “up close and personal”. We had a great time, met wonderfully friendly people and, believe it or not, visited wineries in several states. And we learned that our own Finger Lakes Wine region is well known to winemakers across America.

My sister, who lives in Wisconsin, took us to a winery in Prairie du Sac southwest of Madison. We tasted a very nice Seyval Blanc called Prairie Fume’. The guide explained that the grapes are custom grown for the winery in a place in New York called The Finger Lakes.

In South Dakota, just outside Rapid City is a winery called Prairie Berry. Their buffalo berry wine was interesting…still not sure what a buffalo berry is…but the Red Ass Rhubarb tasted just like rhubarb pie. We asked how they make it and the guide explained that they grow the rhubarb at the winery then ship it to New York State’s Finger Lakes to be pressed into juice. She wondered if we’d ever heard of the Finger Lakes. We had to admit it sounded familiar.

We tried Cabernet in Arizona, red blends in Texas, even a pistachio wine in New Mexico! Everywhere we went, wine people were interested in showing off their products and in hearing about our own area. We found that many of our local wineries and wine-making pioneers are well known to winemakers across the country. How nice to know that wines are just one more thing that brings Americans together!