There is so much to be thankful for, family, friends and all that life has to offer. With Thanksgiving fast approaching which wine will pair well with that holiday dinner.  True to form the best wine is the wine you like the best but there's always some delectable favorites that can't go unforgotten. Try our two most popular Cranberry wines on the trail, Montezuma's Cranberry Bog and Cayuga Ridge's Cranberry Essence and Cranberry Frost. For something a little bit different try Bellwether's Black Magic.  White wines are always a crowd pleaser so try your Turkey dinner with a Riesling, A Cayuga White or even a Vidal Blanc.   

The scent of gingerbread cookies and the hustle and bustle of the holiday shopping frenzy is almost upon us. Here on the Cayuga Lake Wine Tail we can not only help you with all of your shopping dilemmas for the perfect gift but at the same time make sure your having an outstanding time enjoying fine wines and delectable treats. Join us for our 19th Annual Holiday Shopping Spree on November 16th through the 18th or the weekend of November 30th through December 2nd. 

Receive a souvenir wine glass, grapevine wreath, a specialized wooden ornament from each of the sixteen wineries, wine and food pairings plus holiday recipes. A unique offer to our Holiday customers is our event weekend shoppers' card where you can save $5.00 off a $35.00 wine purchase at each winery to take care of that shopping frenzy.

"The ornaments this year are cute wooden handmade Christmas designs produced by George Perziel of Laser Arts Design" says Executive Director Cathy Millspaugh of the trail. At every event we highlight wine and food pairings plus recipes and this year is no exception.  Cobblestone Farm Winery will be tempting your sweet tooth with Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cake. Another sweet concoction can be found at Goose Watch Winery where they'll be serving their Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip. For all you soup lovers we have a few to offer this year. One of them will served by  Knapp Winery and Vineyard Restaurant, Mushroom Merlot".

Another great added feature to our events is our Special Event Packages 

 read on...

Participants are eligible to win one of our five Grand Prizes by turning in their ticket at the end of the event:  

Grand Prizes:

•  Corning Museum of Glass--Hand Blown Ornament  
•  Holiday Inn-Finger Lakes in Auburn- one night stay
•  Through the Grapevine Bed and Breakfast -one night  stay
• Barrister's Bed and Breakfast -one night stay
• Cayuga Lake Wine Trail  Season Pass 2013 

This event sells out quickly, so reserve your tickets today! Advance tickets: Single ticket $35.00, a Couple ticket $50.00 plus handling fee and sales tax. Designated Driver tickets are available plus tickets at the door as long as the event does not sell out.  

For information and tickets, call: 800-684-5217, log onto www.cayugawinetrail.com or purchase at any Wegmans Store.

Hosted at Fabio's Restaurant located at 179 Homer Ave., Cortland.  

Start with hors d'oeuvres at 2:30pm followed by dinner at 3:30pm. $85.00 per person all inclusive. Purchase your tickets at 315-364-6990 or email at mail@longpointwinery.com   

Wine by Long Point Winery. 

Menu: 

2011 Vidal Blanc or 2009 Merlot

2011 Pinot Grigio or 2010 Semi-Dry Riesling

2010 Sangiovese or 2008 Syrah

2011 Dry Riesling or 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

2011 Moon Puppy

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The following is a short synopsis of Emily Brol's wine adventure on a few Cayuga Lake wineries during the first week in October.  Emily was this year's winner of the WInemaker for a Week Contest.

I had a great week learning about the life of a wine maker.

Monday and Tuesday (morning) I was welcomed by Gary the winemaker from Long Point winery. I learned the basics of the fermentation process of red wine as well as assisting in raking tons (literally tons, 8 tons to be exact) of Zinfandel grapes into the crusher/de-stemmer which pumped out a sloppy grape and juice mixture into 8 fermentation bins which would be created into wine several days later. I also got the grand tour through the vineyard where we tested the Riesling's sugar and pH levels to determine whether or not it was ready to come off the vine.

Tuesday and Friday afternoon I arrived at the Bet the Farm storefront located opposite Cayuga lake with a stupendous view. Kit and Ed walked me through the tasting process as well as sales of wine. I learned the S's of a successful wine tasting as well as some neat tricks to determine the age of a wine as well as its quality. Friday Stephanie, a taster from Six Mile Creek also visited and we did a dual tasting in the shop.

Wednesday I headed the opposite direction to Six Mile Creek Vineyard and Distillery in Ithaca. I began with picking some of the Vidal for crushing and de-stemming in the vineyard. Later in the afternoon Paul, the winemaker and distilling expert, gave me hands on experience distilling extra wine (or any fermented product really it just needs sugar to break down) to extract the ethanol which would later be turned in to vodka, gin, limoncella or orangecello. 

Thursday and Friday (morning) I went to King Ferry Winery bright and early. I toured their much larger vineyard and collected stem samples for a nutrition study Cornell University was doing on the vines. In the late morning I met with Lindsay the winemaker. A lot was going on at the winery that day. Everything from floating the Riesling from one cooling tank to another, to doing fermentation chemistry on 12 different tanks/bins of wine to check the temperature and sugar levels. The following morning (Friday) we crushed and de-stemmed approximately 4 tons of Riesling which was immediately pumped in to the press. The press literally presses the juice out of the skins and pumps it in to a giant holding tank.

Overall the trip was great, everyone was welcoming and energetic. I learned a lot about wine; everything from how the grapes are grown in the vineyard to how the bottles are sold off the shelves.

We would like to Thank Emily for a such a vivid recollection of her visit. 

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