Finger Lakes wine tastings in the age of COVID-19

What's it like to do a wine tasting in the time of COVID-19? We'd been wondering that for a couple weeks, since wineries were given the go-ahead to operate somewhat as usual as part of the third phase of reopening in New York State. So on a sunny and breezy Sunday, we set out for the Finger Lakes to see for ourselves.

 

In a word, the experience is different.

Gone are the days, at least for now, of driving down the road with no set agenda and dropping in on a whim. Also missing is the convivial atmosphere that comes with crowding around a tasting room bar and chatting with other visitors. Depending on where you visit, the experience feels ordered and somewhat sterile. It's understandable. Like restaurants, wineries are walking the line of keeping both their guests and their employees safe. The new protocols are there for a reason.

Some things worth noting:

• Some wineries continue to be open strictly for curbside pickup of wine and take-out beverages.

• Reservations are required at many places.

• Group visits are limited to six people maximum per party -- so there aren't a lot of tour buses and limousines on the road. Parties of two or four are preferred.

•  Some wineries conduct tastings outside, so be attuned to the weather. Others have spaced out their tasting rooms for physical distancing between guests and added Plexiglass shields as a buffer between guests and tasting room staff.

• Masks are required for entry and any time you are not standing or seated for a tasting (or dining).

• Don't leave home without doing some legwork to make sure the winery or wineries you want to visit have reopened for visitors and so you know in advance how the wineries you'd like to visit are handling tastings at this time. 

We visited three wineries on the east side of Seneca Lake to sample wines and to get a feel for the current normal. We intentionally selected three spots within several miles of each other and allowed plenty of time at each venue. Most places that require reservations will hold your spot for 15 minutes. 

 

Boundary Breaks

At Boundary Breaks, a truly off-the-beaten path winery in Lodi, co-owners Bruce Murray and Diana Lyttle have added a series of 12-by-12-foot patios overlooking the vineyards and lake and all tastings take place outside. Reservations aren't required at this time for the seated tastings (11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily). Visitors check in with an attendant, pay for tastings ($10 per person for five two-ounce pours) and are seated at one of the patios, which are outfitted with Adirondack-style chairs, a table and umbrellas. A server brings single-use slips of paper from which you select your wines. Our server returned a few minutes later with a bottle of water and our selections, served "flight" style rather than poured individually. She checked in on us at regular intervals, answered questions, and arranged for our purchases -- thereby minimizing interactions and contact.

 

 

We had the place almost to ourselves at 11:30 a.m. on a gorgeous, 80-degree day, but the patios were filling up as we left. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting and a more knowledgeable yet relaxed tasting experience. Some guests ordered a bottle of wine and stayed to enjoy the grounds and scenery.

Tip: Boundary Breaks is known for its complex Rieslings, but be sure to try the unusually deep-colored (and full bodied) dry rose, made from DeChaunac grapes, a hybrid that does well in cool climates like ours.

 

Wagner Vineyards Estate Winery

We're grateful to Wagner Vineyards Estate Winery for getting us in for a tasting -- I entered the wrong date for our visit on the online reservation system and they were looking for us on Saturday. Major oops.

 

Tastings ($8 per person) take place in the tasting room, which has been retrofitted with Plexiglass to separate servers and visitors. Guests are spaced out six feet or more throughout the room. Masks are required any time you are not seated for food or wine/beer consumption or taking part in a tasting. (The winery has a restaurant, the Ginny Lee Cafe, and plenty of picnic tables are available outside for visitors to enjoy wine by the bottle or glass).

 

Wagner, in Lodi, is one of the oldest and largest wineries in the region, with a portfolio of 30 wines, including five Rieslings, a sparkling Riesling, Gewurztraminer, three Chardonnays (including one unoaked), Cabernet Franc, dry Rose of Cabernet Franc -- the list goes on. Two people with five different tasting selections can sample a nice range of the offerings. We left with a couple whites and a couple bottles of the dry Rose, a perfect summertime sipper. Tasting glasses are tucked in brown paper bags and sent home with you.

 

Atwater Estate Vineyards

 

Tastings by appointment for parties of one to four are available 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at Atwater Estate Vineyards, in Burdett, about eight miles north of Watkins Glen. Atwater uses Tock, an online reservations system. Tastings are $10 per person.

 

 

One masked employee greeted us, checked off our reservation and pointed out a hand sanitizer station. Another masked employee asked several COVID-19-related screening questions and led us to a highboy table in the tasting room. Our server was energetic and enthusiastic about the wines and accurately called two that turned out to be favorites: Bubble (a dry sparkling Riesling) and the pretty-in-pink dry Rose Blaufrankisch.

 

Three months of life spent mostly in isolation makes simple pleasures like taking a leisurely drive in the country and visiting a winery feel huge -- and extra special. I'm looking forward to spending more time in the special place that is the Finger Lakes this summer.