The Finger Lakes has been the center of the New York wine industry since the Civil War. We are the home of Pleasant Valley Wine Company, America’s first bonded winery, established over 140 years ago. Grape growing and wine production date back to the 1820’s.
One of the best-known pieces of our history is a source of great pride to this day, when despite much initial skepticism, Charles Fournier and Dr. Konstantin Frank foraged ahead and were the leaders of the “vinifera revolution” more than 30 years ago. Fournier, a French champagne maker, and Frank, a European immigrant, collaborated on their first vinifera vintages grown in vineyards along Keuka Lake. They strongly believed that they could show the world that old-world grapes could thrive and produce world-class wines here once the proper rootstock was established. In time, that’s exactly what they did. The effects of the “vinifera revolution” were strongly felt as the movement spread to New York’s other wine regions and throughout the East.
In 1976, the New York State Legislature passed the Farm Winery Act, making it economically feasible for farmers to establish small wineries, because it allowed them to sell directly to consumers, liquor stores, and restaurants, instead of via a wholesaler or distributor. Larger wineries disappeared and the small wineries here began to grow and thrive.
Today, there are well over 100 wineries in the Finger Lakes region and our reputation for producing world-class wines is growing. Many wine publications have determined that the most important vineyards for wine production in the eastern United State are found right here.