Almost every year, my family and I plan a trip to the Finger Lakes in New York. The area is gorgeous with vibrant, lush scenery surrounding each lake. Our trips are planned around the local wineries’ weekend festivals. Every year we choose a new lake to meander and attempt to try all the wines in that area.

Depending on the weekend, the wineries get together to plan tasting events that include small pairings of what they think goes best with the wine they want us to sample. Some locations will do a traditional cheese, chocolate and cracker platter, while others go more sophisticated, offering beef stew cooked with their port wine or duck sliders with a wine-infused sauce on homemade buns. Each delicious pairing keeps us full as we snack our way through the map of the participating wineries.

Around the holiday season, the food and wine pairing events also include a small souvenir. In 2016 each winery gave out Christmas ornaments which you would attach to a wreath given to you at your first winery. By the end, if you went to each of the wineries on the tour, you had a cute holiday decoration you could display in your home. It also made a great conversation piece for the holiday parties we hosted that year. My mother and I asked for spare corks from each place we visited so we could make crafts with them once we arrived back home. The wineries were more than happy to give used corks away, and we left with bags full.

If you are thinking about attending one of the wine and food events, book ahead. The weekend festivals sell out quickly, and sometimes prices increase as the dates near.
For tickets or more information, you can go to http://www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com/

— Audrey Lee, intern