🍷Meet New York’s Winery of the Year — And Why It’s Personal

Ithaca, New York, holds a very special place in my heart — some of the best years of my life were spent there, and as a proud member of the Cornell Class of ’99, those days in the Finger Lakes shaped me in ways I’m still unpacking decades later.

One of those ways? Wine.

I took a wine tasting course that was, without question, one of the hardest classes on my entire transcript — and I say that with complete sincerity. Hard in two very specific ways: first, the sheer memorization — grape varieties, regions, appellations, producers, vintages — honestly rivaling organic chemistry for the amount of information you had to hold in your head at any given time. And second, learning to find precise language for something as elusive as flavor and aroma. To sit with a glass, quiet your brain, and articulate why something smells like wet slate versus white peach — whether the acidity is electric or soft, whether the finish is long or abrupt. At that point in my life, the entire vocabulary of serious wine was completely beyond my scope. And the Finger Lakes wines we were tasting were young, earnest, and still finding their own voice, too.

Turns out, we were all just getting started.

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From Regional Curiosity to Wine Region of the Year

Back in the mid-to-late ’90s, the Finger Lakes were charming but under the radar — mostly known for Riesling, not yet taken seriously by the wider wine world. Fast forward to today: the region spans 10,000+ vineyard acres, New York State boasts a $6.5 billion wine industry with over 450 wineries, and in 2025, Wine Enthusiast named the Finger Lakes American Wine Region of the Year.

That recognition would have seemed wildly ambitious back when I was struggling to describe an off-dry Riesling in a classroom in Ithaca. The region grew up. Beautifully.

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Weis Vineyards: Three-Time New York State Winery of the Year

Of all the producers now working in the Finger Lakes, one name has risen to the very top — and it didn’t exist when I was there.

Weis Vineyards, on the eastern shore of Keuka Lake, has been named New York State Winery of the Year three times — 2022, 2024, and 2025 — by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. At this year’s competition, nearly 700 wines from 100+ wineries were entered. Weis didn’t just win. They dominated.

The story behind the wine is just as good. Founded by Hans Peter Weis — a native of Germany’s Mosel wine region who discovered that Keuka Lake’s soil and climate eerily mirrored home — and his wife Ashlee, a Hammondsport native. Peter cut his teeth at the legendary Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery before striking out on his own. First vintage: 2016. Tasting room open: 2017. Winery of the Year: six years later. Not bad.

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What to Drink — And What to Pay

🍷 Riesling — The flagship. Ranges from bone dry to gently sweet, all with Peter’s signature Mosel-style precision: electric acidity, mineral backbone, completely addictive. Approx. $20–$28/bottle.

🍷 2024 Grüner Veltliner — Best White Wine, 2025 NY Wine Classic. Crisp lemon-lime brightness with a savory, peppery finish. A serious wine for people who think they don’t like white wine. Approx. $22–$30/bottle.

🌸 2024 Dry Rosé — Best Pink Wine, 2025 NY Wine Classic. Summer in a glass. Full stop. Approx. $18–$24/bottle.

🍷 Cabernet Franc — Velvety, structured, and elegant in that unmistakable cool-climate way. Perfect for red wine lovers. Approx. $28–$38/bottle.

🍯 One Eighty Three — A port-style dessert wine for slow, golden afternoons. The kind of thing you sip once and think about for a week. Approx. $30–$40/bottle.

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Where to Find Weis Wines

• Visit: 10014 Day Road, Hammondsport, NY — on the shores of Keuka Lake
• Order online: weisvineyards.com
• Wine club: Available directly through their site — worth it for limited releases
• Finger Lakes Wine Alliance directory: fingerlakeswinealliance.com

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I think about that wine tasting class more than people might expect. We were tasting from a region that had no idea it was about to become one of America’s great wine stories. The Finger Lakes saw it coming before the rest of the world did.

Some things just take time to become what they were always meant to be 🤓

Here for you, always!
Your Real Estate JED.i 🥷