If you want more than just tastings and cheese plates, these Finger Lakes wineries with restaurants serve food that's actually worth sitting down for.
The Finger Lakes wine country in upstate New York is one of those places that sneaks up on you. You go expecting to sip some Riesling, maybe take in the views of Seneca Lake, and then suddenly it is four in the afternoon, and you have not eaten since breakfast. If you have ever done a wine tour anywhere, you know exactly what I mean.
There are three big lakes to know here. Seneca and Cayuga get most of the attention, but Keuka Lake holds its own. Between them are enough wineries for dozens of visits. You could return to the Finger Lakes for years and still not see them all. The good news is that more wineries now serve proper food. You no longer have to choose between good wine and a real meal. Some of the kitchens here actually know the farmers by name.
These are the spots that keep coming up for both their wines and their on-site food. Some lean into farm-to-table cooking with local and seasonal ingredients. Some bring an entirely different part of the world to the shoreline. A few have been doing this long enough to have figured out exactly what works, and the FLX, as locals call it, is better for them.
Of course, if you are turning your wine tasting into a full getaway, you will need a great place to rest after all those amazing meals and pours. If you want to wake up right next to the vineyards, check out my guide to the best Finger Lakes wineries with lodging.
Prefer having your own space to unwind? I have also rounded up some incredible Finger Lakes vacation rentals that are perfect for groups. Or, if you are looking to add a little luxury and pampering to your itinerary, you will definitely want to read my full Skaneateles Fields Resort & Spa review.
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Whether you are planning a trip to the Finger Lakes region, a full weekend in upstate New York, or just trying to figure out where to eat lunch on a Tuesday, this list of the best Finger Lakes wineries with restaurants is meant to help.
8 Best Finger Lakes Wineries with Restaurants
Red Newt Cellars & Bistro
Location: 3675 Tichenor Road, Hector, NY
The Red Newt Cellars winery has been at the leading edge of the Finger Lakes scene for almost 30 years, founded in 1998 and known for outstanding pours and a pioneering spirit.
The bistro in Hector opened its doors in 1999, and founding chef Debra Whiting was a leader in the burgeoning farm-to-table movement. That tradition has held up well.
Today, the kitchen keeps a small, focused menu that changes with what is growing nearby, using local ingredients sourced from the area around the property.
The bottles are made with food in mind first, and because of that connection to the restaurant, there is a strong focus on wines that are especially food-friendly. Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Cabernet Franc are the ones worth trying, and they pour beautifully alongside whatever the kitchen is doing that week.
The tasting room sits right next to the dining room, so you can work your way through a flight and then walk over for lunch without losing your seat.
The full lunch menu is served Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 AM to 4 PM, and a light fare menu is available every day. The vibe is relaxed and welcoming, and it is the kind of place where you could easily spend two hours without noticing.
Good to know: Walk-ins are welcome, and reservations are available for those who want to plan ahead.
Glenora Wine Cellars & Veraisons Restaurant
Location: 5435 NY-14, Dundee
Glenora is the oldest winery on the lake, having opened in 1977. That kind of history gives a place quite authority, and the owners have used the time well.
Today, the estate is home to a 30-room inn and Veraisons Restaurant on 40 beautifully groomed acres.
Veraisons is the name that keeps coming up when people talk about the best Finger Lakes restaurants, and for good reason.
Named one of America's best winery restaurants by both Food & Wine magazine and USA Today's 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards, the restaurant offers seasonal regional cuisine with a focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients, and the menu changes through the year. They source from farms across the FLX and throughout New York State.
The dining room seats 150 and has cherry trim, cathedral ceilings, a stone fireplace, and tall windows overlooking the vines and the water.
The large deck makes the whole thing even better in warmer months. The list runs the gamut from dry whites to sparkling to dessert wines. If you want to make a full weekend of it, staying at the inn and walking to dinner is about as good as it gets.
Good to know: Open all year for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Reservations recommended, especially on weekends. Located about 10 minutes north of Watkins Glen.
Wagner Vineyards & The Ginny Lee Cafe
Location: 9322 NY-414, Lodi, NY
Wagner Vineyards Estate Winery is one of the oldest and most recognized in the region, sitting on the eastern shore and open since 1979.
Family-owned and operated, the fourth- and fifth-generation Wagners are still in the rows and in the cellar, and they also run a craft brewery on the same property. Between the wine and the beer tastings, there is something here for everyone in your group.
The Ginny Lee offers a good selection of food made with the freshest local fruits and vegetables, and the menus are designed to go with the estate pours and the craft beers from Wagner Valley Brewing Co.
With a view overlooking the vines and the lake, it is the kind of place where a casual lunch becomes something more. The eatery is named after Virginia "Ginny" Lee, the granddaughter of founder Bill Wagner, who now manages the restaurant and events herself.
There is something warm about eating at a place named for someone who is still there running the room. The patio has some of the best panoramic views on the east side of the lake, and on a clear day, you can see all the way across the water.
Good to know: Lunch is served daily from May through October. Reservations are recommended for groups. The winery stays open through every season.
Ventosa Vineyards & Cafe Toscana
Location: 3440 Route 96A, Geneva, NY
Not every place here reaches for the same local-and-seasonal formula, and Ventosa is a good example of what happens when someone brings a completely different tradition to the shore.
The Mediterranean roots of this vineyard date back to owner Lenny Cecere's grandfather, who came to Geneva, New York, from Italy, and that family heritage runs through everything.
Ventosa specializes in Italian varieties not typically found in the area, such as Tocai Friulano and Sangiovese, as well as dry, old-world-style reds, and the winery produces a Lemberger that earned the New York Governor's Cup for best wine in the state.
The on-site Cafe Toscana serves Italian panini, wraps, homemade soups, pizzas, and more, from 11 AM to 5 PM.
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The terrace looks out over the rows and the lake, and on a warm evening with a glass of Saggio and a wood-fired pizza in front of you, it feels like a different country.
Live music most Wednesday evenings makes it even better and gives you a good excuse to sit at the bar a little longer.
Good to know: Since it is a natural first stop when coming from the north, it is great to know that Cafe Toscana is open seven days a week. While the terrace is seasonal, they serve lunch daily— even throughout the winter.
Knapp Winery & Field and Vine Restaurant
Location: 2770 Ernsberger Road, Romulus, NY
Cayuga Lake gets overshadowed in most Finger Lakes conversations, but it should not, and Knapp is one of the reasons why.
Knapp planted some of the first vinifera grapes along this shore and was the first in the appellation to make wine from Cabernet Franc. Today, the labels run from white grapes to Saperavi and Blaufränkisch, with the Blaufränkisch winning Best in Class at the 2022 Governor's Cup.
Field and Vine offers farm-inspired, locally sourced dishes with a view of the rows. When it first opened as the Knapp Vineyard Restaurant in 1991, the mission was to showcase the region's wines through good food.
Today, the mission is the same. Open seasonally, it offers lunch, dinner, and prix-fixe menus, all meant to go with a glass of Knapp.
The patio view is the kind of thing you take a lot of photos of, and then realize you forgot to eat because you were too busy looking at the water. Afterward, Taughannock Falls is conveniently a short drive away if you want to stretch your legs.
Good to know: Field and Vine is open seasonally. The tasting room keeps regular hours all year. Located about 30 minutes from Ithaca.
Thirsty Owl Wine Company & Bistro
Location: 6799 Elm Beach Road, Ovid, NY
A few miles north of Knapp, Thirsty Owl manages to be both casual and impressive. It opened in 2002, is owned and operated by the Cupp family, and sits on 150 acres with about 41 acres of plantings. They use 100% Finger Lakes fruit, 85% of which is estate-grown, sustainably farmed, and solar-powered.
The winery offers excellent wines and has won many awards over the years, including the Governor's Cup and the John Rose Award for its Rieslings, as well as Best in Class for Pinot Gris at the 2024 New York Wine Classic.
The tasting room looks out over the water with rows running down toward it, and the setting alone makes it worth the visit.
The kitchen follows a tradition of fresh, seasonal dishes in the spirit of wine-friendly cooking, served from the open-air patio and lawn with breathtaking views.
To top it off, it is also one of the few spots you can reach by boat, which feels like exactly the right way to show up for lunch and a glass of Pinot Gris.
Good to know: Open seasonally, Friday through Monday from 11:30 AM to 5 PM. Seating is first-come, first-served. The tasting room is open year-round, seven days a week. Boat docking is available.
Fox Run Vineyards & The Cafe
Location: 670 State Route 14, Penn Yan, NY
Fox Run is one of those places that feels like they have always been there, which is not far from the truth.
The family has been making estate wines since 1989, and the goal here is to keep the wines approachable for everyone, no matter where they are on the wine-experience spectrum. Beyond the wine itself, the estate runs on solar power and truly cares about the land it sits on.
The cafe has a fully house-made menu put together by head chef Brud Holland, whose years in the region show in a lineup of the finest local ingredients from the best nearby producers, with products from Muranda Cheese, Bostrom Farms, Stony Brook Wholehearted Foods, and more.
Everything is made in-house, from sandwiches and salads to flatbread pizzas and cheeseboards.
You can eat on the lake-view deck or out on the patio and lawn; seating is first-come, first-served with no reservations needed.
In short, it is a casual, easy spot for lunch when you need to sit down, eat something good, and look out over the water before you decide where to go next.
Good to know: The cafe is open seasonally, April through December, daily from 11 AM to 5 PM. The tasting room is open year-round, Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM.
Sheldrake Point Winery & Garden Bistro
Location: 7448 County Road 153, Ovid, NY
Sheldrake Point sits on a quieter, more tucked-away stretch of shore than most stops on the trail, which is part of what makes it worth seeking out.
It was founded in 1997 on a 55-acre former orchard and dairy farm, and today the estate works 60 acres of vines planted to ten classic vinifera varieties, producing about 8,500 cases a year.
Guests can taste an award-winning lineup that includes a dry rosé, world-class ice wine, and a wide selection of whites and reds. The rosé in particular has a devoted following and tends to sell out quickly.
The Garden Bistro serves seasonal light fare, shareable snacks, and fresh flatbreads, a natural place to settle in for a casual pairing with a flight or a glass over the water.
You can also arrive by boat, with dock space for boats up to 35 feet. The grounds are picturesque, the pours are consistently good, and the food keeps things relaxed without feeling like an afterthought.
Good to know: While the kitchen is seasonal, the tasting room welcomes visitors all year. Additionally, boat docking is available, though groups of more than six should make sure to call ahead.
A Few More Names Worth Knowing
If you have time for more than this list, the FLX rewards a little wandering.
On Keuka Lake, the Dr. Konstantin Frank winery is a legend, with a rooftop terrace for cheese and pours above the bluff.
Back on the west side of Seneca Lake, Hermann J. Wiemer is the name serious people bring up first. Standing Stone and Kemmeter Wines are both small, rustic stops with loyal followings.
For something different, the F.L.X. Wienery near Dundee does a chef-driven take on the humble hot dog. While the region lost a true original when Dano's closed in 2024 after decades of Austrian cooking on the lake, but the spirit it helped build is still everywhere you look.
Where Good Food Meets Great Views
The Finger Lakes reward people who slow down. After all, the best days are not spent racing from winery to winery, but rather lingering over a good meal with a glass of local wine and a view of the water. Fortunately, all eight of these spots make that easy.
What sets the region apart is its commitment to local ingredients and regional cooking. The chefs know the farmers, and the winemakers know the land. At places like Veraisons, Red Newt, and Field and Vine, the food feels as connected to the Finger Lakes as the wine itself.
When planning your trip, pick a lake, choose a few stops, and make sure one includes a proper meal, because a few extra hours spent over lunch by the water is often the best part of the day.
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