With over 100 vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms, Finger Lakes is New York’s premier wine producing region. Celebrate its vintages at the 2016 Finger Lakes Festival, July 15 to July 17, at the renowned Watkins Glen International racetrack in Watkins Glen, New York. With over 90 wineries, 600 wines, regional artisans and breweries in attendance, the festival will be the ultimate one-stop shop for finding a new favorite vino and adding to your collection. Don’t forget to bring a few bottles onboard for the flight back home in your chartered jet.
Finger Lakes Wine Festival Features
Yancey’s Fancy Launch of the Lakes
The Finger Lakes Festival kicks off on Friday, July 15, 2016 with the much-anticipated twilight toga party, Yancey’s Fancy Launch of the Lakes, which begins at 5:00 p.m. The event allows you to sample some of vintages you’ll find during the weekend, as well artisan cheeses by Yancey’s Fancy. Participate in the costume contest and toga parade, listen to live music, and enjoy the fireworks at dusk. (Tickets: $20)
Great Western Breakfast
Start Saturday and Sunday the right way with a hearty breakfast at the track’s Glen Club. Breakfast includes a buffet with all your favorites, including an omelet station, mimosas on Saturday and champagne on Sunday. (Tickets: $30)
Taster’s Banquet
The most anticipated dinner event of the summer, the Taster’s Banquet on Saturday, July 16, 2016 is a four-course casual dining experience for those who are 21 and older. After an open bar and a welcome from the track’s president, sample wines that pair well with the meal and chat with the wine connoisseur at your table. (Tickets: $65)
Wine Seminars
Participate in tasting courses where you’ll learn how growing practices, winemaking techniques and grape types influence how wine tastes. Then sample wine varieties. Paid seminars pair the wines with delicious food. Seminar topics include dry red wines, sparkling wines, hybrid grapes, chardonnay and cheese, and single vineyard Rieslings. (Tickets: $0 to $30)
Art Demonstrations
Complimentary outdoor demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday will astound and delight. Watch aerial acrobatics artists push the limits of the human body, an African dance ensemble, and the Ice Farm’s world-famous ice carving show.
Cooking Demonstrations
Make your way to the Media Center’s second floor to expand your culinary skills with complimentary cooking demonstrations. Saturday events include three-grain porridge with berries and honey, smoked trout cakes with a tangy remoulade, and homemade ricotta with sweet potato gnocchi. The demonstrations on Sunday comprise of buckwheat pancakes with apple butter and whipped cream, Korean barbecue tacos, and barley arancini with black bean hummus.
Area Accommodations
Idlwilde Inn
Idlwilde Inn is a bed and breakfast in a Victorian mansion built in 1892. Its 18 charming rooms have modern upgrades and are pet-friendly. Book the Master Suite or Room 6 for their private baths and spaciousness.
Apex Inn
A bed and breakfast in Watkins Glenn, the Apex Inn is just steps away from the track. The converted 1847 farmhouse has contemporary upgrades and race car themed rooms with their own private bathrooms. For a view of the festivities, book the Turn 1 room.
