Our voyage to New York was about a four hour drive and we made several stops along the way, including this overlook off the highway. The views of Pennsylvania's farmland and natural physical features were breathtaking.
Fred's 40th birthday was on Saturday and since the Finger Lakes was one of our first trips together, we decided this destination would make a nice getaway for us to celebrate his special day.
In my opinion, Twizzlers are the perfect travel companion...plus my husband.
Our first stop was the Fruityard, a winery that focuses on fruit wine. A few years ago, we visited here because our friend made fruit wine and he urged us to stop. Ever since, the Fruityard has been penciled in on our list. I love their cranberry wine, which is perfect for the Thanksgiving table.
Second stop...Hermann J. Wiemer, our favorite. The vineyards that are situated on the Finger Lakes are particularly known for their white wines, specifically Riesling, and this winery's whites are second to none. They are pricier than most, but well worth it. Every year, we save a few bottles for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The best part...we had the same pourer as we did the last time we visited.
Along the way up the western side of Senecca Lake was Prejean Winery. Fred remembered them to have a very good Gewurztraminer, so we stopped on a whim. This detour ended up being my favorite stop of the day! We were pleasantly surprised with their wines and left with several bottles in hand. Prejean has been around a while, and I am sure it will be a stop on our future trips.
This sign was a little disappointing to Fred since he was a freshman in college at that time.
The grape vines were beginning to dry out in time to be pruned for the winter.
From a recommendation, we stopped at a newer winery called Billsboro. The winery itself was gorgeous, but we decided not to purchase anything since we like the taste of wines fermented in oak barrels. Most of their wines were fermented in steel.
Our final stop of the day was another favorite, Keuka Lake Vineyard. This winery is situated on the smallest lake in this region and they produce amazing wine, including Leon Millot Reserve, a dry red.
We got to talking to the pourer who presented us with a recommendation for dinner. She is the bar manager at the Esperanza Mansion, an exquisite hotel and restaurant at the tip of Keuka Lake. Since time was on our side, we took her suggestion and we weren't disappointed. It was gorgeous!
The view from the top of Keuka Lake...
After a long, but relaxing day, we drove about an hour south to Fred's cabin just outside of Williamsport, PA. One of the members left us a roaring fire and the end of our day looked like this...
Needless to say, Fred enjoyed his birthday excursion and so did I!
Looks really pretty there! Happy birthday to Fred!
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