Virtual Sommelier Experiences

Join Certified Sommelier, owner of Experience! The Finger Lakes, and Wine Instructor, Laura Winter Falk, PhD, as she guides you through a virtual pairing experience with Finger Lakes wines, local cheeses, and charcuterie right in your home. Through a collaboration with Marketview Liquor, Finger Lakes Artisan Foods, and regional wineries, artisan cheesemakers, and food producers, we provide virtual experiences with themed Wine and Cheese or Wine, Cheese and Charcuterie delivered directly to your door.

Each kit contains three full bottles of wine or craft beverages and three food pairings, more than enough sipping and eating for 2-4 people. The number of wines and pairings is customizable based on your budget and interest, and additional accoutrements can be added for an enhanced experience. Create a special event for family and friends featuring a sommelier-curated wine and food pairing zoom presentation that will showcase the magic of pairing with intention.

Private virtual wine pairings can be scheduled online for Fridays, or via phone for any day of the week based on availability.

Important Info:

$35 – $40 shipping available for most Northeastern states
We can NOT ship to AL, AK, AR, HI, MI, MS, SD, UT (for these states our Sommelier could make locally available recommendations as alternatives)
Please allow at least 14 days for your kit to arrive (additional days for shipping to Texas)
If you are local to the Rochester area, you may arrange to pick up your virtual pairing kit directly from Marketview Liquor

a bottle of wine sitting on top of a wooden table

Finger Lakes virtual wine and cheese pairing

Examples of Previous Virtual Experiences:

The Three Lakes

The Three Lakes Virtual Wine & Cheese Pairing Experience explores wines from the three main wine-producing Finger Lakes: Cayuga, Seneca, and Keuka. A wine from each lake was selected to pair with locally-crafted cheeses by Lively Run Farm and Creamery. Featured pairings of this kit included:

Treleaven Wines Semi-Dry Riesling paired with Chevre and Ithaca Honey Works honey

Lakewood Vineyards Chardonnay paired with Seneca Moon Brie

Heron Hill Winery Cabernet Franc paired with Shire Beer Cheese and local Knapp Farm Brambleberry jam

Tres Colores

The Tres Colores Virtual Wine & Cheese Pairing Experience explores white, red, and rose’ wines from three Finger Lakes wine producers. A wine from each producer was carefully selected to pair with locally-crafted cheeses by Lively Run Farm and Creamery. Featured pairings of this kit included:

Dr. Konstantin Frank Rkatsiteli paired with Lively Run Chevre’ and F. Olivers Pineapple Vinegar

Sheldrake Point Winery Dry Rose’ paired with Lively Run Gorge Trail Gouda with F. Oliver’s Tuscan Herb Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Bright Leaf Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Lively Run Finger Lakes Gold Reserve

New York Gold

Our New York Gold Virtual Wine, Cheese, and Charcuterie Pairing Experience explores three Finger Lakes wines that were recent Gold Medal winners in the 2021 New York Wine Classic competition. Be some of the first to taste these award-winning wines. We have selected each wine for its quality and story and then carefully pair it with locally-crafted foods. Discover the magic, science, and art behind wine and food pairing. Featured pairings of this kit included:

Dr. Konstantin Frank 2019 Gruner Veltliner paired with First Light Creamery Chevre with Honey

Bright Leaf Vineyard NV Reserve Blend #1 with Lively Run Finger Lakes Gold cheese

Goose Watch Winery 2015 Merlot with Battistoni Italian Salami

Amazing New York Gold Kit!

We had a wonderful private virtual wine and cheese tasting with Experience! The Finger Lakes! The planning and delivery of the kits went seamlessly. Our crash course with sommelier Laura Winter Falk was so fun and educational for these wine and food lovers! The wines and cheeses were delicious - well-deserving of their gold medals. We will definitely recommend this experience and these wines to our family and friends. 10/10!

– Sarah

An Enjoyable and Tasty Experience!

We participated in the virtual "New Frontiers" Finger Lakes Wine & Cheese Experience, led by Laura. We received the wine - two reds and one white, three cheeses, and one jar of preserves well ahead of the event. Laura's team checked in with us several times between our registration and the event to make sure we had received our supplies correctly and we had the appropriate information to prepare to have an enjoyable event. Laura was a superb virtual guide, posing questions to get the group thinking and talking, answering questions we had, and providing a wealth of information about Finger Lakes wines and cheeses. The virtual session accommodated participants throughout the US and even in the UK. The size of the group was ideal -- we all fit on the Zoom screen. The technology, including interactive polling, worked seamlessly. A truly enjoyable evening and the pairings were tasty! This was our third event with Experience! Finger Lakes, second virtual. We will be back for more!

– Barbara

Special Valentine's Day Pairings

Valentine’s Day wine and cheese tasting was really great. We tried (and loved!) wine and cheese we never would have been exposed to, and Laura’s way of walking us through the pairings helped us to find aromas and flavors we wouldn’t have been aware of. Will definitely do another. And then probably another after that.

– Alicia

Loved the Tres Colores Pairings

We attended a virtual wine pairing which was a gift from our son. We couldn't have enjoyed it more unless we were in person! We found our Host, Laura to be engaging, knowledgeable, and perfectly suited to conduct such an event. We chose the Tres Colores pairing and found the wines delightful. We will be looking to find them locally. The big surprises, which highlight Laura's skill, were the pairings of cheeses, oil, and vinegar with the wines. We truly walked away feeling we had learned something new!

– Elise

Fun and Informative "Double Date"!

My boyfriend and I recently had a "double date" with friends without having to leave the house! Laura, the owner of Experience the Finger Lakes, sent us three different wines, three cheeses to pair with them, and two spreads to complete the set. We all meet up on Zoom and she walked us through the tasting notes for each wine, and then explained how food pairings change the way we experience both the wines and the food we were eating. The entire experience was very fun and very informative. This is a new service that Experience the Finger Lakes is offering and I HIGHLY recommend it!

– Elizabeth