- Ages 21+
- 7 Hours
The western shores of Seneca Lake are home to some of the most beautifully crafted wines in the Finger Lakes. Learn about the people behind the wine, their authenticity, and their passion.
Quick Details
Experience East Seneca Lake on a Wine Tour with Lunch
This tour gives guests the opportunity to experience some of the best wine in Upstate New York. East Seneca Lake is known in the region as the “banana belt” for its exceptional terroir, making it ideal for crafting dry classic European styled wines. At each winery, guests taste multiple vintages and varietals from different sites, discovering firsthand the effects of seasonal variation, age, and terroir in each glass.
The three wineries for your tour will be selected based on availability and timing and will include 3 producers, an interactive guided tour, experiential food pairings, and a locally sourced lunch. For more information on which wineries we visit for this tour, please see the drop-down below.
Our first stop will include an interactive vineyard or production tour. You will learn about the process of making wine from soil to grape to bottle to glass. After the tour you will have a curated tasting experience with a senior tasting room associate, owner or winemaker. Your tour will be weather dependent and may focus on what is happening now in the cellar.
After your first immersive experience and tasting, you will be hosted for a locally-sourced lunch with seasonal flavors ready to warm you from the inside out. Enjoy captivating views while eating local!
After lunch we will visit 2 wineries for an guided tasting curated with an experiential pairing ranging from artisan cheese to locally crafted chocolate. You will be fully immersed in the warmth of stunning food and wine pairings.
To see the participating wineries on a given day, please visit the touring calendar. These wineries and lunch locations may be subject to change.
(as needed additional lunch destinations may be incorporated into the tour)
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Silver Thread Vineyards will welcome you, glasses in hand. Owners Paul and Shannon Brock have built their vineyard using sustainable and biointensive farming practices. You will learn all about them on the vineyard* tour while they share with you their philosophy of sustainable farming. Afterward, you will head to their VIP wine cellar tasting room, and explore a flight of their award-winning, biointensive, small-batch wines including Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, and their very popular Blackbird red blend paired with local cheese.
Experience a special production tour at Damiani Wine Cellars. Be captivated by an elevated, private wine tasting paired with locally-made, hand-crafted chocolate, carefully curated to match Damiani’s award-winning red and white varietal wines. Damiani is known for consistently having some of the best red wines in the region.
Flatt Rock Wine Cellars is an exciting new boutique winery on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake. Owner and grower Dave Flatt guides you through a tasting of elegant wines created in the French winemaking tradition particularly inspired by bottle-aged reds. The tasting features a locally-crafted chocolate pairing. On days when Flatt Rock is the first stop of the day Dave will guide a stroll through his precious vines.
At Idol Ridge Winery. head winemaker Phil Plummer, who has been making wine in New York’s Finger Lakes region for over a decade, will greet you. This experience is only available to our guests. Phil has taken a lead role in the development and production of a wide-ranging portfolio of wines. Phil has a penchant for innovation and exploring the outer regions of what the Finger Lakes wine region is capable of producing. The result of his experience and passion are wines that are contemplative, engaging and down-right delicious.
We have had the distinct pleasure of visiting Red Newt Wine Cellars for many years! You are in for a fantastic tasting of their wines. With an award winning winemaker and a reputation for delightful Rieslings, you are sure to find something you love. They are known for their Rieslings and have a wide variety of well balanced wines. Enjoy our custom tasting there with their Hellbender port-style wine to end.
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This tour is available in three different options:
Shared Tour: Small, guided experience for up to 7 guests (2-3 different households) with knowledgeable wine professional tour guide. This is the enhanced shared group experience for which we are known, now in an extra small format.
Traditional Private Tour: The high-quality experience you have come to expect in an E!FLX tour, now available as a private experience for 2-7 people. Comes with $15 of “Bottle Bucks” per person, that serves as cash towards wine purchases at all stops.
Premium Private Tour Upgrade: All the enhanced features of our traditional private tour (including “Bottle Bucks”) with upgraded premium tastings at each winery. Tastings will feature limited library and reserve wines not typically offered to the public. You can upgrade your Traditional Private Tour to a Premium Private Tour for an additional $50 per person.
Want to get even more out of your private tour? Premium Private Tours offer the option to have a certified sommelier serve as your tour guide for the ultimate experience!
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- All-inclusive wine tour experience for 2-7 guests
- Transportation provided in our 7-passenger Mercedes Metris
- Vineyard and winemaking tour at the first winery
- Private, fully-curated, enhanced, tasting experiences at each winery
- An experiential food pairing at each winery
- Locally-sourced lunch at a winery overlooking vineyards & Seneca Lake
- Added services including water and snacks on board your vehicle
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The following locations are available for pick up and drop off on our Shared Tours:
- 10:00 AM @ La Tourelle Hotel & Spa, 1150 Danby Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850
- 10:15 AM @ Hotel Ithaca, 222 S. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY 14850
- 11:00 AM @ Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel, 16 N Franklin St, Watkins Glen, NY 14891
On private tours, we provide custom pick-up and drop-off at your preferred location (additional fees may apply).
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- Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or special considerations, and we will do our best to accommodate.
- All guests are required to verify they have read and understood our Assumption of Risk Waiver.
Guest Minimum and Maximum on Shared Tours
All Shared Tours require a minimum of 4 total guests in order to run the tour at the listed price. These tours will typically consist of 2-3 separate parties joining together in a shared experience, offering exceptional value for couples and small groups.
In the event that the 4 guest minimum is not met, we will contact you one week prior to the scheduled date where you will be offered the following options depending on the number of guests currently booked:
- Upgrade to a shorter private afternoon tour just for you
- Reschedule the tour for a future date at no penalty
- Cancel the reservation and receive a full refund