Quick Details
Experience! Seneca Lake Banana Belt Wine Tour with Lunch
This tour is available in three different options:
Shared Tour: Small, guided experience for up to 6-7 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 2-6 people. Comes with $20 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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This tour gives guests the opportunity to experience some of the best wine in the Finger Lakes. Southeast Seneca Lake is known in the region as the “banana belt” for its exceptional terroir, making it ideal for crafting 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.
At our first stop, is Flatt Rock Cellars, a more recent addition to the Banana Belt. Guests will be greeted by owner David Flatt in their vineyard, which overlooks Seneca Lake. You will get a tour of the vines and the opportunity to understand more about the Flatt’s hands-on approach to grape growing. David then guides you through a tasting that celebrates the winemaking-style of France, particularly beautiful bottle-aged reds. A locally-made chocolate is paired with a specially-selected red wine to showcase the magic of a carefully curated wine pairing.
*Vineyard tour availability is dependent on weather
Next, guests will enjoy lunch at the Ginny Lee Cafe or at Elf In The Oak. We preorder your lunch so it is ready soon after we arrive at either location. Enjoy the views and wonderful food. At Ginny Lee there are wines from the family’s Wagner Vineyards are available for purchase with your lunch.
Our afternoon stops will be two of the following partner wineries:
Enjoy a special wine tasting at Damiani Wine Cellars. Damiani is known for consistently having some of the best red wines in the region. Your tasting will be paired with locally-made, hand-crafted chocolate, carefully curated to match Damiani’s award-winning red and white varietal wines.
Silver Thread Vineyards welcomes you, glasses in hand. Owner Shannon Brock or Tasting Room Manager Sarah take you into the vineyard and share with you their philosophy of sustainable farming of which they practice to make their superb wines. Afterward, you will head to their VIP wine cellar tasting room, and explore a flight of their award-winning wines including Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, and their very popular Blackbird red blend paired with local cheese.
Another stop may bring us to Idol Ridge Winery. Head winemaker Phil Plummer who has been making wine in New York’s Finger Lakes region for over a decade, 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 contemplative, engaging and down-right delicious.
*Please note that on occasions, our regularly scheduled partners on this itinerary are unavailable and we may make substitutions as needed.
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- All-inclusive, COVID-19 safe, wine tour experience for 2-6 guests
- Transportation provided in either our well-appointed 14-passenger high-roof Ford Transit or our 6-passenger Mercedes Metris, depending on group size and desired shared or private option
- 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 COVID-19 Health and Safety Policies and Procedures, and sign an Assumption of Risk waiver to ensure the safety to all on board.
- For more information about our Health and Safety Agreement and Screening, please CLICK HERE
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