© Hector Wine Company
Seneca Lake is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Vineyards sit on the hillsides surrounding the lake, which was carved out by glaciers during the last Ice Age. Akin to surrounding Finger Lake AVAs, Seneca Lake is well-known for its production of Riesling.
Seneca Lake AVA covers nearly 205,000 acres (83,000ha) around the deepest of the 11 Finger Lakes. The 35-mile-long (55km) lake rarely freezes, and stores heat and cold which serve to moderate the temperatures throughout the year. In spring, winds off the cold lake delay budburst until after the dangers of frost have passed. In summer, the lake heats up, and the warm air movement throughout late summer and fall helps to extend the growing season, making it the longest in the Finger Lakes region. This long growing season means that grapes can ripen sufficiently while retaining acidity, making for wines with good balance. In winter, the warmth of the lake reacting with the colder air from the land creates snow, which covers the vines and insulates them from devastating freezes.
Because this lake effect is more pronounced closer to the water's edge, vinifera varieties tend to be planted close to the shores of Seneca Lake, with cold-hardy hybrid varieties such as Vidal and Niagara planted higher up the slopes. Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines from Seneca Lake show vibrant, honeyed notes, while its Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc wines have intense varietal flavors.
The first vines were planted in Seneca Lake in the 1860s, and the early Finger Lakes wine industry was galvanized by the establishment of an agricultural research station in Geneva in the 1880s. The industry flourished until the beginning of Prohibition, when many vineyards were pulled out or reappropriated for the production of juice or table grapes. It wasn't until the 1970s that Seneca Lake began to see vinous activity again: new vineyards were planted and the Farm Wineries Act of 1976 freed up commercial winemaking limits for vignerons. Despite this long viticultural history, Seneca Lake became an AVA only in 2003, joining the neighboring Cayuga Lake AVA, which had been established in 1988.
