New York’s Finger Lakes has been named the “American Wine Region of the Year” for 2025 by the national magazine Wine Enthusiast.
The magazine cited the region as a “hotbed of innovation,” noting its wineries’ ability to make quality wines in a cold climate and its long tradition of evolving to meet new trends and consumer demands.
“New York’s largest wine-growing region has come a mighty long way in a few decades,“ Wine Enthusiast writer Christina Pickard wrote in the article announcing the award. ”Where wine lovers once had to search for quality, these days it’s the norm.”
The honor is part of Wine Enthusiast’s annual Wine Star Awards. Portugal’s Douro Valley won the 2025 nod as International Wine Region of the Year.
Last year’s Wine Star American Wine Region of the Year was Mendocino, California.
Several of this year’s category winners, such as winery and winemaker of the year, have yet to be named.
The Finger Lakes AVA (American Viticultural Area) currently has more than 140 wineries with more than 10,000 acres planted with a large variety of wine grapes. They surround the 11 lakes that provide the necessary micro-climate to allow wine grapes to grow.
“The rolling hills that fringe 11 long, deep lakes at the center of the Empire State are home to a plethora of world-class wineries that craft vibrant Riesling of all shapes and sizes; herbaceous Cabernet Franc; red-fruited Blaufrankisch; a kaleidoscope of sparklers; and so much more,“ Pickard’s story in the Wine Enthusiast says. ”Add to this an increase in wine-tourism offerings, breathtaking lakeside vistas, and enchanting waterfalls, and the vibes in the Finger Lakes are entirely grown up.”
This dry Riesling wine from Six Eighty Cellars in Ovid, N.Y. ferments with its own with ambient yeasts in a sandstone egg, resulting in a bold aroma and flavor. (Katrina Tulloch)
The Finger Lakes’ history as a wine region began in the mid-1800s, developed largely by French and German immigrants. It was once based mostly on native American grapes and later some native/European hybrids developed at Cornell University.
For many decades, it was dominated by large wine companies like Taylor, Great Western and Widmer. It was the birthplace of the Canandaigua Wine Co., which has grown into the global drinks giant Constellation Brands.
Things began to change in the 1960s when Ukrainian immigrant Konstantin Frank worked to prove that some of Europe’s classic wine grapes, such as Riesling and Cabernet Franc, could be successful in this part of Upstate New York.
The modern era for the Finger Lakes began in 1976. That’s when the state passed the New York Farm Winery Act. The law allowed small businesses that made wine from New York-grown grapes to sell their products directly from their own tasting rooms. Before that, they had to sell to wholesalers.
That launched the explosive growth in the number of small, family-owned and farm-based wineries in the region.
“Considering most Finger Lakes producers are self-funded mom-and-pop operations without access to the deep corporate pockets enjoyed in other wine regions, the (Finger Lakes) success feels even more a David vs. Goliath situation,” Pickard wrote in the Wine Enthusiast story.
“We are by and large a region of family-owned businesses,” Meaghan Frank, Konstantin Frank’s great-grand daughter and vice president of the family winery, said in the Wine Enthusiast story. “So that sense of community and working together in creative ways really shines through, and is truly authentic.”
Cameron Hosmer in the vineyard at Hosmer Winery in the Finger Lakes.
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Dining and Cooking