A Perfect Keuka Lake Wine Weekend from The Hideaway
Two days of Finger Lakes wineries, lake views, local food, and a secluded cabin in the woods near Hammondsport, NY.
One of the best parts about staying near Keuka Lake is that you don't have to choose between a relaxing getaway and exploring the Finger Lakes Wine Country.
You can have both.
Start the morning slowly with coffee surrounded by the woods, spend the afternoon tasting your way around Keuka Lake, and still be back at North Forest FLX – The Hideaway with enough time for the sauna, a soak under the stars, and a quiet evening in the forest.
To make planning even easier, our friends at Finger Lakes Wine Map put together a two-day Keuka Lake wine itinerary beginning right here at The Hideaway.
We turned their route into this weekend travel guide.
Day One: Wine, Riesling & a Slow Evening at The Hideaway
10:30 AM — Coffee at The Hideaway
Don't rush out the door.
One of our favorite ways to begin a Finger Lakes morning is simply making a cup of coffee and heading outside.
The Hideaway sits on approximately 30 private wooded acres outside Hammondsport, giving you a peaceful place to start the day before heading toward Keuka Lake.
Enjoy coffee on the deck, listen to the woods wake up, and then get ready for your first tasting.
Your Keuka Lake wine weekend begins just down the hill.
11:00 AM — Living Roots Wine & Co.
Hammondsport, NY
Your first stop is Living Roots Wine & Co., whose Finger Lakes winery and tasting room overlooks Keuka Lake.
Living Roots brings together Finger Lakes and Australian winemaking influences and has become a great first stop for visitors exploring the Hammondsport side of Keuka Lake.
The Finger Lakes Wine Map itinerary suggests starting with a Sparkling Riesling on the patio.
We like their next suggestion even more:
Pick up a bottle you love and bring it back to The Hideaway for later.
There are few better ways to end a day of exploring Keuka Lake than opening a Finger Lakes wine beside the soaking tubs or around the fire.
12:30 PM — Weis Vineyards
Hammondsport, NY
Next, continue along Keuka Lake to Weis Vineyards.
Located on the east side of Keuka Lake, Weis combines Finger Lakes terroir with German winemaking traditions. The winery was founded by German-born winemaker Hans Peter Weis and Hammondsport native Ashlee Weis.
For this stop, Finger Lakes Wine Map recommends making it both your lunch and wine stop.
Grab lunch at Our Kitchen, settle in, and explore the winery's Rieslings — particularly the Winzer Select wines if they're available during your visit.
This is exactly how we think a Finger Lakes wine day should feel: unrushed, scenic, and centered around good wine and good food.
2:30 PM — Domaine LeSeurre Winery
Keuka Lake
After lunch, you don't have to travel far.
Continue to Domaine LeSeurre Winery, another distinctive Keuka Lake winery with beautiful views over the water.
Take your time with a tasting and then head outside to the Lakeview Terrace.
By this point in the afternoon, you've already experienced three very different expressions of Finger Lakes wine country without spending the entire day driving.
And that's intentional.
Instead of squeezing six or seven wineries into one day, this itinerary leaves room to actually enjoy them.
Late Afternoon — Back to The Hideaway
Now comes one of our favorite parts of the itinerary:
Go back to the cabin.
A Finger Lakes getaway shouldn't feel like a checklist.
Return to The Hideaway, change into something comfortable and let the rest of the afternoon slow down.
Warm up the barrel sauna.
Relax on the deck.
Take a hot or cold soak in the outdoor cast-iron tubs.
Open that bottle you picked up earlier.
Or simply relax to the sounds of the quiet of the woods for a while.
This is exactly why we created The Hideaway — to give travelers a secluded home base close enough to explore the Finger Lakes but far enough away to actually escape.
6:30 PM — Dinner at Dean Lane Food & Farmstead
Finish your first day with dinner at Dean Lane Food & Farmstead.
Finger Lakes Wine Map recommends planning ahead for one of their multi-course dinners when available.
It's a fitting end to the day: local food after an afternoon exploring the wineries and vineyards surrounding Keuka Lake.
Because dinners and seasonal schedules can change, check current availability and reserve ahead before building your trip around this stop.
Then it's back into the woods for the night.
If the sky is clear, don't head straight inside.
The secluded setting around The Hideaway can make for beautiful stargazing — and ending a Finger Lakes wine day beneath the stars is difficult to beat.
A starry night and a view of the Milky Way from the Hideaway (Hammondsport, NY) in the Finger Lakes Region of New York.
Day Two: The Classic Keuka Lake Wine Trail
After a quiet morning at The Hideaway, day two explores some of the wineries that have helped make Keuka Lake such an important part of Finger Lakes wine country.
Today's route includes:
Keuka Lake Vineyards → Bully Hill Vineyards → Heron Hill Winery → Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery
It's a journey through very different chapters of Finger Lakes wine.
11:00 AM — Keuka Lake Vineyards
Begin day two at Keuka Lake Vineyards.
This is a great stop for travelers interested in dry wines and wines that express the character of the vineyard and vintage.
Rather than rushing through your first tasting, give yourself time to settle into the day.
It's your second morning in wine country.
There's no reason to hurry.
12:15 PM — Lunch at Bully Hill Vineyards
Next, head to one of Keuka Lake's most recognizable destinations: Bully Hill Vineyards.
Bully Hill is more than a tasting stop.
Its hillside location offers sweeping views toward Keuka Lake, while the property also includes a restaurant, the Greyton H. Taylor Wine Museum and Walter S. Taylor Art Gallery.
That makes it an especially good midday destination.
Have lunch overlooking wine country, explore the property and learn a little about the history behind one of the Finger Lakes' most colorful wine stories.
It's a completely different experience from the smaller tasting rooms on the itinerary — which is exactly why it belongs here.
2:00 PM — Heron Hill Winery
Continue to Heron Hill Winery, perched on a hillside overlooking Keuka Lake.
Heron Hill was founded in 1977 and has a long connection to Finger Lakes Riesling and cool-climate winemaking.
But even before your tasting begins, there's something worth experiencing:
the view.
The winery's hilltop setting gives visitors another perspective on Keuka Lake and the vineyards surrounding it.
Take a tasting, walk the property and give yourself a few minutes simply to enjoy where you are.
3:00 PM — Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery
There's perhaps no more fitting place to finish a Keuka Lake wine weekend than Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery.
The winery occupies an important place in Finger Lakes wine history and helped demonstrate the potential for European Vitis vinifera varieties in this cool-climate region.
Today, visitors can book a guided seated tasting overlooking Keuka Lake.
Finger Lakes Wine Map specifically suggests asking about Rkatsiteli.
That's excellent advice.
Rkatsiteli is an ancient grape variety with a fascinating connection to Dr. Frank's history. The winery continues producing it today, making it a particularly interesting wine to try if you want something beyond the Rieslings for which the Finger Lakes are famous.
Reservations are strongly recommended for Dr. Frank's tasting experiences, particularly during busy weekends.
Then Head Back to the Woods
Two days.
Eight distinctive Finger Lakes experiences.
Plenty of Riesling.
And one quiet cabin waiting for you at the end of it.
That's our idea of a Keuka Lake weekend.
The Hideaway's location near Hammondsport makes it possible to spend your days exploring wineries, restaurants and lake views without giving up the feeling of actually getting away.
Once you're finished exploring, leave the tasting rooms behind.
Drive back into the woods.
Start the sauna.
Pour a glass of your favorite discovery from the weekend.
And enjoy having nowhere else you need to be.
Plan the Route with Finger Lakes Wine Map
This itinerary was inspired by a custom route created for The Hideaway by Finger Lakes Wine Map, an independent resource for discovering wineries and planning trips throughout the Finger Lakes.
Rather than bouncing between maps, winery websites and search results, their interactive map can help you see how wineries fit together geographically and build a route that makes sense for your trip.
They've already created the route featured in this guide:
“A Keuka Weekend from The Hideaway.”
Use their interactive itinerary to see the route, explore the wineries and plan your own version of the weekend.
→ Explore A Keuka Weekend from The Hideaway on Finger Lakes Wine Map
Then book your stay at North Forest FLX – The Hideaway and make the forest your home base for exploring Keuka Lake.
Winery hours, tasting experiences, restaurant schedules and reservation requirements change seasonally. Always confirm current information directly with each winery before your trip. Please enjoy Finger Lakes wine responsibly and arrange transportation or a designated driver when needed.
Where to Stay for a Keuka Lake Wine Weekend
If you're planning a wine getaway near Hammondsport and Keuka Lake, North Forest FLX – The Hideaway offers a unique secluded experience.
