“New York’s largest wine-growing region has come a mighty long way in a few decades. Where wine lovers once had to search for quality, these days it’s the norm,” reads the opening paragraph of Wine Enthusiast’s announcement naming the Finger Lakes the 2025 American Wine Region of the Year in last year’s Wine Star Awards.
Other national publications such as Travel + Leisure and USA Today have touted the award, and the honor was, of course, celebrated by the Finger Lakes wine industry and wine lovers alike.
But now, about a year after shining the spotlight on the wineries and wines of the region, what impact has the designation made? We asked the folks who make the wine and tend the grapes.
An Accolade that was “A Long Time Coming”
“All our shouting from the rooftops, all our hard work, is finally being recognized,” says Amanda Fitzgerald, general manager at Goose Watch Winery in Romulus. At the winery, that hard work has gone on for 29 years, since its vineyards started out supplying Taylor Wine Company. When Taylor stopped purchasing its grapes, Goose Watch pivoted to making its own wines, relying, in part, on the advances in local viticulture education to succeed.
“A lot of the [progress the Finger Lakes has made] is because of education,” says Fitzgerald. “Cornell has a wonderful enology program. Finger Lakes Community College has a great 2-year program. So you’re seeing winemakers now who have degrees versus when we first started.”
She says Goose Watch and other regional wineries now continue to grow “grapes with the intention of making good quality wine out of them.” She also feels that the American Wine Region of the Year award has been “a long time coming,” a sentiment other winemakers share.
When Scott Osborne, president and co-owner of Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan, heard the news, he says he had a bunch of “mixed emotions,” and one was, “It’s about time.” He has felt for a while now that the Finger Lakes should be recognized as a top wine region.
Bruce Murray, co-owner of Boundary Breaks in Lodi, says, “I thought this was long overdue.” He also believes that when people see that a widely read wine publication such as Wine Enthusiast calls out the excellence of Finger Lakes wine and announces the region has arrived, “people will see that and say, ‘I’ll give this a try.’”
When they do head to the Finger Lakes to give it a try, they’ll see a region that has come to an agreement about which grape varieties it does best, believes Murray.
“Everyone now is making really, really quality Riesling,” he says. “And when it comes to reds, we’ve most recently begun to recognize that Cabernet Franc is the red grape that we can produce most consistently, and it’s also recognized in the wine world as a premium red grape.”
The collaboration in the region is another reason why visitors to the Finger Lakes will see it’s time for this accolade.
“I think the organizations, the marketing and the trade organizations have done a very good job, focusing on quality production,” says Murray, who also acknowledges the collaboration between winemakers. “We recognize that we should be allies as opposed to competitors with each other. We share information about better vineyard management, as well as better winemaking.”
A Boost in AI Search Recognition
Oskar Bynke, co-owner of Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in Dundee, believes Wine Enthusiast’s accolade “makes people pay attention to the region, and it lowers the threshold of curiosity. It’s easier for people to be curious [and think] maybe it’s time to go visit.”
And technology-wise, it’s a great time for people to be curious.
Perhaps an unexpected impact of the American Wine Region of the Year award is one of fortuitous timing with the rise in artificial intelligence (AI) searches. As more people ask AI chatbots for travel and vacation advice, the Wine Enthusiast’s thumbs-up may be giving the Finger Lakes an advantage.
“The way people search now, they go on ChatGPT or Claude, and ask, ‘Where do I go? Where’s a good wine?’ And a bigger award like this will help that,” says Bynke.
When Boundary Breaks’ Murray asks people who come through the door how they heard about the winery, he says more than 50% of first-time visitors chose to visit the winery because they’ve searched using AI. He believes the Wine Enthusiast award helps elevate the Finger Lakes in AI searches.
“When Wine Enthusiast writes about the Finger Lakes as the American Wine Region of the Year, the AI engines take that very seriously,” he says, noting that people trust AI results more than Google search results, where the top sites may have paid to have their listing ranked higher.
More Than Just Getting Visitors Through Winery Doors
Awareness is up, but Osborne doesn’t think he’s seen an increase in visitors coming through Fox Run’s doors specifically because of the Wine Enthusiast award.
But awareness draws key wine media connectors who continue to build the Finger Lakes buzz.
“From the standpoint of the media, wine writers and influencers, we’ve seen more of them showing up here,” he says. “I think this designation has reminded a lot of [media] of what’s going on up here and it’s given them an opportunity to visit.”
Because of the award, Bynke sees an increase in the confidence of distributors. “They can say, I have Finger Lakes wine,” and restaurant buyers will recognize that it’s the wine from the American Wine Region of the Year and want to have the region’s wines on their menu.
“I think that’s where the impact is, that internal confidence to brag a little bit more,” he says.
Fitzgerald, however, has seen additional people coming through Goose Watch’s doors. She’s run the numbers.
“We’re seeing an influx of people, so I do think [the Wine Enthusiast award] is bringing new visitors to the region,” she says. I think it’s reminded old visitors of our region, too, and we’re seeing people coming back.”
Ultimately, though, what the accolade may do best is remind those in the Finger Lakes wine industry that they’re doing it right.
“It’s sort of a confirmation that we are on the world stage as a region producing great wines,” says Osborne. “It’s also recognition not only of the wine region itself, but the people and the collaboration that happens in one of the most beautiful wine regions of the world.”
He’s not the only one who sees that collaborative spirit in the Finger Lakes as a major contributor to the region’s recognition as American Wine Region of the Year.
“I think, as a whole, it’s reminded us that our success is tied together and it’s the collaboration of all of our growers, winemakers, and tourism groups working together,” says Fitzgerald. “It’s what makes this area so wonderful.”
