New York State has many standout wineries and well-made wines throughout all of its regions. Winemakers can opt to enter their wines in the New York Wine Classic, an annual event that celebrates the very best of the state’s wine and grape industry. Each wine entered is scored. The two top awards in the competition are the Governor’s Cup—the Best of Show across all categories—and the Winery of the Year—the winery with the best overall showing based on the scores and number of awards received.
In 2024, Weis Vineyards in Hammondsport on Keuka Lake took home both of those awards. This year, Weis held on to its Winery of the Year title, an award it also earned in 2022.
“I am happy and shocked to earn such prestigious awards in such a short time,” says Hans Peter Weis, who, along with his wife Ashlee Weis, opened the winery just eight years ago.
He grew up in a winemaking family in Zell Mosel, Germany, and studied winemaking in his home country. After earning his degree, Weis went to California to spend time in Sonoma. Then, he visited Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery in 2006. While he was there, he realized the climate of the region was similar to that of Mosel and that some German-style winemaking was happening. One thing led to another, and he took a job with the groundbreaking winery in Hammondsport before launching his own project with Ashlee.
In 2017, Weis Vineyards opened to the public, and it wasn’t long before the accolades started to roll in.
Weis Vineyards’ Most Recent Accolades
In addition to Winery of the Year, Weis also earned an impressive nine other awards at the 2025 New York Wine Classic, a virtual awards ceremony hosted by wine writer and expert Wanda Mann on Thursday, July 17.
Best of Category awards are given for the highest-scoring red, white, pink, sparkling, and dessert wines, and there are also Best Grape Variety categories. Winners are determined by the Beverage Tasting Institute, using an evaluation method developed in 1981 with Cornell University.
When the winners in all categories were announced that day, Weis Vineyards received many of those wins, 9 overall, in addition to the Winery of the Year award.
- Best White and also Best Gruner Veltliner for the 2024 Gruner Veltliner
- Best Pink and also Best Rosé for the 2024 Dry Rosé
- Best Overall Chardonnay for the 2024 Unoaked Chardonnay
- Best Unoaked Chardonnay for the 2024 Unoaked Chardonnay
- Best Sweet Riesling for the 2023 Winzer Select A Riesling
- Best Sauvignon Blanc for the 2024 Sauvignon Blanc
- Best Other Hybrid White for the 2024 Seyval Blanc
The newest of those winning wines is the Seyval Blanc.
“It’s the first vintage of the wine,” says Weis. “We purchased a vineyard on Seneca Lake that had Seyval grapes. I liked the taste of the grapes, and here we are—people love it.”
Visitors to Weis Vineyards can get a taste of all the winning wines, which are all still available to the public, when they stop by the winery’s tasting room. If they haven’t been there in a while, they’ll find a bigger space than when they last visited.
Weis Vineyards’ Recent Renovations
“We’ve added a new addition and doubled our retail space,” says Weis. The now-three-story space is fully ADA compliant with an elevator, and it has stunning views of Keuka Lake and the property’s new landscaping.
“There’s nice color when you look out the window now,” he says, noting that the landscaping wasn’t redone, it was “done” for the first time.
In the spring of 2026, there will be something else new and exciting at Weis—a distillery that makes spirits from grapes.
But, until then, Hans Peter and Ashlee Weis are pleased with their New York Wine Classic wins, and also grateful for those who helped the winery achieve them.
“The only way to achieve this [award] is with the great team we have at Weis, including all the growers we’ve worked with from the beginning,” says Weis.
