Around the lake
Branchport and the Quiet West Branch of Keuka Lake
Keuka splits in two about two thirds of the way up. The eastern arm runs to Penn Yan and carries most of the traffic. The western arm ends at Branchport, a hamlet small enough to miss if you blink, and the drive to it is the one we send people on when they ask what to do with an unhurried afternoon.
Where is Branchport?
Branchport sits at the head of the western arm of Keuka Lake, in the town of Jerusalem, Yates County. It is roughly forty minutes north of Hammondsport along the west shore. The road follows the water most of the way.
The hamlet is small. That is the point. There is no strip of shops, no visitor centre, no parking problem. What there is instead is the lake on one side and vineyard slopes on the other for most of the drive up.
We are on the same side of the water, further south, so this is the road our own guests take when they carry on north after a tasting. Our guide to the Keuka Lake wineries explains how the two arms are laid out.
What makes the west branch different?
Fewer visitors and narrower roads. The eastern arm has the wider shore road and most of the through traffic between Penn Yan and Hammondsport. The western arm is a dead end in practical terms, so the only people on it are people who meant to be there.
The slopes on this side face east, which matters more than it sounds for anyone growing grapes: morning sun, and the lake below holding the temperature steady into the autumn. It is why the vineyards sit where they sit.
It also means the light is different. Morning on the west shore is bright and clear across the water. Evening turns the far hills gold while you are already in shade.
Driving the west branch
- Hammondsport to Branchport is about forty minutes along the shore.
- The road is narrow in places with few passing spots. Take it slowly.
- Cell reception drops in stretches. Set your directions before leaving.
- There are far fewer places to stop for food than on the eastern side.
Can you loop back from Branchport?
Yes. From Branchport you can cut east across the top of Bluff Point to Penn Yan, then come back down the eastern shore to Hammondsport. That full circuit takes roughly two hours of driving without stops, and shows you both halves of the lake.
We would give it a full day rather than an afternoon. Two or three stops, a long lunch, and time to sit somewhere with the water in front of you. Our two-day plan around Keuka builds a weekend around exactly that.
The east side is where we chose to plant. Fewer people find it, which suits the wine and suits us.
Where do we fit in?
We are on the east side of Keuka Lake at 13920 State Route 54, outside Hammondsport, about forty minutes south of Branchport along the same shore. Open daily, ten to six, with no appointment needed for a standard tasting.
Céline and Sébastien LeSeurre are French winemakers. Sébastien is the sixth generation of a winemaking family from Champagne, and our sparkling follows the méthode champenoise: over ten years on the lees, each bottle handled by hand at least sixty-eight times.
If you are making the drive up the west branch, we are on the way. Details and directions are on our visit page, and the tastings we offer are on our experiences page.
Why are the vineyards on this side?
Aspect and drainage. The slopes on the west shore face east, so they take the morning sun and warm early. The land falls steeply to the water, which means cold air drains downhill past the vines instead of settling on them. Both matter more here than the soil does.
Sébastien tasted grapes from more than two hundred vineyard sites across the region before we planted. What separated one slope from another was rarely dramatic on paper: a few degrees of angle, a hundred feet of elevation, how close the water sat below. The differences in the fruit were not subtle at all.
We wrote about the shape of the lake and why it produces so many aspects for its size in Bluff Point.
What is there to stop for?
The lake itself, mostly. Keuka Lake State Park sits on this branch with the main public frontage on the water. Beyond that the west branch is farms, vineyards and houses, with far fewer commercial stops than the eastern shore.
Plan food before you set off. That is the single practical thing we tell guests heading up this way, and the one they thank us for afterwards. Our guide to the state park covers the one reliable stop along the route.
On the west shore, between Hammondsport and the quiet end of the lake. Come as you are.
How big is Branchport?
Small. It is a hamlet in the town of Jerusalem, at the head of the western arm of Keuka Lake, with no commercial strip to speak of.
Is the east side of Keuka Lake worth driving?
If you want the quieter half, yes. The road hugs the water for much of the way and carries far less traffic than the eastern shore.
How long does the full loop of Keuka Lake take?
Roughly two hours of driving without stops. The lake is Y-shaped, so the circuit runs around Bluff Point between the two arms.
Written by
The Domaine LeSeurre Team
Céline & Sébastien LeSeurre and the team at Domaine LeSeurre — a family winery on Keuka Lake, in Hammondsport, New York. French roots, Finger Lakes soul.
