Planning your visit
A Weekend for Two Around Keuka Lake
We watch a lot of couples arrive with an itinerary and leave having enjoyed the two things they did not plan. There is a pattern to it, and after some years of watching it we would give the same advice every time: book less than you think, and pick where you will linger.
How many wineries should you visit in a day?
Three at most, and two is better if you want an actual conversation at each. Pours are small but they accumulate, and the difference between a good day and a blurred one is usually the fourth stop rather than the first.
Agree the driver before the first pour. The lake roads are narrow and unlit after dark, and that decision is much harder to make at four in the afternoon.
What makes a good two days here?
One arm of the lake per day, a proper lunch in the middle of each, and somewhere to sit by the water in the late afternoon. That leaves room for the walk you did not plan and the second glass you did not schedule.
Our two-day plan around Keuka sets out the shape of it, and where to eat around the lake covers the meals.
What we would do
- Stay in a village so the evening does not need the car.
- Two stops a day, not five, with a long lunch between them.
- Late afternoon by the water, when the light comes off the lake.
- Leave one half day with nothing in it at all.
When is the best time to come as a couple?
Midweek in September. The heat has gone, the colour is starting, harvest is running in the cellars, and the tasting rooms are quiet enough to sit down in. Weekends in the same month are a very different experience.
If autumn does not work, midweek in late spring is the other quiet stretch. Our season by season guide goes through the year.
What do you offer?
A guided tasting, a wine and macaron pairing, and a seated food pairing with local cheese and charcuterie. The terrace looks over the lake. On busy weekends a seated experience is worth reserving ahead.
Sébastien is the sixth generation of a winemaking family from Champagne. Our sparkling follows the méthode champenoise, over ten years on the lees, each bottle handled by hand at least sixty-eight times. Details on our experiences page.
A seated table on the terrace, above the east shore of Keuka Lake.
Is Keuka Lake good for a romantic weekend?
It is the quietest of the main lakes, with the shortest drives between stops. That leaves more of the day for sitting still, which is usually the point.
Should we book tastings ahead?
For a standard tasting, no. For a seated experience on a summer or autumn weekend, yes.
What is the quietest time to come?
Midweek in September, or midweek in late spring. Weekends in autumn are the busiest stretch of the year.
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.
