Céline & Sébastien LeSeurre
French roots, Finger Lakes soul
Six generations of Champagne winemaking, replanted by the shores of Keuka Lake.
The meeting
Two corners of France, one harvest in New Zealand
Céline and Sébastien met during harvest in New Zealand, working at a French-owned winery in Marlborough. He came from Champagne, in the northeast of France; she grew up near the Pyrénées, in the southwest. Opposite corners of the same country, brought together on the other side of the world. As they like to say, without wine they may never have met.
The roots
Six generations, from Champagne to the Pyrénées
Sébastien is the sixth generation of a winemaking family in Champagne, where his family has practised méthode champenoise for generations. Céline grew up around her grandfather's small vineyard near the Pyrénées, with Bordeaux wines on the family table. Both learned wine the way you learn a mother tongue: early, and by heart.
The place
Finding the Finger Lakes
After working with wine around the world, Céline and Sébastien discovered the Finger Lakes and fell in love with its terroir, its sense of place. They arrived not to recreate France, but to understand this land. Before their first harvest in 2012, Sébastien tasted grapes from more than two hundred vineyard sites, building a mental map of the terroirs that would shape everything to come.
The philosophy
Finger Lakes wine with a French mindset
Here, the aim is simple: to make Finger Lakes wine with a French mindset. Every decision, from harvest to bottling, is made by tasting first, where balance and feeling matter more than numbers. In 2012, we were among the first in the region to explore barrel-aged Riesling, guided by the same curiosity that first drew us here.
The craft
Patience, by hand
Sparkling wine was always part of the vision. Made in méthode champenoise, the same tradition Sébastien's family has kept for six generations, each bottle is handled at least sixty-eight times by hand and rested for years before release. It is the continuation of a family story, made here in the Finger Lakes.
Today
A table by the lake, always open
What you taste with us is the meeting point between French roots and Finger Lakes soul. Every guest is welcomed by name, guided through the wines at their own pace, and invited to linger on the terrace. This is our home, and you are always welcome in it.