Updated 20:40, October the 28th, 2009
A fine wine and good time getaway
Canandaigua. Skaneateles. Penn Yan. Sodus Point. No, these aren’t the settings of Dr. Seuss books, these are the hamlets, villages and roadside attractions dotting the stems, sterns and flanks of the Finger Lakes in Central New York. This remote tourist destination, situated between Rochester and Syracuse, is claimed as a hidden jewel by the locals who inhabit this otherwise farm-dominated stretch along Route 90. With the leaves turning the landscape into an artist’s palette and the grapes now yielding that bacchanalian incentive, now’s the time to check out this astonishingly affordable destination. Here’s what to do.What to do
If your idea of fun isn’t dodging Mennonite horse-drawn carriages down one-lane country routes, add a few stops at the many area wineries into the mix — assuming someone designated is behind the wheel, of course. The Seneca and Cayuga (pronunciation similar to the sound an old-fashioned car horn makes) Lakes Wine Trails both offer the oenophile options about every five minutes as one circles the water by car. Check out these award-winning vineyards in the area: Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars on Keuka Lake for the “Sideways” wannabe; Swedish Hill on Cayuga for the wine-loving tourist; and Chateau LaFayette Reneau on Seneca Lake for a beautiful setting to, well, swill vino.
The nightlife
With all these wineries, you may be too pooped to paint small towns the color of cabernet, but just in case, stay a night in Ithaca. The college-byway-of-hippy-town offers a number of live music venues and good bars catering to the postdoctorate and bongo-toting crowd. Indie rockers are at home at Castaways, located right on the water in Ithaca’s West End — the tiki-themed venue hosted the Hold Steady over the summer and St. Vincent last week. The beer is cheap and bars with boats docking right up to the deck as you quaff away never go out of style.
Where to stay
Skaneateles is the kind of Norman Rockwell Americana that just doesn’t exist within a 50 mile radius of a major metropolitan area. Situated at the head of a lake with the same name, the village oozes Mid-Atlantic charm and is home to the resort spa Mirbeau, which models its landscaping and gardens on Monet paintings. Uncharacteristically expensive for the area (starting at $159 a night), Mirbeau’s top-notch spa center and food will take the sting out of a sulfite or tannin-induced headache.