FLX Wineries Stay Busy In The Winter
It's been a busy week for Finger Lakes wineries. Following Wine Enthusiast ranking the Finger Lakes its 2025 American Wine Region of the Year, the momentum keeps on going.
Finger Lakes Goes Global
Buttonwood Grove Winery co-owner Dave Pittard is in the middle of an eight day sprint across Europe representing the Finger Lakes at some of the old world's most important wine trade events. His itinerary: Oslo, Copenhagen, Paris, London.
Pittard kicked off the trip on February 4 with a trade tasting at Sjømagasinet in Oslo. From there he heads to Copenhagen before arriving in Paris for Wine Paris & Vinexpo February 9 through 11. Now in its seventh edition, Wine Paris has become the world's largest wine trade show with more than 6,000 exhibitors from 60 countries and over 60,000 expected visitors. Pittard will be pouring in the New York Wine & Grape Foundation booth alongside fellow Finger Lakes producer Hosmer Winery. Find the New York delegation in Room 4 Booth E153.
The timing is good, seven of Buttonwood's wines were recently rated by James Suckling, including the 2017 Antonia Marie Méthode Traditionelle and 2024 Riesling Riemer Block, both scoring 93 points.
Pittard will also represent Six Eighty Cellars, a label focused on natural and unconventional wines. Expect new releases soon including an Orange Muscat, Field Report Skin Ferment, Merlot Pet Nat and Gamay Rosé.
Amphoras at Six Eighty Cellars, photo courtesy of Six Eighty Cellars
Buttonwood Names New Winemaker
While Pittard tours Europe, Buttonwood Grove announced a major promotion back home: Julia Alvarez-Perez is the winery's new winemaker. Alvarez-Perez joined Buttonwood in 2024, working her way up to cellar manager and has been integral to crafting the winery's most recent vintages.
Her background spans continents. A Maryland native, she studied in Italy where she says she fell in love with Italian food and wine culture. She earned a master's degree in food culture and completed an internship in Tuscany. Extended time in Austria introduced her to Blaufränkisch, a grape she now works with in Buttonwood's estate vineyards. She also did harvests in Burgenland and Adelaide Hills and worked as a sommelier at fine dining restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area before relocating to the Finger Lakes.
The Buttonwood connection runs deep. Alvarez-Perez and her husband Alex own a small vineyard on Cayuga Lake just down the road from the Buttonwood tasting room. In 2019 they founded Usonia, a minimal intervention winery that has drawn serious attention. Coeur Wine Co. calls them "the most exciting winemakers and growers in the Finger Lakes, and very likely the future of the East Coast's premier wine region." Wine Enthusiast named Usonia "a must visit for those seeking the most singular tasting experiences in the Finger Lakes."
At Buttonwood, Alvarez-Perez says she is excited to work with the winery's three vineyard locations and its mix of hybrid and vinifera grapes. High on her list: the old vine Cayuga White in Plane's Block and Sauvignon Blanc from Waterfall Block.
Ice Wine Festival Returns Valentine's Day
The 2026 NYS Ice Wine & Culinary Festival returns to Casa Larga Vineyards near Rochester on Saturday February 14.
The lineup includes Weis Vineyards of Keuka Lake, the 2025 New York State Winery of the Year. Weis also won the 2024 Governor's Cup for its 2018 Riesling Ice Wine.
Also pouring: Sheldrake Point Winery from Cayuga Lake, Schulze Vineyards & Winery with its 122 acres near Lake Ontario, and Iron Smoke Distillery out of Fairport. Iron Smoke has been named one of the "10 Best Bourbons Beyond Kentucky."
New Releases
Three new bottles worth tracking down this week.
Hosmer Winery has released a Méthode Champenoise sparkling wine made from Petit Verdot. This Wine club only release will now be available to all, in the tasting room Friday through Sunday and online for a limited time. Hosmer is one of Cayuga Lake's original estate wineries with 70 plus acres and some of the lake's oldest vines.
Six Mile Creek Vineyard just dropped its 2024 Lemberger. The dry lightly oaked German red shows notes of currant and blackberry.
Fox Run Vineyards is pouring its 2020 Blanc de Blancs, a traditional sparkling from estate Chardonnay grown in its oldest vineyard block. Wine Enthusiast gave it 91 points.
Burn! Those! Canes!
Mark your calendar for Saturday March 14 when Fox Run Vineyards hosts its annual Burning of the Canes from noon to 4 PM. The ancient tradition celebrates the start of a new vintage with a bonfire of pruned vine canes. Admission is free. Live music from Blue Eyed Soul runs 1 to 4 PM.