Lake to Lake - Wine and Dine!
Tomatofest is just what you might think. A love apple festival honoring all things tomato, this September 8-9 celebration on Owasco Lake offers tomato tasting, cooking demonstrations, a farmers’ market and lots of fun, including rides, music and wine tasting.
The biggest field-to-feast event in the Finger Lakes region, Cork & Fork serves up fine culinary creations and the wines to pair them, September 14-15. Sip local wines, sample local produce and taste chef-prepared dishes expertly paired with a local wine. Seminars feature wine tasting tips, gardening, bottling and canning.
Mangia away at Festa Italiana Syracuse, an Italian feast filling three days in downtown Syracuse, September 14-16. Over 25 local restaurants and caterers compete fiercely to win over your taste buds with the finest Italian foods the city has to offer. Work off the calories with bocce, bingo, dancing and a hopping Children’s Tent.
Come taste the exquisite wines of Keuka Lake’s wine trail, September 15-16, when the Harvest Celebration of Food and Wine offers up unique vintages and delicious foods that show off the area’s seasonal produce. Tour wineries, learn from the tasting room staff and enjoy a first sip of recently released wines.
Corning’s Gaffer District rolls out its annual Jazz and Harvest Festival, September 21-22, with wine and craft beer tasting in select District businesses, a farmers’ market and street entertainment, all set to some incredible live jazz and blues music. Food and craft vendors abound.
Discover old world gemütlichkeit at the Great Syracuse Oktoberfest, September 21–23, central New York’s biggest tent party with the best of German food, music and fun. Bavarian bands and folk dancers, alp horn contests and the Syracuse Liederverein Mixed Chorus provide some of the action.
Prefer your grapes straight off the vine? Come to the Naples Grape Festival, September 29-30, to celebrate the local grape harvest. Enter the World’s Greatest Grape Pie Contest and sample everything “grape” the valley has to offer. Winemakers, local cuisine, crafts and music will all be on hand.
A dozen local farmers and wineries gather for the Downtown Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival, September 28-30. Farm-fresh produce, home baked goodies and tastings of the finest local wines and ciders will fill downtown Ithaca commons and surrounding streets. Enjoy foods from from Indian to Thai, Italian to Laotian, plus contests, crafts and music, all free to the public.
Challenge your apple taste buds throughout October in Wayne County’s 15th annual Apple Tasting Tour. Each stop on the scenic Lake Ontario shoreline route offers unique apple flavors, colors, scents and textures. Become an expert apple taster and enjoy baked goods, cider, fresh produce and door prizes.
For more information, visit the Finger Lakes region and Finger Lakes alliance.