Wine & Food

Fresh fish belongs on Cayuga Lake as much as the wine itself does. Rainbow trout from the cold depths of the lakes, briefly pan-seared in brown butter, is the dish that shows exactly why the region takes its dry Riesling so seriously. The acidity cuts through the butter without overwhelming the delicate fish. The principle will be familiar from Germany, where the same pairing has worked for generations.

West of Seneca Lake lies one of the country's largest apple-growing regions, and the local cuisine makes full use of it: apple cake with cinnamon, hearty apple-onion sides served with pork. A half-dry Riesling with just enough residual sweetness to match the apple's acidity, rather than fight it, pairs beautifully. Choose one too sweet, and the wine suddenly falls flat next to the apple. Many winemakers aim deliberately for that exact balance.

With venison or smoked ham glazed in New York maple syrup, Cabernet Franc suits the dish better than any Riesling. Its peppery, herbal notes meet the smoke halfway, while the syrup's mild sweetness rounds out the wine's lean tannin. That's no coincidence—venison, maple syrup, and the wine itself all come from the very same hilly landscape.

To finish off a dinner at an inn on Keuka Lake, ice wine pairs perfectly with a sharp blue cheese or a warm apple tart. The wine's concentrated sweetness and high acidity hold their own against the cheese's saltiness, with neither one overpowering the other. A simpler but equally reliable finale: vanilla ice cream with a splash of ice wine poured right on top.