As we look back at June, it truly is the month the vineyard hits its stride each year. The vines have moved through bloom and are setting fruit, our outdoor patio is buzzing with activity daily, and the calendar has filled with the kind of gatherings that remind us why we love this stretch of the year. This June in particular, it is also a month of welcoming a wider world to Keuka Lake.
Within the span of a single week, the Finger Lakes Region has taken part in hosting two remarkable events that bring winemakers, writers, and wine professionals from around the globe to our corner of the world: Field Blends and FLXcursion. We were honored to host panel discussions at the vineyard for both of these events; opening our doors and pouring our wines for folks who have travelled across countries and oceans to engage in meaningful discussion about the wine industry in the Finger Lakes and to learn about our region is a genuine privilege, and a reminder of how far the story of the Finger Lakes now echoes.
As always, what makes Keuka Spring Vineyards feel like home is not the events on the calendar but the people who fill the seats. Whether you are a longtime Vista Wine Club Member, a neighbor down the road, or someone planning a visit this summer, we are so glad to have you with us at the table.
FROM THE VINEYARD
If May was about anxious nights and secondary buds, June is about renewal. Across the Finger Lakes, the vines have moved through bloom, a brief, easy-to-miss window when the tiny flower clusters on the vines self-pollinate, and into one of the most consequential moments of the entire season: fruit set. This is when the successfully pollinated flowers begin to swell into the small green berries that will, months from now, become the 2026 vintage.
Not every flower makes the cut, and that is by design. In the days after bloom, the vine naturally sheds the berries it cannot support, keeping only what it can ripen well. It looks like loss, but the vine is budgeting its energy, concentrating its resources into the clusters that remain. What is left now is a canopy of hard, pea-sized green berries, tucked into clusters that already hint at the shape of the harvest to come.
At Keuka Spring Vineyards, the hillside aspect and the thermal buffer of Keuka Lake continue to do what they have done for decades: moderate the extremes and give the vines the steady conditions they need through this delicate phase. After a spring that kept us on our toes, it is deeply reassuring to walk through the rows and see clusters setting where we hoped they would. The story of the 2026 vintage is still being written, but right now, the vines are doing exactly what they should. season ahead.
KEUKA LAKE FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
June was a special month for the entire region. Within the span of a few days, we welcomed an international audience to the Finger Lakes through two immersion-driven events, pouring for guests who had crossed oceans to be here, hosting meaningful discussions about what makes Keuka Lake singular from a global winemaking perspective, and seeing, once again, just how far the story of Finger Lakes wine now travels.
Field Blends: The Collab Year | June 24–26
We were honored to host a roundtable for Field Blends: The Collab Year, a special fifth-year edition of the Field Blends wine travel program. Field Blends is the brainchild of Maryam Ahmed, a Napa-based food and wine educator and connector. A graduate of Cornell’s Hotel School and the Walla Walla Enology & Viticulture program, and a 2022 Wine Enthusiast Future 40 Tastemaker, Maryam works at the intersection of sommeliers, chefs, activists, sustainability experts, media, and organizations to create impact-driven educational programs that celebrate food and wine while deepening connection and understanding.
This year, the Finger Lakes joined forces with the Walla Walla Valley of Washington and Lodi, California to host immersive experiences for emerging wine professionals in beverage hospitality and media. On Friday, June 26th, we hosted a Talk & Tasting panel here at Keuka Spring. Our session, “Keuka Lake from a Global Perspective,” explored a question close to our hearts: what continues to draw winemakers from around the world to this region, and what they bring with them when they arrive. Our head winemaker, Dan Bissell, joined the panel alongside representatives from Weis Vineyards, Living Roots, and Dr. Konstantin Frank, in a wide-ranging conversation moderated by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s Kyle Pallischeck.
FLXcursion | June 27–29
Hot on its heels came FLXcursion 2026! Founded by Oskar Bynke of Hermann J. Wiemer and Kelby James Russell of Apollo’s Praise, this biennial international celebration of Riesling gathers winemakers and industry media from more than 30 producers across the world’s great cool-climate regions, from Germany and Austria to New Zealand and beyond, for three days of seminars, panel discussions, and wine dinners shared across the Finger Lakes Region. For a region that has long believed in the greatness of its Riesling, it was a thrill to host so many of the people shaping that conversation worldwide.
On Monday, June 29th, we hosted a seminar on the Rieslings of New Zealand and Australia, moderated by Christina Pickard of Wine Enthusiast. That detail says a lot about what makes this event matter: while FLXcursion is rooted in the Finger Lakes, it places our wines and our region in a truly global context. Tasting our Rieslings beside benchmark bottles from around the world is a reminder that they punch well above their weight, and that they stand proudly alongside the best cool-climate wines anywhere. FLXcursion is a celebration of exactly that, and we are grateful to have a place in it.
UPCOMING AT THE VINEYARD
Summer is underway, and June brings a full calendar of live music to Keuka Spring Vineyards. From returning favorites to first-time performers, there are plenty of opportunities to gather with friends, enjoy a glass of wine, and make the most of the season.
Music & Wine
Friday, July 10th – The Variables, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Saturday, July 11th – St. Vith, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Sunday, July 12th – Oliver Burdo & Trevor Stribing, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Friday, July 17th – Banned from the Tavern, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Saturday, July 18th – Stargroove, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Sunday, July 19th – Nate Michaels – 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Thursday, July 23rd – Jerico – 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM ($20 Premium Concert – Limited Tickets)
Friday, July 24th – Aaron D. & The Confluence – 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Saturday, July 25th – Calya & The Coy Dogs – 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Sunday, July 26th – Corey Comer – 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Friday, July 31st – Jon Lamana – 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Others Events
Thursday, July 16th — Vista Supper Club with Turtle Island Homestead, 6:30 PM (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, July 19th – Paint & Sip – 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM ($65)