September has arrived, and with it comes one of the most anticipated times of year at Keuka Spring Vineyards. Color is moving through the clusters, the first fruit is coming off vines across the Finger Lakes, and the entire property is beginning to lean toward harvest.
August brought us to this moment. More than 250 of you joined us for a special Thursday evening with Claudia Hoyser, our Vista Club members gathered for a late-summer supper with Turtle Island Homestead, and preparations began for the September Wine Club package.
Now, with harvest on the horizon and another full month ahead, there is plenty happening both in the vineyard and beyond. Here is the latest from Keuka Spring Vineyards.
FROM THE VINEYARD: VERAISON AND THE START OF HARVEST
One of the most exciting transformations of the growing season is happening in the vineyard. Veraison has arrived, the stage when grapes begin to ripen and red varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Blaufränkisch trade their summer green for shades of purple.
It is also our first real sign that harvest is getting close. Across the Finger Lakes, some of the earliest varieties have already begun coming off the vines, while others continue building the flavor, color, and ripeness that will ultimately shape the 2026 vintage.
So far, Mother Nature has given us plenty to watch. A warm growing season has the vineyard running ahead of last year, while an unusually dry August helped keep the fruit healthy as it moved through this important stage of ripening.* There is still plenty of growing season ahead, and much can change before the final clusters are picked, but we like what we are seeing.
For now, the vineyard is changing almost daily, and the countdown to harvest at Keuka Spring Vineyards is officially underway.
RECOGNIZED AT THE NEW YORK WINE CLASSIC
The results of the 40th annual New York Wine Classic were announced in August, and we were honored to see Keuka Spring Vineyards recognized among wineries from across the state. As New York’s flagship wine competition, it offers a meaningful opportunity to have our wines evaluated alongside those of fellow producers whose work continues to elevate winemaking across New York.
It was an exceptional showing for Keuka Spring Vineyards, with 1 Platinum Medal and 12 Gold Medals across a wide range of wines. Leading the results was our 2024 Winemakers Reserve TBA Riesling, earning 96 points, a Platinum Medal, and the title of Best Late Harvest Wine. This limited-production wine will be released soon, and we’re especially excited to share it with you.
The recognition extended across Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, sparkling, and red wines, reflecting the range of varieties and styles we are fortunate to work with across the Finger Lakes.
Explore the complete 2026 New York Wine Classic results and all of our award-winning wines here.
Recognition like this reflects the work of many hands, from the growers who tend the vineyards to Daniel Bissell and our cellar team, and everyone who shares these wines with you. Most of all, we’re grateful to everyone who continues to enjoy our wines, share them, and visit us here on Keuka Lake.
AN EVENING WITH CLAUDIA HOYSER
On Thursday, August 20th, we opened the lawn for a special mid-week edition of our Music & Wine Series, and more than 250 of you came out for it. Claudia Hoyser has become something close to family here, and a Thursday evening in late August turned out to be the right setting for her: the light long and low over the lake, glasses filled, blankets and lawn chairs spread from the pavilion all the way back through the rows.
It was the kind of night that makes the case for this place better than any tasting note can. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to Claudia and her band for giving us one of the best evenings of the summer!
FROM THE CELLAR: THE SEPTEMBER WINE CLUB PACKAGE
The September Vista Club package is ready, bringing together four wines selected by our winemaking and tasting team. Two fresh 2025 whites offer a bright start to the season, while Cayuco and Millers Cove Red are ready for the cooler days ahead.
2025 Dry Riesling
2025 Nutt Road Pinot Gris
Cayuco
Millers Cove Red
Pickups are available now at the vineyard. Stop in for your wines and stay awhile to enjoy a glass as the vineyard begins its turn toward fall. Shipments will begin heading out September 9th.
ON OUR TABLE: 2025 NUTT ROAD PINOT GRIS
Of the four wines in this month’s package, the Pinot Gris is the one we keep reaching for, and September is exactly its moment.
Nutt Road Vineyard sits on Seneca Lake, on glacial soils of gravelly loam over limestone and shale. This special site on the west side of the lake, carefully stewarded by 3rd generation grower Clark Simmons, gives wine structure without asking for much intervention, and this bottling is made to stay out of its way: native fermentation, a gentle touch of skin contact for depth and texture, then aging in steel and neutral oak to keep the fruit clear and the mouthfeel soft. No heavy hand, no makeup. The result is a Pinot Gris with orchard fruit at the center and a quiet complexity underneath; the kind of white that rewards a second glass more than a first sip.
This is a wine you do not want to serve too cold. Straight from the refrigerator, the texture that makes this wine interesting stays hidden. Pull the bottle fifteen or twenty minutes ahead, or pour a glass and let it sit while you cook; as it warms toward cellar temperature, the weight and the orchard fruit come forward together.
It is a genuinely useful wine at the table, which is why it lives on ours. It handles a cheese board and a bowl of soup with equal grace, and it is very good with roast chicken, pork, squash, apples, and anything involving brown butter or sage. It also has enough texture to stand up to a little spice.
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.
Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival | September 12–13
We are heading downstate! Keuka Spring Vineyards will be pouring at the 25th annual Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, Saturday from 11am to 6pm and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. If you are in the Hudson Valley or the New York City metro area and have been meaning to make the trip up to Keuka Lake, let us come to you first. Find our table, say hello, and taste your way through what we have been working on this year. Tickets and details are available at hudsonvalleywinefest.com.
Amarillo by Morning: A Tribute to George Strait | September 18 | 5:00-8:00PM
We are closing out the season on the lawn with a night of pure country. Amarillo by Morning brings the George Strait catalog to the vineyard — decades of honky-tonk and Texas swing from one of the most covered songbooks in American music, played by a band that knows every corner of it. Bring a chair, bring a blanket, and settle in with a glass while the sun goes down over the lake.
$50 general admission | $40 Wine Club members | Complimentary for our growers
Our growers get in free, and we mean that as more than a courtesy. Everything in your glass started in someone’s vineyard, and after the season these folks have just put in, a night on the lawn is the least we can offer.
Citations
*Vineyard data sourced from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Finger Lakes Grape Program, Finger Lakes Vineyard Update, August 2026, Issue 016, Hans Walter-Peterson, Team Leader.