Finger Lakes tops list of best U.S. wine regions to visit

Thrillist, the online media brand covering food, drink, travel and entertainment, convened a panel of sommeliers to pick "Best Wine Regions to Visit In the U.S." They came up with 11 of them, and tops on the list is the Finger Lakes.

Here's what Thrillist had to say:

"No. 1. Finger Lakes, NY.

Must-hit wineries: Get a history lesson at Dr. Frank's before hitting Ravines or Hermann J. Wiemer. Perhaps we spoke too soon when we named the Finger Lakes the most underrated place in New York. This southern region of the Empire State is an like an SEC football team to sommeliers (that is, a powerhouse), except it actually deserves to be in everyone's top five.

"There are a lot of up-and-coming wineries there," says [panelist Daniel] Toral, "and better restaurants keep opening, as well." In fact, since the region started blowing up a few years ago, there are now over 100 wineries in the area. And the best part? It hasn't been overtaken by tourists and developers yet so there won't be horrendous crowds to fight when you visit the famous gorges at Watkins Glen State Park in the morning, and then head to the venerable birthplace of East Coast winemaking -- Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars -- later in the day." 

You can read the evaluations of the other 10 regions by clicking here.

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• Go here to visit Dowd On Drinks
• Go here to visit Notes On Napkins
• Go here to visit the Capital Region Brew Trail

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