CJS Vineyards & Aurelius Winery

About CJS Vineyards & Aurelius Winery

CJS Vineyards & Aurelius Winery sits on Fosterville Road in the town of Aurelius, in the farm country west of Auburn between Cayuga and Owasco lakes. Chris and Jan Scholomiti put in the first vines in 1995, a small block of Riesling and Cayuga White, added Chambourcin in 1998, and over the following years filled out roughly three acres with more Riesling, Chambourcin, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. The winery building opened in May 2003, and the operation has stayed deliberately small: a family-run estate that releases its wines in limited case lots.

The vineyard mixes vinifera with interspecific hybrids, farmed sustainably, and every wine is made vegan. Riesling is the anchor, offered dry and semi-dry, and a second white, Villago Blanco, sees oak. Chambourcin, the French-American hybrid that shrugs off Finger Lakes winters, is the house red specialty; Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc, planted in 2003–2004 on a family site on the southwest side of Owasco Lake, are the other two reds, and all three are aged in oak. A dry rosé of Cabernet Franc and two Fosterville-label blends (a semi-dry white from Cayuga White and a semi-sweet Concord–Chambourcin red) fill out a list that runs from dry to semi-sweet rather than one built around a single flagship.

This is not a drop-in tasting bar. Visits are by appointment, requested through the site's form or by phone, text or email, and groups are capped at eight, so the person pouring is very likely the winemaker. Winery tours and vineyard walks are on offer during the visit, and the owners are glad to talk shop with anyone thinking about planting grapes or making wine at home. Plan it as a quiet, conversational stop on a Cayuga Lake loop rather than a place to settle in with a crowd.