Magnus Ridge Winery

About Magnus Ridge Winery

Magnus Ridge Winery sits on the west shore of Seneca Lake in Rock Stream, on the east side of Route 14 about ten minutes north of Watkins Glen. Sandy and Matt Downey bought the wooded 73-acre parcel in 2002, hand-planted vines with their family in 2005, took a first harvest in 2007 and opened the tasting room in July 2011. The building, by Skaneateles architect Andy Ramsgard, is a draw in itself: post-and-beam framing, a chandelier made of wine glasses, windows set with whole bottles, fireplaces in the North and South rooms and twin gatehouses at the entrance. Behind it, a patio looks over a pond and the woods.

Just over ten acres are planted, all estate fruit picked by hand in late fall. The range is wide for a small producer: dry Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Traminette, a semi-dry Riesling with library vintages back to 2011, and dry reds from Cabernet Franc, Lemberger, Merlot and Syrah. Whites ferment in stainless steel or oak and acacia barrels after a slow pneumatic pressing; reds macerate on the skins for one to three weeks, some with whole bunches. Three sweet wines round things out, among them Diamond, a lychee-scented white from the native Moore's Diamond grape, and Fire Ant Red, a strawberry-and-cinnamon hybrid blend that is by far their most-reviewed wine on Vivino.

The signature format is the wine-cheese-wine pairing, each pour matched to a New York State cheese and taken seated at benches cut from old wine casks. Walk-ins are welcome, but three tasting rooms holding up to 100 people fill with groups, so larger parties should call ahead. Waterlilies Café pours coffee, wine slushies, cocktails and local beer and cider, and does lunch, cheese and chocolate truffles, so a tasting can easily stretch into an afternoon on the patio.