Northern
WINTER
DESTINATION
include F.X. Matt Brewing Company,
the nation’s 8th largest, Empire Brewing Company, Brewery Ommegang
and Brooklyn Brewery. www.thinkny
drinkny.com
Milk a goat, make some cheese. New
York State ranks first in the nation for
yogurt and fourth for milk production,
and visitors can snap photos and get
up close to cows, goats and sheep at
farms around the state. The best dairy
tasting treats beckon along the Finger Lakes Cheese Trail, with tastings
and events at local farms and festivals
throughout the year. The highlight
is the annual summer Finger Lakes
Cheese Festival, where you can learn
to milk a goat, make your own cheese,
pair cheeses with wines and cheese-up
your recipes. www.flcheesetrail.com
TOP: KRISTIAN S. REYNOLDS
Music in the orchards, schools with
taste. In each season, you can pick your
the state—54 of the state’s 62 counties. Most of its 300-plus wineries fall
into five major American Viticultural
Areas (AVA)--Finger Lakes, Hudson
River, Long Island, Niagara Escarpment and Lake Erie/Chautauqua--and
welcome visitors for tours and tastings. Many wineries also feature live
music and fun annual events such as
the Lucy Look-Alike grape stomp at
Palaia Vineyards in the Hudson Valley
and the food-and-wine pairing Seneca
Lake Deck the Halls Weekends in the
Finger Lakes. www.newyorkwines.org.
Good things are brewing. Once the
“hops capital of the world,” New York
has returned to its hops roots. Today,
more than 100 craft breweries produce rich complex beers that rival fine
wines for distinctive taste. USA Today
included the state on its Top Ten Best
Craft Brew States in America list and
many of the state’s top restaurants
have added beer sommeliers who suggest brews and beer-food pairings. The
Finger Lakes and Central New York
are among the regions with official
beer trails, and well known breweries
own fruits, vegetables and berries at
u-pick farms--all the more fun when
there’s live music and other festivities.
And cooking classes and demonstrations at acclaimed schools such as the
Culinary Institute of America in Hyde
Park and the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua can help
you bring out the best in the your ingredients. www.iloveny.com
Tucking into sweet dreams. Settle into
the rhythm of country life at farms like
King’s Ransom in Schuylerville or Pleroma Farm in Hudson, or vineyards
such as the Inn at Glenora Wine Cellars
in Dundee or Shinn Estate Vineyards
and Farmhouse in Mattituck. Or