Shaw Vineyard

A minimal unfinished wood tasting room, crates of bottles, and only one counter. Shaw seems like it is missing something, but then the tasting begins.
We went first on Sunday, and then returned on Monday to buy a few more bottles. This place is the epitome of small and especially capable. Unbound by production quotas, or mainstream corporate interests, the small crew operate on an incredibly local DIY Style that leads to wines with deliberate character.
We hit most of the wineries this side of the lake, and were most struck by the flavors we experienced here.
Definitely interested in seeing what’s new next year!

First of all, the wine is fantastic! Definitely my top two places in the entire FLX Region — and they conquer both red and white wines, which is rare here. We just took a group of folks who live outside New York state and they were blown away. Each person was a huge California fan and put up Shaw wines against anything they tasted in Sonoma or Napa. And that is the other point of my excellent rating — Steve (Sr. and Jr.) are fantastic guys great hosts and passionate about what they do! Make this your first and last stop in the region!

By far the most sophisticated wines along Seneca Lake are crafted at Shaw Vineyards. The winery itself is quaint and humble but the wines offered within are so impressive. Most of the wines have been aged for four years in oak and then aged further in stainless steel. You can taste and smell the difference. Most vineyards in the finger lakes area only age their wines, if at all, for nine months. We have visited many wineries along Seneca Lake, Keuka Lake and Canandaigua over the past ten years and have never fallen in love with every single offering at a tasting. In addition the server was extremely knowledgeable and personable.

This is the place that wine enthusiasts need to stop. Small spot with personal attention and wine that easily competes with Napa.

Staff are really nice and knowledgable. Tasted 7 wines for $ 5. Wines are on the pricier side, but we’re good.

Second visit in less than 2 years. We absolutely love Shaw wines. Never disappointed.

Really good wines (reds and whites). Went for a tastig and love it. Offered 6 tastings for $ 5. The owner was there and we talked about their wines and gave us good reccomendations. Bought three bottles, mostly white. If you are in the fingerlakes i recommend you checkingnt out.

I went to Shaw Vineyard on 8÷13÷14 while vacationing in the Finger Lakes, NY. It was a different experience than what I had become accustom to. The interior was filled with art for sale and there was not a clearly designated bar for the tasting. (It was more like a table set up in the middle of the room.) The wine was also very dry which was a stark contrast to the sweeter wines I had sampled in the area. I wasn’t a fan of the wine but to be honest that had more to do with my palate than I believe its quality. I thought the staff was very nice and not pushy. It was a lovely tasting experience and a interesting point of comparison. What I really liked about Shaw Vineyard is how it exampled how diverse the wine tasting experience in and/​or around the Finger Lakes can be.

The wines at Shaw focus on dry, old-​world styles, and many of the wines we tasted were old (2007, 2009, for example), having spent years in oak. The wines were all-​around solid, but none were particularly memorable and we preferred the wines at Wiemer, Lamoreaux, and Glenora. This was a nice visit, but it certainly didn’t live up to the «best of» hype from other reviewers (one of whom seems to be the owner’s son).

We stopped here during a wine tasting trip to the Finger Lakes. The tasting room had a kind rustic exterior along with an almost intentional unfinished interior. I’m not sure if it was unfinished intentionally or that was the aesthetic they were going for but the end result was a lot of unfinished wood. There was also a lot of art on the walls so it made an odd combination. They definitely felt like they were going for a more upscale approach than the average winery in the area from the art, to the wines, to the pricing but I’m not sure if they completely pulled it off.
The wines were all really dry which isn’t really to my taste and wasn’t what you really expect from that region. Although they seemed to be good Reds but it’s hard for me to judge since that isn’t really my preference. The woman who served our tasting was friendly and very knowledgeable. The tasting room was smaller and more intimate than some of the other wineries in the area and despite almost snobbish aire upon entering the staff was very friendly and welcoming to everyone. The only reason I wouldn’t rate them higher is I just like dry, bold reds. If you do I’d highly recommend Shaw Vineyards.

During our recent swing through the Seneca Lake wine trail we hit this cool looking winery overlooking majestic views. The place itself looks like a barn from the outside, and a funky artists den on the inside.
If you enjoy dry red wine this is a good choice. We bought a few bottles to bring home and enjoy. I’m not a big fan of white wines but they also produced a flavorful pinot grigio called La Bella.
My only gripe is with the girl who was serving and telling us about the wines. It almost seemed as if she was bored, was not happy to be bothered by us coming in, and did not really tell us much about the wines. A smile, enthusiasm, and bit of personality goes a long way you know.
We did meet and chat with the owner who was a great guy. He told us about how he came into the wine making biz and about his wines and the region. A genuinely nice man who has a passion for wine making.

Some of the best we had all day. Both the whites and reds are superb and offer so much flavor. Do yourself a favor and stop here. We ended up buying several bottles.

This was my first trip to the Finger Lakes wine region, which I entered with a bit of a snobbish attitude. I figured there was no way it could compare to Napa, Sonoma, Willamette, Paso, etc. Basically, with the high residual sugar wines up and down the wine trails, it still doesn’t.
As many other reviewers ahead of me have said, these are the best, dry, red wines in the region. The winemaker, Steve, kept pointing this out, that he concentrates on his reds. But don’t pass up on the whites. At every tasting, I always skip over the Pinot Grigio. I just picture bottles of overpriced, Santa Margarita sugar water. Even Shaw’s Pinot Grigio, which was done more in the style of Pinot Gris wines of the Alsace, was terrific.
All of these five star reviewers are spot on. If you are touring the region with grandmom, go everywhere else that sells wine named Red Zeppelin. If you enjoy really good wine, visit Shaw.

Absolutely the best winery in the area. If you are looking for well made dry wines, be sure to stop at Shaw. Of all the wineries we visited, Shaw was the only winery that I can honestly say I liked every wine we tasted.
The care and passion that Steve Shaw puts into his wines are evident. I only wish I could have left with a bottle of each he had to offer.

I’ll parrot a few other reviews and just say this was by far the best of the 5 wineries we tried in the area, and the only one who could produce a red with authority. All their wines were well made, whites and reds. It is all relative (we live in SF and have toured just about every wine region in CA), but these wines are just good. If you’re touring the area, gotta stop in here.
The other place we liked, for whites, was Hermann J. Wiemer. Their Reisling was the best of the 5 wineries.

I pondered for a long while before rating Shaw Vineyard «5 stars» and I decided to go all the way to the top… Why? Because everything in life is relative, right? It’s very hard to compare their modest (but very cozy) tasting room with what some of the wineries in Napa Valley can offer. It would be even unfair. However, if we are rating a Fingers Lakers winery, they are truly «as good as it gets». First of all, they are some of the best people you will find in the wine business anywhere. And, being the hardcore #winelover that I am, the quality of the wine is certainly the most important factor when I rate a winery. So, as simple as this: their wines are amazing. Five starts if you wish…
Luiz Alberto, #winelover

Without a doubt one of the best wineries in the Finger Lakes Regions. In fact one of the best wineries anywhere! Did a complete tasting on my annual labor Day pilgrimage to the Finger Lakes and was impressed by the consistent high quality of their wines. Chardonnay was outstanding. And the Pinot Grigiio was refreshing. But where they really shine are the reds. In fact the 2007 Pinot Noir was one of the best Pinots I’ve had in quite some time. And service was great as always. The father & son team always makes us feel like VIPs. Definitely worth a visit.

Owner Steve treated everyone nice. Often time I brought my Taiwanese friends over to visit and they were all impressed. If you love dry reselling and dry red, make sure you stop by Shaw vineyard on the way down to Seneca lake and try some their recent collections which you can’t miss!

Best in the Finger Lakes. The wines are generally more pricey than others in the Fingers Lakes, but the quality is worth it.
I really love that they don’t allow Limos or buses. (sorry, but the large wine-​drinking, partying groups are generally obnoxious and can destroy the atmosphere tastings should be done in.
Everytime I’ve gone, the owner/​winemaker (Steve) is the person pouring the tastings. He’s not super chatty, but he is pleasant.
Again, Shaw’s reds are far and way the best in the Finger Lakes. And I love the small business atmosphere much more than the carnival many of the other wineries turn into on the weekends. It’s a must stop if you are serious about wine.

During my recent Finger Lakes visit and after hitting many mediocre wineries, Shaw was a refreshing treat. Earlier in the week, my buddy and I stumbled upon the very new New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY (well worth a visit!) and they had a nice sampling of NY State wines and beers. While most of the wines tasted were ehhhh — one stood out among the crowd. It was the Shaw 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. Although we never heard of this winery, we were determined to find it and try some of the fruits of their labors.
On our last day of travel, we bumped into the cute little Shaw vineyard north of Watkins Glen and just north of Hermann J. Wiemer vineyard. If we didn’t know any better, we would have driven right past this unassuming and under construction facility. The tasting person on duty was Laura — an extremely friendly and knowledgeable employee. For a small $ 3 charge, we tried 5 or six wines from Riesling, to Gewürztraminer, to Pinot Noir and ending up with the standout winner — the Cab. In fact, it was sooooo good that we paid for a second flight to try the reds again! That sealed the deal for us. Wrapped up a case of 2003 Cab and dragged it back to NJ to enjoy it. Laura even offered us a taste of the freshly picked pinot noir grapes and walked us through the crushing process going on outside the tasting room.
Although the establishment looks a bit rough with a lot of construction going on, don’t make the mistake of missing this place. Tell Laura that the 2 guys from NJ sent you. You’ll thank us later.