Wining and Dining: Finding local wines around Ithaca's restaurants

This week the 14850 Dining Report lines up a designated driver and heads out to try a fine meal accompanied by some of Central New York's finest products -- the area's wonderful Finger Lakes wines. Ithaca and the surrounding towns feature restaurants with some truly impressive wine lists, but we're happiest when those wine lists feature a good selection from local vineyards.

We expect eateries attached to wineries to have a good selection of their own wines, but some of those restaurants branch out and offer tremendous lists spanning the region. Red Newt Bistro overlooking Seneca Lake and Simply Red at Sheldrake Point on Cayuga's west shores both offer other wineries' bottles. Red Newt has really made an art of it, with one of the broadest Finger Lakes wine lists available anywhere.

When we asked our readers who had great Finger Lakes wine lists, Just a Taste wine and tapas bar in downtown Ithaca kept coming up. We've talked quite a bit about Just a Taste, and we love how every wine is available by the bottle or the glass. Try the local flight -- tasting glasses of six Finger Lakes wines served at once.

Daño's on Seneca has a handful of Austrian wines, which go well with their salads, spreads, charcuterie, and so on, but a remarkably broad Finger Lakes selection as well, ranging from Sheldrake Point on Cayuga Lake to Keuka Lake Vineyards two lakes to the west.

And the local wine finds a great champion at Lansing's Rogues' Harbor, whose entire wine list, and not a short one, comes from New York State -- mostly Finger Lakes offerings, plus a handful from Long Island, all at reasonable prices.

Take a look at the wine list the next time you're at one of these eateries or other local restaurants, and make sure to tell them you love seeing local wines featured. Got a particular wine you'd love to see in more restaurants? Tell them that, too. While you're at it, let us know about restaurants we missed with great local wine selections, and local wines you particularly love.