Morten Hallgren grew up on a vineyard in Provence and trained in Bordeaux before he and his wife Lisa settled in the Finger Lakes and founded Ravines Wine Cellars in 2000. The result is a winery with a distinctly European philosophy: restrained winemaking, food-friendly acidity, and a belief that the vineyard matters more than the cellar. Their estate vineyards on the eastern shore of Keuka Lake and western shore of Seneca Lake produce wines with a precision unusual in the region.

The dry Riesling is consistently among the region’s best, but Ravines also does serious work with Cabernet Franc—a variety that increasingly looks like the Finger Lakes’ most promising red grape. The Geneva tasting room on Seneca Lake is the more accessible of their two locations, with a clean, modern space that reflects the no-nonsense approach to the wines themselves. Expect structured, mineral-driven whites and reds with real depth.