Wine Review: Elfs Farm Winery and Cider House

Our family just returned from a few days in Northern New York and Vermont for our annual summer vacation. While I used to live in Plattsburgh, New York, the rest of the family was new to the area. Now, when I say I lived there, it was like 20 years ago so a lot had changed in two decades! One of the changes was the new Adirondack Wine Trail, which featured a handful of wineries, established in the last 15 years or so, making cold climate wines with grapes, such as Marquette and Frontenac. Some wineries, such as Elfs Farm Winery and Cider House, are also importing grapes from the Finger Lakes region and making Rieslings and Cayuga White blends.

We stopped at Elfs Farm the first evening we arrived in Plattsburgh, figuring it would be a nice happy hour stop before dinner. We were right. When we pulled up, we were greated by one of the dogs and a puppy, which the kids were excited about. Inside, we found a friendly vineyard owner, who was more than happy to help us explore the wines. She even offered checkers for the kids, as well as crayons and sidewalk chalk! It was a huge help to us that they could keep busy while we tasted.

One of the unique tasting features is the cool wine glass tree they use. Basically, they pour out the five featured wines starting with the first at the bottom and you work your way up to the top. It’s an extra that makes a cute photo op.

We ended up purchasing two of the wines we tried – the Sweet Riesling and Adirondack Red. Since we are not fans of hard cider, we passed on trying those, although, being that it’s located in apple country, that is part of what this vineyard is known for.

On our way out, we were also lucky enough to hear a few dinner recommendations, one of which we took. Our House Bistro in downtown Plattsburgh features all different kinds of macaroni and cheese. Lucia and Christopher opted for the traditional, Maria built her own with cheddar and bacon, Jon had poutine mac and cheese and I had chicken pot pie. Very yummy! The margaritas were excellent, as well!

I definitely recommend a stop at Elf’s Farm if you find yourself just north of the Grand Isle Ferry along route 9 in Plattsburgh; you won’t be disappointed!