Gallery

A man works in the snow-covered vineyard pruning vines using pruning shears.
Starting in January, the vines are pruned to remove old growth. This balances each vine with the right number of buds to produce a full crop in the fall, but not so many grape clusters that the quality of each will be less than optimum.
Vine trunks and canes tied to a trellis that run in horizontal rows across the vineyard
By early May, when pruning is complete, the trunks and canes are tied to trellis wires to support the growth of vines and fruit through the summer and fall.
A close up of grape buds on the vine.
Each bud on a vine produces leaves and fruit clusters. You can see the beginnings of grape clusters on this vine.
A close-up of a vine with clusters of pea-sized, unripe grapes.
The grape clusters grow through the summer.
A view of the vineyard, with green foliage and Cayuga Lake in the background.
Frontenac Point Vineyard overlooking Cayuga Lake.
View of the vineyard showing rows of fully-grown grape vines
By late August, the vines are fully grown for the season. Now the ripening process begins.
Close-up view of green pinot-noir grapes among green/red grape leaves.
Pinot Noir grapes before they ripen and turn red (veraison).
A ripe cluster of red Chambourcin grapes surrounded by grape leaves.
Ripe, red Chambourcin grapes just before they are hand-picked in late October.
Orange plastic boxes placed on the ground across the vineyard.
September: Harvest is finally here! Boxes are laid out in the vineyard. The grape clusters will be hand-picked and placed in the boxes.
A man and woman in the vineyard display a full crate of grapes
A crate of grapes weighs about 30 pounds and produces about 12 bottles of wine.
A large stack of grape-filled crates sitting in front of the grape crusher
Chardonnay grapes just brought in from the vineyard, waiting to be crushed.
A helicopter flies at low altitude over the vineyard
A lovely fall day at Frontenac Point Vineyard and Winery. Harvest is over for another year.