Reserving a tour with Grapevine Country Tours

We do not offer online booking of tours.  We enjoy speaking with our potential guests to determine what best meets their needs. Here is some of the information that we need from you in order to give you an accurate rate:

Date you would like to tour?

Number of people in your party?

Pick up location?–where you are staying so there is no drinking and driving

Do you want one of our clean, reliable vehicles or would you like us to drive your vehicle?

Kinds of wine you enjoy so we can make suggestions for reservations

With this information, we can give you quality service. Contact us:

Calling 315 585 9599, (our 800 number has been disconnected)

Or email Bonnie@grapevinecountrytours.com or Nicole@grapevinecountrytours.com

Facebook and Messenger are unreliable ways to get an answer as we do not always check these.

We look forward to hearing from you to reserve your wine or beer tour.  Remember we do not allow drinking of alcoholic beverages in our vehicles.

We now offer drive your car at a lower price

Sometimes, it is important to save some money and still have a great time.  We understand that, so we offer you an alternative to traveling in one of our vehicles.  We can put one of our drivers in your car to take your group.  Rates begin at $45.00 per hour with a minimum of 4 hours.  Rate is determined by the distance we need to travel from our base to your pickup location.  Give us a call to find out more.

We are fully insured to drive your car.  We wouldn’t have it any other way!

Remember, we pick up strangers and return friends.

 

Grapevine Country Tours featured in Forbes blog

Check out this article on the Finger Lakes by Forbes blogger, Michele Robson, who recently toured with us.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelerobson/2023/06/30/move-over-napa-its-all-about-finger-lakes-wine-vacations/


Gasoline Surcharges on some tours

With the rising cost of gasoline, we need to make some changes to our pricing structure.

If you are staying on the lake you plan to tour, the cost is as quoted.

If you are visiting wineries and breweries on one lake while being picked up on another, there will be a gasoline surcharge added to your tour cost.

The best thing to do is book your lodging reservations near the lake you wish to visit.

Thank you for understanding.

Bonnie

 

Airport Transfers now an option

Students and Travelers,

We are now offering weekday airport runs from Geneva to Rochester or Syracuse.  Give us a call to reserve your space in our clean, comfortable and reliable vehicles.

Sheldrake Point

Sheldrake Point is a little off the main road, but definitely worth the extra few minutes! Or if you prefer, you can dock your boat at one of their eight slips on Cayuga Lake and walk along their beach to the tasting room across the street. Sheldrake Point offers dry red and white wines, as well as a nice selection of ice and dessert wines. This winery is a scenic stop among Cayuga Lake wineries so you can ask your driver if they could bring you there.

Buttonwood Grove Winery on Cayuga Lake

Like your bubbles? Located on the West side of Cayuga Lake is Buttonwood Grove Winery, and they have five different varietals to choose from! During the warmer months, their outdoor deck is the perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine and often music. Check their website. Besides bubbly, they also offer dry varietals of red and white wine. Whether you visit for the wine, the view, or to stay in one of their cabins, Buttonwood is a winery that you should have on your Finger Lakes bucket list. We would love to take you there for a tasting!

A Visit to Belhurst Castle and Winery

Belhurst is a uniquely beautiful lodging and winery destination on Seneca Lake in Geneva, New York, the heart of the Finger Lakes. You may try the classic wine tasting, which offers a variety of wines to suit every palate. They also offer beer and cider tastings.

A favorite with our guests is the Wine and Cheese pairing. Here you are offered five wines and five cheeses, all local. If you are looking for a more lavish experience, they offer a Food and Wine pairing dinner. This is a six course meal with locally sourced ingredients to create unique, seasonally inspired dishes paired with Belhurst Castle wines.

Your Grapevine Country Tours driver will be more than happy to make Belhurst Castle a stop on your customized wine tour.

Thoughts on doing wine tastings

There is information each day on what is going to happen once we are able to do wine tours again. Here are some items that were in the New York Wine and Grape Foundation newsletter from the Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper. We will keep you posted!

You will need to wear a mask
While tasting wines would be impossible with a mask on, you will likely need to wear a mask until you get to your designated tasting area.
Group sizes will be reduced
Hold off on planning those big bachelorette parties. Wineries will likely be limiting groups to six people, but groups of twos and fours will be encouraged. “Wineries are looking at this as an opportunity to make this experience exclusive, exciting and different,”
Tasting bars will be spaced out
Standing shoulder to shoulder at tasting bars will become a thing of the past   Some wineries are considering using Plexiglas dividers between groups.
Seated tastings will replace tasting bars
Rather than chatting with tasting room staff, visitors will be given a printed tasting sheet that will not be reused. Three Brothers and Boundary Breaks are considering seated tastings.

Authorized Woman Owned Business since 2018, started by a woman in 2002

I started this business with an interest in wine and a bit of desperation after the tragedy of September 11 when the travel industry tanked.  It wasn’t easy to start from scratch, and there were times that people tried to discourage me from taking the risk, but I forged on.  There were difficult years for sure, but the industry welcomed me and I found friends at the wineries and in the tourism community.  It wasn’t until 2017 that someone encouraged me to apply as a woman owned business.  I already considered myself one!

The paperwork was immense, but I finally succeeded!  Now I am proud to say that my daughter-in-law, Nicole, has begun to work with me in this fantastic business.  Together we are a strong force!  We have a lot of fun in all that we do.  And I am thankful for all of the support that we get from our wine tour friends.

Bonnie Osborne