Swedish Hill Vineyard & Winery

I decided to tour this Winery based on its Unilocal Ratings but honestly I am a kinda disappointed. We went there on the Memorial Day weekend on a Sunday and the place was kind of empty. However the guy who conducted our wine tasting session tried to rev up the whole experience and therefore thumbs up to him for that. But we wanted to take a tour of the winery and distillery which was off for that day (for no particular reason!) and we didn’t even get a Chance to meet their popular Donkey– Doobie. Nevertheless the wines were good and we picked a stock of it! But if you are looking a true Wineyard Experience with tour n all then look for a better winery.

Nice winery. Staff was pretty rude… with the exception of the gentleman that did our tasting. It was like everything was an inconvenience to them.
Try the Doobie Blues!

Enjoy coming here every time we visit the glen. They have a new blue waters line that is amazing. Great place.

Fun atmosphere and a large selection of wines. There is something for everyone here. Large tasting room with several two additional rooms selling wine merchandise. Loved their mascot Doobie the Donkey. Be sure to head out back and take a visit with him. Great views, seems like it would be the perfect place to spend the afternoon during peak season. It was still to chilly to really enjoy the grounds, but would definitely come back with a big group when the temp is right.
Specifically on the wines, nothing really stood out to me. Wide variety of wines but nothing we really had to have and take home. Come for the fun atmosphere and enjoy a bottle on the grounds.

Nice place! Delicious sweet wines to choose from. Hostess who helped us was friendly and informative. Stopped by early so we didn’t stay long enough to take in all the scenery but will definitely stop by again!

One of our favorite wineries to visit over the last 13 years.

Must go to… Great find on Cayuga Lake. Definitely worth the extra time to get here. Very friendly staff as well as very friendly pours. Lemberger wine was a great choice — drank it that night!

Two thumbs up, big frogs in the pond. Yeah, big frogs probably don’t elevate many other people’s experiences, but it gives mine a bug thumbs up… easily entertained! Eclectic mix of wines to taste. We happened upon a great case sale woo hoo!

I went to Swedish Hill on 8÷12÷14 while vacating in the Finger Lakes. It came highly recommended from a friend.
Swedish Hill has a nice variety of sweet and dry wines. I ended up picking up a couple of bottles of their sweet wines to enjoy at a later date.
The wines at Swedish Hill were also very economical. It looked like they rotate a type of wine that is on sale (discount on per bottle, not on a quantity purchase).
They’re tasting room and retail areas are very well organized. I also appreciated that their retail section focused on their wine and not a lot of wine related accruements.

Let me start by saying I really struggled over whether or not to even write this review at all, firstly, because I used to love this place. Secondly, because after my last experience there I’m not quite sure that writing a review is worth the effort. I have decided that to save you from the disappointment and the hassle I previously went through that I will go ahead with my review.
My husband and I travel from CA to upstate NY frequently to visit his family, and one of the things I look forward to the most is the wine and touring the finger lakes for tastings. Unlike most Californians I appreciate sweeter wines and a wide variety of flavors, and the finger lakes never disappoint. One of my favorite places to experience the best NY had to offer used to be Swedish Hill, unfortunately that all changed on my most recent trip there (a couple of days ago).
With high hopes, my in laws, husband and I made it our first stop of the day. I typically drop about 200 bucks at this winery as it’s usually our favorite and it’s where I like to buy wine to bring back to my buddies in California so they can see how the better half lives. My good mood ended when we got to the tasting bar.
The lady (and I use the term lady lightly) behind the totally empty wine bar didn’t greet us with a smile… but instead a lecture. We were immediately reprimanded because we did not call ahead because our group was 9 people tasting together. We were also rudely informed that even though we should have been charged extra for the tasting because of the size of our group that she would do us a «favor» and charge us the non group price.
Now is where the fun begins. She (still being totally full of attitude apparently due to our HUGE party of nine at an empty bar) poured our first round without explaining anything we had selected, walked over to he coworker and exclaimed that we obviously couldn’t read because we showed up in a group of nine (at an EMPTY bar) and that her coworker would have to help because our party was soooooooo huge. After looking on the walls, the doors, and the website I can’t find anything that indicated an additional charge for a group of nine, nor could I find any warning about the super rude turn this place had taken.
Another couple walked in after this and joined us at the bar, they ended up next to me at the end of the wine bar. The rude lady then proceeds to explain to the people that just came in that their service would be slower than typical because the large group at the bar couldn’t read and we didn’t call ahead, she said this while looking directly at my husband and I… Nice. One of the people that had just come in looked at me and asked «what’s going on with her?», to which my reply was a deep shoulder shrug.
So, to finish up, the rudeness continued and my husband and I left Swedish hill empty handed for the first time in three years. The person «helping» us couldn’t even be bothered to say the name of the wine as she poured for all of us, and also complained about our group size and our inability to read the ENTIRE time we were there. Even the people standing next to us were put off by her childlike behavior.
Just a quick note, if there was a charge we would have gladly paid it. After the first round of complaining. I offered to pay any up charge necessary multiple times, and was ignored, or brushed off with a «that’s okay» when clearly it was not based on the copious complaining and tantrum action coming from her the entire time. I think she just needed an excuse to be rude, because if she had accepted the up charge she wouldn’t have been able to complain the whole time we were there.
So bummed that I’m on the plane home from New York having to write this review. I really did love this place and it’s sad to see that it’s gone WAY DOWNHILL since my last visit.
Happy ending:
Went down the road to Goose Watch (another favorite of ours), had a great experience and my party left after buying TONS of wine, no one person bought less than 6 bottles, and when they noticed we were a family group, the wine server took us on to their balcony and got us hooked up with an awesome family photo to boot!
In closing: a little FRIENDLY service goes a long way. Up your game Swedish Hill, and stop taking yourselves so darn seriously.

What a fun place. In addition to the typical winery offerings, they have a great gift shop and fun staff who really enjoy interacting with the visitors. Plus, they have Doobie! Can’t beat a winery with a jackass.

I consider Swedish Hill to be my gateway to Cayuga Lake wineries. They are affiliated with a few others in the area, but they also have all the reference material you need to plan the rest of your excursion (the first winery I visited — not naming it, but it’s to the north — had NOTHING). In fact, the woman who took us through our tastings made the time to go through the Finger Lakes winery map with us to indicate which wineries around both Cayuga and Seneca Lakes — affiliated or not — would have the wines of most interest to us. Their Rieslings are among my favorites and their Doobie’s Jack Ass Red was one of my favorite reds. I liked the gift assortment in the back too — nowhere near as much as other wineries, but more to my liking.
Speaking of Doobie, I think we must have caught him just waking up from a nap. He did bray to greet us, but he was all «Rub my ears so I can go back to sleep.»

Not the most sophisticated winery on our tour but the wines were pleasant and many trended toward sweeter, which is fine with me. They seemed to have a LOT of different products… at least a half dozen themed for Christmas!
The donkey was not too interested in us but he was fun to see.

I hate to be so harsh on such a well-​reviewed place (it’s why I picked this place!), but I have to give my honest opinion about my particular experience — it was not that great, «I’ve [certainly] experienced better.» It was our first stop on the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, and if I wasn’t the type to have rose-​colored glasses, it probably would have ruined the vibe for the rest of the trip. Also since it was a first stop, I came in fully sober.
There weren’t a lot of people upon arriving, but as my group went to the bathroom, multiple groups started to congregate around the tasting table, and it seemed as though they didn’t know how to handle it. Maybe being Labor Day, the regular staff had taken off? But we weren’t even greeted or acknowledged by any of the three behind the counter for at least 10 minutes, although we were standing right in front of them. When finally we were helped, the staff member we had wasn’t very friendly and spoke about the wines in a very uninteresting way.
Here’s the thing: when I go to a tasting and the other staff members are there, chatting it up and being friendly with the people they are helping, you look ten times worse when you stand there with a sour, pouty, I-don’t –want-​to-​be-​here look on your face. I had heard one of the others working there was from Goose Watch, and he was so much friendlier, I wish we had him — it may have changed our experience. The donkey was even friendlier than her!
As for the wines (I prefer semi-​sweet), I have to say there were a few decent ones, like the Svenska blush and the Catawba. If you don’t mind aloof staff members, go ahead and try the place, and go try and meet Doobie the donkey! They also do have some specials on their wine like BOGO 50% off, and it is 3 dollars for 6 tastings.
I would not recommend this place to people I know, but instead I would suggest to drive a few minutes south and go to Americana Vineyard.

Fun winery with some great, very drinkable wines, and bubbly! We loved the Dry Riesling and Viking Red. Doobie the donkey is so friendly!

Had a great experience here on our Fingerlakes wine tasting adventure. I already drank my Swedish Hill 2010 Cab Franc and I’m already wishing I had bought another bottle. Luckily, they have purchasing online options.
Friendly and knowledgeable staff with excellent tasting wine. Wouldn’t miss this winery next year.

Um… my Unilocal draft says: «Lots of reidling. Lil cattle herding.» ?!
Yes, this was only the second stop in on our vineyard visits. Clearly, I’d already lost my main motor function. I can roughly translate the draft to mean «Heavy riesling options on the menu. And a little chaotic and crowded on entry… some «cattle herding» to get you to the right area for tasting. When we arrived the front room bar was occupied, but we were led to the bar in a separate room in back, and this was actually preferable — a private tasting away from the bustling shop area. The rieslings, they were good, from what I recall. So was some of the other stuff. And our bartender was great. He handled our group of 10 really well, and even gave Phil & I an extra pour, since we were the only ones drinking red, and he wanted to share one of his faves with us.
There are daily tours, at specific times. We were told it would last 45 minutes. It was about half of that (which is a good thing. There’s wine to be drunk (drank? drankened?), people. Several of the areas (like the bottling room) weren’t open, which is why we breezed through a little more quickly. We learned some fun facts… like the fact that they compost, and are considered a sustainable winery.
Also — they have a donkey. Named Doobie.

This was a great winery! The staff was friendly and helpful and they had a great selection of wine to taste. $ 2.00 per 6 samples which seems to be the norm in the area. Although you do have to pay an extra dollar per sample of the sweeter or more expensive wines. They have beautiful vineyards right on site and also offer tours twice a day of the winery. (unfortunately we didnt have time for the tour but Im sure its great!) And the wine is pretty cheap. We bought about 5 or 6 bottles and nothing was more than $ 13.

Stopped by during my random trip with my boyfriend to Seneca Falls, NY. We had a great time. The man who poured for us during our tasting was extremely friendly and full of really interesting information.
I’m not a hardcore wine-​lover but I must say these were some of the best wines I’ve had in a while! We ended up buying three bottles of Viking White and one bottle of Naturel Champagne. They have great deals if you want to buy multiple bottles, we took advantage of the buy two bottles get one free deal. I definitely recommend that you try the Naurel and the celebration blush if you like sweet, bubbly champagne!
It’s only $ 2 a person for a tasting of eight wines. Give this place a try!

One of the biggest places in the Finger Lakes region. I’m surprised I’m the first to review it. There are several large rooms in the tasting building, each with its own tasting bar – and every one of the bars was full of wall to wall people. I visited there in November-​not exactly prime time for winery hopping in upstate NY (people must have been loading up for the holidays). And Swedish Hill is a good place to do that. Wines at all price points, and all were good. I snapped up several bottles of their Viking Red… an excellent table red, and NY is not known for reds. At $ 10 a bottle, it’s tempting.
They are well known in these parts of New York for their donkey, Doobie, who is about 20 years old. I knew about Doobie, and I’m from Virginia. The twentysomething working the cash register looked at me like I was nuts when I asked where the donkey was. «Dude, is there a donkey here?» (He muttered something to that effect to a co-​worker). Doobie resides in a barn outside. But he’s got a few wines named after him. This place is worth a stop. You get a lot of bang for your buck. And their sister wineries on the Finger Lakes – Goose Watch and Penguin Bay – are good too (but smaller, which is not a bad thing at all).