Red Newt Cellars

I could take it or leave it for wine but delicious grilled cheese as a stop is worth it. Also good homemade cookies — even hours later ! 4 stars for food but 3 stars for the winery.

We had a great tasting experience here. The wines (specifically the reds) were superior to some of the others we tasted around Lake Seneca. They are doing some fun things with wine at Red Newt. Marc, our tasting guy, was so passionate and knowledgeable about wines and he treated us so well. Tasting room was airy and spacious. Highly recommend this place.

Wonderful tasting of their many white wines. We particularly liked the Circle Reisling and semi-​dry Reisling. We did not eat at the Bistro this time but it is really nice (and rare on Seneca) to have the option to snack (olives, almonds, cheese tray) while sampling the wines.

Absolutely loved the dry Riesling and the hellbender port. A little wierd and empty and quiet inside. Granted that was at 10 am on a Friday!
Very helpful staff, gave us an alternate route to see the gorge at watkins glen. Something we really wanted to do but is closed after the beginning of November due to ice. Appreciated that they took care of two tourists!
Out of all the wineries, make this a must taste!

Wine was was great and our sommelier was nice. We were there for about 30 minutes and were the only guests they had. We enjoyed their drier wines, the Red EFT and their Cab Franc. When asked if we could purchase glasses of wine and eat our picnic we were told no because of the café they had On premise (that wasn’t open). It definitely turned us off a little especially because we were willing to BUY more wine. I need to add that my husband has Celiacs and we have to pack food to avoid cross contamination. Even when we told them it was still a no. The wine was great that is why the 4 stars are present!

It’s not the most scenic winery but it was fun. The server was friendly. Thankfully I had made a reservation so we were brought to a tasting area immediately. I was not a big fan of their wines, which is why I took two stars away. It may be a personal preference thing though, and I wouldn’t tell someone to avoid it just because of my taste.

My pals and I snuck in shortly before closing and had a great quickie tasting! Our server was knowledgable, friendly, and charismatic. He even recommended other wineries we could check out in the morning.
We left happy and w/​2 bottles!

Ok wine, but the wine tasting guide had limited knowledge and wasn’t properly trained. Not much of a view either as it is off the lake.

Easily one of the best food and wine pairings I’ve been to in the Finger Lakes. If you love food and wine, the «Wine and Food Experience» in Red Newt’s Tasting Salon is essential. Four wines are paired with a food sampling plate, which features a mixed green salad, a potato and goat cheese ravioli, duck and preserved cherry pâte, green onion cheddar cheese, a tomato and arugula soup, and a loaf of freshly made bread with oil and salt. The wines were an all-​star cast of some the Red Newt’s best ever, including the 2008 Dry Riesling Reserve and a 2011 Dry Rosé. All of the food paired well with everything, but especially the buttery 2008 Chardonnay. Wineries in the Finger Lakes are not known for their Chards but Red Newt’s 2008 is a rare exception. My favorite part of the food was the duck and pâte. The adjoining locally-​made mustard brought out the meaty and oily flavor of the duck. But the carrot relish was the kicker, sweetening the acidity of the mustard and providing flavor to the varying fattiness of the duck and the pickle-​tasting pâte. The other star of the show was the Red Newt Ravioli. The light but pungent goat cheese contrasted delectably with the Chard and the creamy Riesling sauce on top.
After the food and wine experience I ventured in the other room for a tasting. The wines here are very good, and the owner of this winery, Dave Whiting, certainly knows what he’s doing. The best wine by far was the 2008 Dry Riesling Reserve, which was featured in the food and wine experience. Crisp, refreshing and well-​balanced, this wine is a star among an already crowded field of high-​quality Rieslings in the Finger Lakes. This is one my favorite wineries in the southeastern region of Seneca Lake and I can guarantee the Wine and Food Experience will not disappoint.

Staff was a little blah, but the 2010 Cab Franc was decent so we grabbed a bottle. Paired with blue cheese, it was great.

The wines were ok, the tasting room ok. The staff were friendly, we looked at the bistro menu; which looked standard. Not a must stop along the way. Ritz type crackers to cleanse the palate.

The drinking policy is very strict. DO NOT go here if you plan to drink at the winery. The wine was forgettable, the customer service was awful and there is no nice open space like at nearby wineries.
On the whole, I love a good tasting but this has to be the worst place I have ever been.

Off the main road but definitely worth the turn. James was in the tasting room and walked us through their wines. Definitely one of the pricier vineyards in Finger Lakes but their wines are really good.
The reserve was my favorite but I would not buy a $ 50+ wine.
The Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc were definitely some of the best we had esp the Pinot Noir.
James was very knowledgeable and wants to be a winemaker — We wish him the best and hope he does!

The tasting room is fairly large, with a nice central tasting bar. There are two flights available, $ 5 for reserve wines (5 wines on that list), or $ 2 for the standard wines (pick 5).
The staff were quite knowledgable about their product, as one would expect. The wines themselves were quite good, especially the Riesling (a theme for this trip; Seneca Rieslings are top-​notch).
This, and the bistro run by the winery, were the hilight of our trip.

We went to see about a tasting today at the end of our wine trail tour (put together by our hosts). We arrived at 4 PM. We were asked how many and if we had a reservation. Big group, no reservation. Told we could not be accommodated. Fine, we went somewhere else. No problem. Problem was that the woman who told us was rude and snippy about it. We have no idea why she was nasty to us, but I’d rather drink drain cleaner than go back if that’s how they treat people. We gave her the info she asked us for and said «okay» to her response. Nothing more. No excuse for her bad manners.

Definitely difficult to find. GPS helps. But really very close to the highway and a good stop on the wine trail. Nice tasting room with large windows. Tasty wines that appear to a variety of pallets, both sweet and dry.

As you drive to Red Newt, passing road after unmarked road and turning around (again) in a dirt driveway of barking dogs, you might look to the girl in the seat next to you and ask who, exactly, thought it would be fun to try this cute little out-​of-​the-​way spot. You might ask that question but I don’t recommend it. I do recommend, however, the chevre torte (yes we finally lucked onto the right road), although it was more like pie than cake with its light crust. Regardless it was wonderful and served with balsamic glazed spinach (excellent) and a baguette (ordinary). The menu also promised a chaperon of plums but they were like the road signs (invisible).
The chicken breast under bell and banana peppers was nice but only that; I prefer skin-​on and bone-​in and those absences made the 24 bucks seem about 8 too many. The manicotti held apple-​pork sausage spinach and ricotta, and was topped with caramelized apples and parmesan. The apples were a constant surprise and this ordinary ingredient made the dish both rustic and exotic; a real winner. Dessert was some kind of fresh berry cobbler/​betty/​buckle thing and joined by spoons shaped not unlike coal shovels — how appropriate. Because that’s what you’ll want to do — shovel it in. Served piping hot with a scoop of vanilla iced cream, it was the star of the meal.
Service was better was than good and better than I expected. The décor was that of a hunting lodge (well, no kidding). And there’s plenty of wine to melt any leftover tension from your maze-​like journey, your dreamy quest.

Local cheese plate
Hennepin draft
Wine flights

It looks like their menus change every few weeks. We went for lunch so that we could hit the tasting room (open 12– 5pm) after wards. RNC’s Bistro is cute. There’s a screened in wrap-​around porch with a lovely view of Route 414. I couldn’t really see Seneca Lake, but the view was lush and green. We got the open faced sandwich with grilled portabella, grilled eggplant, tomato, spinach, fresh mozzarella on sun dried tomato wheat flatbread drizzled with balsamic syrup and the Monte Cristo sandwich on wheat bread with smoked turkey breast, ham, cheddar and spinach. The open faced sandwich was on a sweet & hearty piece of bread, not a flat bread. The Monte Cristo was a bit soggy. Both lunch entrees came with a side of daily «bistro» soup (creamy broccoli) or a house salad (great greens with your choice of dressing. We chose peace ginger vinaigrette). There are 4 white wine, 4 red wine flights ranging from $ 6.25 to $ 16.50. Nice selection of desserts, too, and local Gimme! coffee. What I like about RNC Bistro is that the chef puts local farms, breweries, dairies, etc. on her menu. The tasting room is large and airy. We grabbed a bottle of the 2006 Red Eft (an adolescent newt) as a gift for a friend. Yum. Wish that we had bought more.