It was supposedly their grand opening on Saturday. We arrived with about 15 minutes to spare before they closed. Walked into the tasting room and we're told that all we could order was a glass of wine because they closed in 10 minutes. The gentleman was rude in his relay of the message. What business has a hard stopping point, especially on your grand opening day?!? Our group of friends will not be back to this spot ever. read more

Either Oar - Wineries Near Me - Hector, New York

Oh, I don't like leaving 1 star reviews. Here is my experience. Upon arrival the place looked hoppin with activity. There was a food truck with several people at it and many cars in the parking lot. As you can see from one of my pics, we weren't the only people just arriving. Upon entering there is a retail space - I believe as we were immediately directed to the back tasting bar. There were many people at tables in the area. The bar tender said they were closing in 15 minutes and all they could do was a glass of wine. We know we were close to close but the hours stated they were OPEN until 5. In customer service it means those are your established hours and you serve your menu until that time unless similar to a restaurant if you post your tastings or kitchen close before actual closing time. The food truck for heaven's sake was serving full menu until after 5. We were there for a tasting and planned to go across the street to Luck Hare for dinner. Disappointed in this business. Even if it was grand opening weekend- the weather was beautiful and there was a lot of activity in the area. The business should have planned accordingly to serve until their posted hours vs turning people away (we were not drinking wine that day but I guess appreciate the offer). Overall disappointing experience as I believe the concept is good. However lucky hare didn't disappoint. I had one of their beers, sliders, and fries and it didn't disappoint. Recommend stopping at lucky hare just across the way. read more

Either Oar - Wineries Near Me - Hector, New York

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We hadn't been to Penguin Bay Winery in quite some time, so when the opportunity arose, we knew we had to make a visit. It turned out to be a memorable stop, not just because of the great wines but also because we learned that some big changes are on the horizon. Our server, Sharon, was absolutely fantastic--friendly, knowledgeable, and engaging. She gave us some exciting insider information about the winery's future. Penguin Bay was recently sold to the Martin family, who also own Anthony Road Vineyard & Winery. With this transition, this will be the last time the winery operates under the Penguin Bay name. The new owners plan to revamp the brand, likely introducing a fresh theme and vision that aligns with their other wineries. While it's always bittersweet to see a brand change, it's also exciting to think about what's next for this beautiful location. The Wine Tasting Experience We sampled five wines, each showcasing the high-quality winemaking that Penguin Bay is known for: 1 Martin Family 2024 Riesling Nouveau - A dry, crisp, and vibrant Riesling that was incredibly fresh and refreshing. It was a fantastic way to kick off the tasting, offering bright acidity and lively citrus notes. 2 Dry Riesling - More floral than the Riesling Nouveau, this one had classic Finger Lakes characteristics, with crisp minerality and beautiful aromatic complexity. A solid, well-structured Riesling that would pair well with seafood or light pastas. 3 Dry Gewürztraminer - Gewürztraminer can sometimes lean too sweet for my taste, but this dry version was a winner. It had warm spice notes, floral aromatics, and a slightly peppery finish, making it an intriguing and complex white wine. If you enjoy wines with a bit of personality, this one is for you. 4 Pinot Noir Blaufränkisch - This was one of the most unique pours of the day! A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Blaufränkisch, it struck a beautiful balance between elegance and depth. The Pinot Noir brought soft red fruit flavors and silky tannins, while the Blaufränkisch added a touch of earthiness and spice, making for an exceptionally smooth and layered red. 5 Maroon Four - A barrel-aged red blend that delivered rich, well-balanced flavors, with notes of dark berries, vanilla, and oak. The aging process gave it a smooth, velvety mouthfeel, making it one of the more structured and refined wines we tasted. This one definitely stood out! Final Thoughts - A Farewell to Penguin Bay, But Not the Wine We're really glad we stopped by, especially knowing that this was one of the last times we'd experience Penguin Bay as it is now. The wines were fantastic, the service was top-notch, and the ambiance was warm and welcoming. While we'll definitely miss the Penguin Bay brand, it'll be exciting to see how the Martin family transforms the space and what direction they take with the winery's future. With their track record at Anthony Road, I have no doubt that great things are coming. If you have the chance to visit before the transition is complete, do it! You'll get to experience a piece of Finger Lakes wine history before it evolves into its next chapter. Loved every minute of this stop! read more

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Came because of the Penguins. Ordered a wine tasting. Tried the sweet flight. Only liked the moscato and reisling. The other offerings were a little too sweet for my palate ( white, rose, and red tuxedos plus blackberry wine) Purchased the Moscato as I had too many reislings from other vineyards. read more

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drove here to watch the guy close early according to every site I can find. Literally shut off the open sign as I got out of the car. Thanks a lot dude. read more

Either Oar - Closes af 5 actually - Wineries Near Me - Hector, New York

This place was just underwhelming. Very disappointed. Probably our least favorite stop in the entire finger lakes region. Wine was OK. Service as terrible. Firstly- they only do pre fixe flights. About half of the wineries do that. I would much rather select my own wines in a tasting. They just drop off your wine and a little sheet that says what it is and that's it. No explanation. No interaction. No customer service. Just boring. Reading and tasting wine that I probably would not have selected. Glasses were also clearly washed quickly and had water marks. One other annoying nitpick is we were the only people here, the employee parked in the first spot closest to the door and it's snowing. Come on, little things just add up. This is one place I would not return. read more

Their outside sign of "wine slushie here" got me excited and asked my husband to stopped by during our drive around the Seneca lake last weekend. It was one of wineries in the trail that closes late - 6 PM. We walked in and welcome warmly by one of the associates. We were asked if we were interested to do tasting but we mentioned that we were there for their slushies'. $6 for a cup - choice of either red or white. Tasted heavenly . Just perfect for the hot day. It is a unique offer that definitely will make you to stop by. The place is one of the few wineries who offered wines sales - we ended up buying 3 bottles. It is a good marketing trap. It is also one of the wineries that has easy access to their vineyard from the parking lot. Had a fun time here. read more

Either Oar - Wineries Near Me - Hector, New York

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$5 for 6 tastings Here's what we got: - Pinot noir - smooth, light to medium bodied, oak aged - Lemberger pino noir - little bit of a peppery note to it - Cabernet franc - medium bodied, oak ages, hints of cherry and vanilla. smooth and mell - moscato - definitely on the sweeter side, light and fresh, somewhat fruity - 2012 Cabernet Franc reserve - it was a drier year, bolder fruit flavor, nice and smooth - Maroon reserve - peppery, Smokey, lots going on with it. Harsher, not smooth. Definitely on the drier side. - Humbolt red - steel aged instead oak aged. Definitely has a sour undertone. One of my least favorite wines of the day. read more

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I can't even believe it. Four of us walked in and were told "1 sec" A minute later 3 people walked in. We all waited while the one lady was cleaning up. There was ONE couple in the tasting area. The lady working came out and seated the party of 3!! When we said we had been standing There waiting she said she didn't see us!!!! WHAT?? We left. In the parking lot we then saw that party of 3 who also left. We spoke to them and they said the lady was super rude!! read more

Really nice...5 wine flight for $6 and refreshing wine slushees. Very excited for them to get umbrellas for their outdoor seating!

I wanted to LOVE this place because I'm obsessed with penguins and love their contribution to the Syracuse Zoo. However, these wines fell flat for me. The only 9ne I truly liked was the Dry Rose. There was just one woman working by herself on a Sunday afternoon.... so I'm gonna presume there's not many people coming through. We were the only group there during our time. read more

When other wineries were telling us they wouldn't serve us because it was ten minutes to closing, the fabulous Helene welcomed us to have a quick glass of wine. We enjoyed the wine in our complimentary glasses in front of the winery. We particularly enjoyed the semi sweet Riesling and Rockhopper rose. We purchased a 1/2 case of wine and even got a list of restaurant recommendations from the fabulous Helene. Customer service and wine were both top notch. read more

Janice was excellent! She was knowledgeable and super friendly. $5 for a flight of wines. Beautiful view of Seneca lake. Some of our favorites were : Bella Rosa, Tuxedo red and white, Humboldt, and hard cider. read more

The tasting room feels rather cavernous, with really high ceilings and a long, thin tasting bar in the back. The service was fine; the woman behind the bar took our tasting fee ($2 each) and we picked 8 wines each from their list. Alas, the wines on the list... not terribly good. The only one I really liked, a sparkling white, was more than a little overpriced ($20 for a bottle of Charmat-process sparkling wine? Unless I'm in Italy, drinking Prosecco, I'll pass). The rest of the wines were fairly forgettable. Were it possible to give a 2.5 star rating, I would, but in this case I can't, so I'll round down. If you're driving past, and want to stop, then fine, but I don't think I'd make a trip out to come here. read more

Love the whole penguin theme, but not the greatest experience on Seneca. Some of the wines are really tasty, but the atmosphere is somewhat unwelcoming with a lot of young and immature staff working there. read more

Either Oar - Wineries Near Me - Hector, New York

Earlier this month, I visited Penguin Bay while on a wine tour with a group of friends. We had a reservation for our large group and once we arrived the staff was very welcoming and accommodating. For my tastings, I chose some of the sweeter wines which were all good. I also got a red wine slushie before we left which was delicious and refreshing. In addition to enjoying the winery, the views outside were beautiful. This was a great stop along our tour. read more

Very nice place, great staff and delicious wine slushies!!! Very reasonably priced. Excellent view while you sip! read more

Either Oar - Red wine slushie...$6 worth every penny - Wineries Near Me - Hector, New York

We had a horrible experience yesterday. We walked at 3:30 and were told immediately that we could only have one tasting because there were no clean glasses. We looked in the back room and there were dirty glasses all over the table and tasting bar. My first thought was you had to have known you were going to run out, why weren't you washing as you went along. With this said the guy kept repeating himself about the one glass. We said OK; we sat down in the back in the midst of a filthy backroom with dirty glasses surrounding us. The other guy brings us our wine and is apologizing for the spotted and stained glasses, saying he quickly washed them. I was stunned into silence and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, within minutes our table, our wine and us were covered in fruit flies. The two guys working there were straight out of the movie Dumb and Dumber. Didn't these two get trained; I know you can't fix stupid but come on. Whoever the management is should be ashamed of themselves. This was all on a beautiful November Saturday with temperatures in the 70s and there were lots of people out looking to spend money and have one last hurrah before the weather changes. Never again will I give them my money and I have to say I have never in all my decades of FLX wine tasting ever had an experience like this. And on top of it, the wine was mediocre to blah. read more

The wine was average but this stop was well worth it just for the gift shop. Perfect options for a penguin lover. Plus it's nice knowing they support penguins at the zoo. read more

Either Oar - Wineries Near Me - Hector, New York

I know the fingerlakes are known for their whites; however the cabernet franc at Penguin Bay is really good. The guy behind the counter seemed a bit rushed but he was friendly. The prices are good and I was a big fan of their reds. They do have a wine club; however you only pick sweet or dry and then you get a red and a white. Because of the very limited selection process and the fact that you always get a white I chose not to join. Overall a nice tasting room and good wines. read more

This place attempts to be cute with the Penguin theme, but misses on the wine element. I sampled 5 dry reds and I spent the rest of the day trying to forget them. read more

I didn't like their tasting room. Its like old warehouse. They have some tasty sparkling wine and semi-sweet wines.. .but not really special when you compare with other wineries... I don't wanna go back. read more

This was our second stop on the wine trail and we had a lot of fun at this stop! We liked the fact that the guy doing our wine tasting gave us information about the wineries name and a little history. This was also the only place on our trip where I bought a bubbly wine from which I liked a lot during the tasting. The staff was very friendly and they had a wine slushy which I was told was very good and will have to try next time! The only thing that wasn't as nice at this winery was that they don't have a view of the lake which we all really liked having the view when possible! read more

I remember this winery because of the cute penguin theme. I don't quite remember the wines tasted and felt rushed through because there were two big group in there with us. I suggest they put a little more in their tasting room to make it more inviting and memorable. read more

I liked this winery just based on the name. I love Penguins! I also enjoyed that they had sparkling wine. One of my favorites. I stopped here on a wine tour and it was a lot of fun. I liked that if you bought a bottle of wine with a penguin on it the donations went towards funding a zoo. Definitely interested in anything that helps a good cause! read more

First time ever visiting this winery it's smaller than the other big names ones but the customer service here was great everyone wanting to help you to have a great experience. The wines taxing were inexpensive and we great as well. read more

We visited Penguin Bay as we are big on Sparkling and were told they had a good selection. The tasting room looks like a big warehouse and isn't warm/wecloming at all. We arrived to a woman who was not friendly and kept saying that they have a great selection of sparking at their sister winery but would not let us taste them here (though we could buy them!) Overall - I only bought 1 bottle of sparkling that seemed decent though pricey at $20 compared to others I had tried in the region. Overall - I would skip this place. The woman did warm up towards the end but I expected more. read more

The wines are delicious and reasonably priced. There are always good discounts for half cases, cases, etc. We've been here several times and the tasting room employees are always friendly, talkative and knowledgeable. read more

I liked it No gimmicks Decent wines Good price No need to go back But you should put on your list read more

Great starting point and the lady that poured us was very friendly and knowledgeable. Gave us some tips for other wineries in the area!!!! I'm not a moscato fan but this one wasn't over sweet with a nice finish !!!! Also beautiful views read more

Don't bother. My husband and I were there a few days ago and had the only negative experience there of all wineries we visited. We debated going inside when we saw the number of buses hauling people into the parking lot, but we went in against our better judgment. Once inside, we got to the bar for our tasting. It was packed, but we got our spot. We overheard one of the men working behind the counter complaining that the line of people "never ends" as though he was being put out by customers. Be grateful people are coming because the wine isn't that good! Anyhow, my husband and I each paid our fee. After each of us tasted 3 wines, our server was nowhere to be found. We waited...and waited...and nobody came to help us. We left without completing our paid-for tasting. My husband and I were there with our baby daughter. We don't drink much and were spitting out the wines so as to be responsible drivers. We're genuinely interested in wines, not just getting s***-canned at each winery for a few bucks. Anyhow, I heard another less-than-polite man behind the counter calling people such us "ridiculous" for having our daughter with us. The wines we did try were meh. There are better ones on Seneca. The service was terrible and I've, frankly, never felt such attitude and disrespect from a business. read more

Love the penguin theme, but the staff are not very welcoming and actually down right rude to our larger group. Skip this one on your wine tour! read more

Out of the 10 wineries in the fingerlakes that we visited this wine was the best bang for your buck. The tasting room was not super fancy but there is a big bar for tastings. You get a coupon with the tasting fee for $2 towards a bottle. Part of the proceeds go to penguins at a local zoo! read more

I do not recommend visiting this winery. The service was terrible and the tasting room was very unwelcoming. My date and I drove down to Wagner Winery after being disappointed and instantly we noticed a difference. If you are looking for a nice wine tasting date, do not waste your time at this winery! read more

We went to a lot of wineries today and this really was an utter disappointment, which is being kind. The wine really was not very good but the worst part is it was really like a bar. The wine server at the tasting didn't really give a darn about us tasting their wine. He just kept asking "what's next?" and didn't spend half a second telling us about the wine. He was barely going through the motions. Worse, we bought something at the gift shop, and the cashier really didn't want to help us at all. This is a total waste for the $4 tasting feel. Drive by this place as fast as you can and don't waste even ten seconds contemplating stopping there. read more

Torill was beautiful! The winery was superb! I would recommend to anyone! Best winery ever most highly recommend!

Almost didn't go here because of the bad reviews. If you like Swedish Hill that is there sister winery. Most of their sweeter wines taste like grape juice but how cares they have wine slushies and staff was so friendly compared to other wineries on the trail. read more