Red pulp rushes through the stainless steel crusher at Fox Run Vineyards on Seneca Lake, New York. Head winemaker Craig Hosbach pours fresh Pinot juice into tiny glasses. It’s sweet yet slightly tart and whets my appetite for the stellar Finger Lakes wines I’ll try later at this award-winning winery.
Finger Lakes Wines – Fox Run Vineyards
Fox Run Vineyards was recognized in 2018 by USA Today as the third-best winery and seventh-best tasting room in the United States. Fox Run was also named one of the top 100 wineries in the world by Wine & Spirits Magazine in 2008. In addition, the winery has won multiple gold medals at the Riesling du Monde Competition in Strasbourg, France.
©Merle Rosenstein
With all these accolades, you’d think owner Scott Osborn would sit back and relax. Not so.
In May 2024, Osborn was named Chair of WineAmerica. Founded in the Finger Lakes, this national wine industry association lobbies for winemakers in 46 states. Osborn’s experience with regional winery associations — like the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, Finger Lakes Wine Alliance, New York Wine & Grape Foundation, and New York Wine Policy Institute — has prepared him for this key role.
In The Finger Lakes, Cooperation Is Key
But what is truly special about Fox Run and other Finger Lakes wineries is the spirit of cooperation, rather than competition, among operations in the region. Osborn works with others in the Finger Lakes and nationally to advocate for the wine business. His activities to elevate Finger Lakes wines have led to a thriving region known for world-class cool-climate wines, and to lower unemployment locally.
Photo Courtesy of Fox Run.
Starting With Finger Lakes Wines
Osborn got his start in the wine industry in California, labeling bottles for Konocti Wines, and working at Firestone Vineyards, Zaca Mesa, and Byron Winery in Santa Barbara County.
In 1984, Scott visited family in the Finger Lakes, where he discovered Finger Lakes wines. So in 1985, when he couldn’t find a winemaking job, Scott began working for a wine distributor and became General Manager of Pindar Vineyard on Long Island. When he bought Fox Run in 1994, Yates County, touching Canandaigua, Seneca, and Keuka Lakes, had only nine wineries.
“When I came here, the amount of good wines was limited. Now I think there are 50 or 60 wineries here in the Finger Lakes making world-class wines,” says the 62-year-old Osborn.
In 1995, he brought in Peter Bell, who got his university training in Australia and worked as an assistant winemaker in Marlborough, New Zealand. Bell had started his Finger Lakes wine journey in 1990 at Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery on Keuka Lake.
“When I hired Peter to make wine, that freed me up so I could collaborate with neighbors and promote the Finger Lakes,” says Osborn. “I knew I could hire someone who could make better wine than me.”
Helping To Improve Finger Lakes Wines
Osborn asked Bell to use his expertise to help neighboring wineries at no charge. “I want my neighbors to make wines as good as mine,” he says.
Osborn quotes his friend, John Martini, from Anthony Road Wine Company in the Finger Lakes, who says, “A rising tide floats all boats.”
“The better my neighbors do, the better I’m going to do. I want to make sure that the Finger Lakes has a good reputation, and we want to do that by making great wines and promoting them.”
“If somebody is in trouble, most of us will jump to help them solve the problem.” This spirit of community makes the Finger Lakes “one of the best places in the country to make wine,” says Osborn.
Finger Lakes Wines: A Focus on Riesling
In the mid-’90s, Osborn and Bob Madill, one of the owners of Sheldrake Point Vineyard, decided to focus on one wine. This was because every winery in the Finger Lakes made a good Riesling.
“We said mother nature is telling us something,” says Osborn. This focus on one grape allowed them to approach restaurants and stores with a clear message: to try Finger Lakes Riesling.
“Riesling gave us entry into the national and international market,” says Osborn.
Tasting Together
Osborn asked Bell to start a tasting group of winemakers. The group meets every other week to taste and discuss wines without the outside influence of others in the business.
Only the winemakers themselves attend the tastings. “I’ve never been in that tasting room,” says Osborn.
The group tastes wines from all over the world and wines in progress.
“One of the rules is, if your wine was the best in the room, you have to tell how you made it. If your wine was the worst in the room, you had to be able to take constructive criticism.”
Uplifting the Finger Lakes Wine Region
Osborn also fostered group promotion. Wineries that are Seneca Lake Wine Trail members do at least six events together each year. Funds from these events are pooled for joint marketing of the wineries on the trail.
The big event is Deck the Halls in November and December, a self-guided tour of participating Seneca Lake Wine Trail wineries decorated for the holiday season. Wineries prepare food pairings for the wines. Guests receive a wreath at the first winery they visit and ornaments at each stop to decorate their wreath.
“People from Rochester and Syracuse started to learn that there was a wine region down here and that we were doing these events,” Osborn says. So, the promotion of area wineries led to more wineries opening and more jobs.
Yates, Schuyler, and Seneca, the three counties where most of the wineries are located, had previously had the highest unemployment in New York state. “Now, when people come here for a wine event, they stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, and visit attractions. And the Chamber of Commerce started taking note,” says Osborn. The three counties have the lowest unemployment rate in New York State.
New York State noticed the impact of the wine industry on these rural counties and started making it easier to open a winery. “They saw that the more they supported wine tourism, the better the economic climate in rural counties. So one of the biggest things we need to do as a country is to stimulate rural economies because we can’t rely on agriculture alone,” says Osborn.
Craft beverages, cider, and beer, followed wineries in growing the economy.
A National Movement
“We know that 80 percent of wine in the U.S. is made in California,” says Osborn. But wine is being made in all 50 states. “We promote the economic impact of the wine industry in each state. And we try to advocate for everybody.
“I think things started to change with the Farm Winery Act of 1976, which allowed a person to start a winery for $500 versus the $5,000 to have a commercial license. So people started opening up wineries, and it stimulated grape growing.” The economic impact of these wineries on the state and the U.S. economy is staggering.
“The politicians don’t want to see the wine and smell it. What they want to know is the economic impact of wines on my state or county. We’re able to show how important it is,” says Osborn.
A 2022 wine impact study found that the American wine industry would generate approximately $276 billion for the U.S. economy and employ about 1.8 million people.
What’s Next
Osborn believes that Finger Lakes is the best place in the country to make cool-climate wines. As he says, “To me, they are more delicious, refreshing, and fruit-friendly” than many of the better-known warm-climate varieties.”
Fox Run will continue to support other wineries. To this end, in 2023, Osborn’s operation expanded its manufacturing capacity to help those who want to enter the industry but don’t have the required capital.
“They may be a winemaker and want to start their brand, but they don’t have money to buy equipment. We’ll work with them to make their wine here,” Osborn says. It’s another way to continue growing his passion, the Finger Lakes wine region.
If You Go
Stay at the 1897 Beekman House Bed and Breakfast, Pleasant Valley Inn, and Hartford House Bed and Breakfast in Geneseo.
Taste the beverages at Fox Run Vineyards and Weis Vineyards, sample flavored ciders at Cider Creek Hard Cider, and sip craft beer at Grist Iron Brewing Company.
Dine at some amazing eateries, including Fox Run Vineyards, Main Deck Restaurant and Bar, GRAFT wine + cider bar, Beachcomber Of Conesus, and New York Kitchen.
For more on Finger Lakes wineries, see this article about Keuka Lake Wine Country, and this article about the southern Finger Lakes.
Yates, Steuben, Schuyler, and Livingston Counties, New York State, and Fox Run Vineyards hosted this visit.
