The ciders were amazing. It was a quiet day, so we got lots of attention. The house does were adorable and friendly. Nice outdoor patio. There were lots of wasps at the time, but not harmful. read more

Cuttest old man with a dog that can't stop licking you!!! Overall I'm not the biggest cider fan, but these were meant for dry and "uncomplicated" flavors. Forgot the name of the last apple cider we had but it was so good! The environment is chill and there is a cute cat outside. Is it theirs? read more

The Service, ambiance and kindness of the owner won us over, and if that is not enough, a loving dog and cat greet you when you enter making our visit one of a kind! read more

The tasting room door is around the side and took a minute to find, but once we got there it was well worth it. Relaxed vibe and nice outdoor seating options. Staff were very friendly and super knowledgeable. If you are into ciders you will find some really unique ones here. They seem to be quite skilled at their craft. During our tasting we were joined by some very sweet animals. the staff checked that we were ok with pets before letting them over to us, so if you dislike dogs or cats they will be happy to accommodate your preferences read more

If you like good cider, this should definitely be on your list, as their cider is quality. $5 to try 5, but extra points cause they had 7 ciders open when we visited, and they let us try all of them. They have a good range of types of ciders, so you'll likely find at least one you love. I found two, very different: on the dry side, the "legacy" was bursting with flavors - my favorite of their dry ciders, though they were all pretty good - and on the sweeter side, they had a *really* delicious apple and cherry blend. Also, when I said we were wine tasting all day and were mainly here for the cider, and didn't really want to try 5 wines, but was sad I couldn't just try the riesling, we got to try the riesling, too. (That said, their riesling was just good. It was good, but now I'm spoiled for really exceptional riesling, which it wasn't. Ciders were, though.) read more

Bellwether Hard Cider - Current tasting list - Cideries Near Me - Trumansburg, New York

Really good range of dry ciders, as well as several excellant wines. You have to try the Carbonic. Very affectionate female pit bull. do not be scared by her. read more

We showed up at 11:30 on a Thursday as the hours listed said they were open, only to find out that they only open the tasting room Fri-Sun! Not sure if this is only during the fall/winter or all of the time. Generally, it seemed like a family-run kind of place where it'll be hit or miss if it's open...don't expect commercial Dr. Frank-style spiel or service. The cidermaker let us in anyways (lucky us!) and we got the best one-on-one intro to cidermaking and tasting we'd had--if you like dry cider, this is the place to go. Wine there is quite good as well, we particularly enjoyed the carbonic Cab Franc, a unique offering. They said they had stopped making Pet Nat as it had gotten too cliche, which was unfortunate, but still super interesting experience. read more

Bellwether is a good little winery and hard cider establishment definitely away from the busier parts of the lake for sure. The wine tasting and hard cider tasting is good and for a $5 tasting, kick in an extra dollar and take home a bellwether logo wine glass! The staff here is very knowledgeable and more than willing to talk to you about your 5 selections you pick out. This time around we did the hard cider sampling and we did enjoy them, however if you prefer sweet hard ciders your only option is a cherry cider. Most here are on the dry side, which I'm not a fan of (I prefer semi's), but discovering this is just part of the Cayuga trail experience. I'm sure I'll be back here in due time. read more

Bellwether Hard Cider - the entrance to bellwether - Cideries Near Me - Trumansburg, New York

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This was the first stop on a wine tasting trip to the area. My girlfriend really likes hard cider so when she saw this place on the map she insisted we go. We arrived right as they opened and the staff were quickly able to accommodate us despite it being the middle of the week and it appeared they weren't quite expecting visitors quite so early (this isn't a knock on Bellwether, many of the local wineries didn't seem to be fully up to speed right at opening). The tasting room was nice and able to handle decent sized groups but not quite bus fulls. I wasn't as big a fan of the ciders as my girlfriend was but they were pretty good. I would say they tend to be on the dryer side of a hard cider. But with the friendly and knowledgeable staff I would recommend Bellwether as a stop for anyone in the area. It just wasn't great for my taste. read more

If you're a wine lover, Bellweather is a nice break from the wineries (though they have added some wine to the inventory). If you're a cider lover, you'll love this place. You can get a feel for it just inhaling deeply as you approach. You have the option to sample either ciders or their liquors, and if you have enough people in your group, you may want to split the tastings so you can appreciate it all. I opted for cider tasting. I was unsure of how much I could appreciate it after sampling wines all morning, but I found I had no trouble and did buy some of my favorite. The cider was refreshing, not only as a break from wine, but definitely in taste. The staff who guide you through the tastings are very cider-knowledgeable and fun with whom to chat. I hope Bellweather continues to succeed and grow. read more

This place gets an extra star for accommodating our large group when the other cider place turned us away! The highlight of this place for me was the cute calico cat that goes in and out of this place. They are dog friendly. We came in a large group of 12 people and were therefore not able to go to a different cider place nearby that turned us away due to our large group. We were thankful Bellwether welcomed us. It was $5 to try five tasters (3 ciders, 2 wine is what I did). I thought that was a great deal. They had 3 ciders to choose from and around 5 wines. I think they produce more than 3 types of ciders but that was what was available for us to try yesterday. I thought the cherry cider smelled funky in the way sour beer does. Lord Scudamore was my favorite cider of the 3. It's a champagne-style cider made from tart apples. The interior of the shop is quite small and not too fancy. It's a casual place with both indoor and outdoor seating areas. I do not recall a lake view from this shop but they do have a nice grassy yard. The woman pouring the drinks was patient with us but wasn't very happy/smiley. Perhaps we were too annoying because we were a little tipsy at that point. read more

My boyfriend and I made Bellwether Hard Cider our 1st stop on Finger Lakes vacation on 8/12/14. I have really started to enjoy hard cider over the past year. I couldn't think of better way to start our vacation. The women who did our tasting was very knowledgeable and good at balancing our tasting with a group of ladies from CT. I loved the fact that the cidery had 2 cats just milling around. I found it humorous that one of the cats partook in the left over (dumped) cider. The location also has a dog that in the beginning I found a annoying because it would not stop barking. The women who was doing the tasting did a good job of trying to mitigate the barking (and seemed to understand it was slightly jarring). The dog did settle down and we continued to enjoy our tasting. Bellwether Hard Cider is a great value. I plan on enjoying the 4 bottles I bought with the complimentary wine bag in the future. read more

This is primarily a family business, and guests are treated like family as well. The staff are very affable, eager to help, and knowledgable of the ciders and wines on offer. Tastings are available without reservations, and if not too busy, they will give brief tours of the facilities. A wonderful experience in the Finger Lakes. read more

I was so disgusted by the state of their "resident cats" that I couldn't enjoy a tasting. In fact, I refused to give any of my money to the establishment. The one barista scoffed and said "she's just really old!!" As if the infection pouring from her eyes and ears was something to be expected with old age. That's the beauty of our responsibility as human beings, we have the option to either treat or humanely euthanize suffering animals in our care. They even had the audacity to have a donation jar for needy animals. Give me a break! My family and I will NEVER go back or recommend. I would give 0 stars if possible. I forgot to mention that I have a veterinary medicine degree and know from experience and common sense that this cat was suffering. read more

I am a major fan of good hard cider, and have to say that this is some of the best stuff I have ever had. Those of you who think you dislike cider because you tried some god awful original sin, harpoon, or woodchucks may have your minds changed by this wonderful selection of ciders. I like my ciders dry and this place accommodates that preference quite nicely. Whenever I go to the chapterhouse which occasionally has this cider on tap, I make sure to ask for it. If they respond with "We're all out, but we have Orginal Sin." My response remains the same "I'll have a Yuengling." These days its either bellwether or I'm not drinking cider. After trying this stuff, the commercial ciders become hard to stomach. My favorite flavor of their ciders is the original, its not too dry for your guests who are looking for something sweeter than beer, but its by no means sugary. The only bottle of cider that I don't like from them is the cherry street one, its a bit too sweet and mediciney for my taste, but I suppose its good to those who like cherry drinks. They have a frequent buyers club card, where your 12th bottle is free. So if you go frequently get your card stamped. read more

Excellent ciders. They have a store and you can order them online. There is a discount if you buy a number of bottles. Recommend trying all the varieties. read more

It was ok. I'm kind of snarky about a $3.00 tasting and then no reciprocity in a price cut when you buy a bottle. It's just not customer service oriented. I actually asked about it and was told; no one really does that anymore, it doesn't really encourage anyone to buy. I'd beg to differ, as I find it a motivator and have been to many establishments who continue to do offer this nicety this season. The pour-er tips go to a local animal shelter, but feeling gouged by the pricing fee and the over abundance of tipping jars I couldn't bring myself to tip them for a matter of fact, here's the info on it and a little pour so I bought a shelter supporting chocolate. I wouldn't visit again, nor would I recommend them. read more

Overall - 4.0 This is a nice little cidery about 30 min north of Ithaca. They have cider tastings all day (weekends) and provide an nice change of pace from the traditional ice wines along the Cayuga Wine Trail. Food/Drink - 3.0 I am not a huge fan of cider in general, but they had an interesting assortment of different types using a variety of apples from dry to sweet. The length of the list isn't quite as large as some of the other places on the trail, but there is probably at least one cider on there for everyone. There are no free crackers to reset your palate between tastings, which is standard everywhere else. Service - 4.5 The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, although they tend to get a little busy on the weekends. Value - 5.0 You can taste 6 ciders for $2 or pay an extra $1 and you can keep a commemorative glass! The price of $2-3 for 6-8 tastings is standard along the trail, but being able to keep a souvenir for only $1 more feels like a great deal. Intangibles - 4.0 They have a couple of cats and dogs that wander the grounds and are very friendly. The place itself is very small and doesn't provide much besides the cider itself (no restaurant, very small giftshop). read more

Bellwether has been on my radar for quite some time. As I was driving down 89 this past weekend I finally decided to stop and check it out for myself. Being a wine trail event weekend business was brisk, but we stepped right up and began our tasting with a young knowledgeable young man. For $4 we sampled five pours from bone dry to semi sweet offerings. I did prefer the dryer, non traditional offerings. My gripe? The bottle prices. These bottles do not even have corks. I am not sure about the apple to bottle process but I could not imagine it is as complicated as wine making. We purchased 2 bottles, they did not waive the tasting fee and for $38 we were on our way....feeling a bit ripped off. read more

I'm new to the hard cider trend but Bellwether is not. Stopped in today with some friends and enjoyed a great tasting enhanced by the knowledgeable staff. Really enjoyable stop on any wine/cider tour of the lakes. Prices are very reasonable, and there is a wide range of ciders so whether you like champagne or true cider there will be something for you. Second trip was even better than the first. Enjoyed a nice outdoor art festival, bought some pottery then came in and redid the tasting. Left with more cider... A very successful day! read more

A little slice of heaven in the upstate "Finger Lakes Region" of New York. This place produces their own variety of hard ciders, both sparkling and non-sparkling. This place has everything from award winning traditional apple ciders, to exotic cider varieties from locally grown and distilled apple juice. I would recommend the original version, plus the Cherry Street. The staff is very friendly, and amazingly knowledgeable about cider production and wine production too. read more

Definitely a nice break from all the wineries in the area! And a big plus is that they promote animal wellness and abuse prevention by donating some of their tips and procedes to animal shelters. Very nice. Also, some of the estate animals are shelter rescues! Anyway, back to the cider. The variets were tasty and distinct, and make good gifts for people who appreciate unique alcoholic beverage experiences. read more

Overall, the cider I sampled was quite good. Aside from the two sweet flavored varieties which tasted like alcoholic juice boxes, the semi sweet varieties were my favorite (compared favorably in taste to Magner's). The dry varieties were also quite tasty. My biggest gripe was that the asking price for a 750mL bottle of cider was in the neighborhood of $10-$12. For the same price, one could buy a very nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc which I think drinks better than any of these ciders. Service was friendly, but tended to hover while we were doing our tasting. $2 to taste 5 of the ciders; if there are two of you, then you can taste them all and share. Not necessarily worth going out of your way for, but definitely worth stopping in if you're driving by on 89. read more

The staff were very helpful and knowledgable about the wines and ciders. We tried the Riesling tasting and the cider tasting. Both tastings were good. We did prefer the drier ciders as well as the dry and off dry Riesling. It was a nice change from just another winery. read more

My group of 12 friends decided to stop into Bellwether only to be promptly asked if we had a reservation upon entering. They requested that any parties over ten, regardless of how many were drinking (in our case, 6), call in advance for a reservation. After explaining there were only six of us tasting, we were still told we could not sample and needed a reservation. We were told there was nothing they could do, even after we asked if we could split into two parties. We left (and won't be returning), as apparently there were no other options. My problem with this is that there were only THREE other customers in the building. Had they been busier, I would have completely understood not being able to accommodate a large group. Sadly, their staff was persistent to the point of rudeness that there was nothing they could do, even with a currently empty tasting bar. Long story short: if you want to drink their cider with a group of more than 6-8 people, call in advance - just in case. read more

Coming from California, we do a lot of wine tasting but cider tasting was a new experience. There was only one woman staffing the tasting room, but she did a great job juggling all the tasters and working the cash register for people who were buying. She was very nice and very helpful. I had to laugh at the one review that was griping about the $3 tasting fee for 5 pours. In Napa we pay anywhere from $15 to $30 for wine tasting. I thought $3 was a steal. Good place. read more

I'd love to be able to say how their product was, but we were inside just now for ten minutes, shouting, "Hello?" and no one would come out despite hearing them in the back. At least a cat came out to greet us. read more

My husband and I went stopped on our way through the wine trail on Cayuga Lake, and it was our least favorite. The first thing we both noticed was the smell, it was sewage meets antiseptic, but we stayed for a tasting of the hard cider because we both had never tried it before. The lady serving us was very knowledgeable but we did not like any of the ciders we tasted. We were both expecting a more "apple-ly" taste but most of them tasted like really dry-bitter wines. read more

It's important to note that this place is more like a winery than a cider house - they only serve their own cider. Some of the cider is good, but it is hard to get into the tasting with so little variety available. read more

This was our second to last stop on a two day wine tour of the Cayuga lake wine trail, and it was by far my least favorite place. We had intended on doing both the wine and cider tasting but left right after the wine tasting because of the horrible experience we had here. The wine was very mediocre/not good. I'd give the wine we tried 2 stars. What really made the whole visit here unenjoyable and frustrating was the overall experience. All wineries on the Cayuga lake wine trail are advertised as dog friendly, and we had our (female) husky with us. When we first entered, they greeted us and our dog with friendly smiles and said they were very dog friendly. After a minute or two though, the two resident (male) dogs came out. They were extremely aggressively wanton towards our dog, and she kept trying to hide behind or between my husband's legs to get away from them, as it was really upsetting her and they would not leave her alone. At no point did any staff or owner come over to make them behave or get them away from her. My husband had to go outside in the extreme heat to get her away from them, and then both of those dogs sat and stared through the door at our husky the whole time she was out there. If your dogs can't behave, why would you say you are dog friendly? In addition, one of the staff members kept giving us (and then just me when my husband went outside) dirty looks because of our dog. Um, what? She was trying to hide and get away from their misbehaving dogs. If our dog is ever causing problems/making noise, we take her outside immediately as I never want to ruin other people's enjoyment. She wasn't doing any of that and had to go outside because of the way their dogs were behaving. We bought bottles of wine at every single place we went to on this trip (as we always do when wine tasting), as I love to support local businesses and especially wineries having worked at one myself in CA. I'm sure had we been able to stay to try their cider, we would have bought some. However, the whole experience was so upsetting that we left before doing so. This is the only winery we visited on that trip that I can definitively say I will never come back to. read more

Smallest pours of any tasting in the finger lakes. Do NOT try the wines. You have been warned.

All but 1 of the ciders are sparkling. I don't drink beer, but would have appreciated a few more stills. Good mix of sweet & dry ciders.

This place has some very nice flavors that are a bit better than the regular apple cider flavors you might find. It's also pretty funny and cool to see the cats hanging out in the store. read more

Loved the selection. Friendly knowledgable staff. Awesome alternative to champaign!

I was extremely unimpressed. Customer service was lacking and rude. The pours are VERY tiny, making it very hard to taste anything.

Looked good, but they have cats in the store, and there was too much cat dander in the air for us to stay

We're here doing the Bangles & Bracelets and we show up to a note on the door saying that they're opening at 3 today. There was no notice on their website or Facebook so now we have to backtrack cause I am NOT going home with 15 out of 16 bangles. Backtracking doesn't sit well with me since we had a plan. read more

If you have any issues about dogs or cats, you consider giving Bellwether a miss. We were greeted by a barking pitbull mix and another large dog (maybe a retriever?) who was thankfully much more mellow. The pet mix also included two white cats that we found rather charming, but some folks may be put off by the idea of cats walking or sitting on the tasting bar. It's a cat-butt thing. The tasting itself was interesting. For $4 you can taste 5 ciders as well as a complimentary--and quite excellent--mulled cider. There were only 6 ciders currently on offer, so my friend and I split the last round so we could try them all. If you prefer white wines, a tasting of up to 6 Rieslings was something like $5. I love that the ciders are 100% apple, and the varieties include rare heritage cultivars--but to be honest, I preferred the most common Bellwether bottles (Liberty Spy and original). The tasting room host was very knowledgeable and she didn't rush us at all, and the small space was comfortable and inviting. That said, I'm not sure that Bellwether would make the cut as a must-visit, particularly in light of the fact that Northside Wines in Ithaca actually offers a wider selection of their ciders at the moment than you can actually taste at Bellwether itself--and for two of us, the $8 tasting fee (which is not credited toward a purchase) represents half the cost of the most expensive cider they sell. read more

Nice change to taste some cider after all the wineries in the area. We paid 3$ and got to taste 5 different ciders they make locally, some were too sweet to my liking but we all enjoyed the experience . Very nice spot! read more

This is a regular stop for my husband and I when we are in the area! We love cats and cider. The staff at Bellwether are friendly and their cider is delicious. We invested in several bottles of the Original cider as well as the Cherry Street. The tart cherry finish on the latter was perfect for a summer afternoon. It was sweet and tart like a good cherry pie. As always we appreciated the owner's dedication to local animal shelters and the presence of a dog and some cats. The flowers surrounding the entrance are bright and cheerful making for a pleasant spot to sip some cider. The $3 tasting fee is more than reasonable when compared to the usual $6-7 tasting fee at most wineries. The bulk purchase discount served as incentive to pick up two more bottles on the way out the door. We're looking forward to returning to re-stock next year! read more