A group of 5 of us leveraged this tour (private, winter tour) and we were sadly very, very…read moredisappointed. 1. Transportation - this was one of the only pluses to this overall experience. We were picked up and dropped off door-door for this tour. The van that we were in was comfortable and clean. It was equipped with water bottles (one of two souvenirs) and snacks. We were charged a driving fee based on our distance - an extra $82. 2. Guide - our tour guide, George was very nice and well-informed. He clearly had passion and experience. The BEST part of our tour was the "off script" stop George made to one of the wineries en route between "planned" stops. This off-script stop was how the entire route should have been. Modern, clean converted farmhouse with gorgeous views, amenities and great vintages. Absolutely tragic that the rest of the stops were NOT aligned to this really perfect place. He was super eager to help us with pictures and answer any and all questions we had with the region and wine in general. Our second souvenir was a really great printed pic he took of our group. Again, one of the only highlights was George. I think the company should absolutely leverage his hospitality experience to help curate better partnerships and stops for the Seneca route. 3. Snacks/lunch - the winter tour advertised snacks, water and lunch was included/provided. The water was in a reusable water bottle (that we got to keep)- fine but I guess I would have expected additional bottles in a cooler. Maybe even some seltzer or soda for the price point. Snacks were just individual serve baggies from Costco - decent variety but again, for the price point not aligned. We expected snacks to be food pairings at each stop. We really only got that with chocolate bites at the first stop. On site lunch - this was a huge disappointment for the price point. At our first winery we had bites of chocolate for a flight pairing. The pairing and chocolate were nice. The second stop we had three cheeseboards to split between 5 of us - again, fine but no meat (so no significant protein) and we each got a bowl of soup. That was it. That was lunch. For a 7 hour tour this was simply not enough. And we aren't big eaters generally but definitely expected way more for a 7 hour alcohol tour. This was honestly terrible for the price point. I would have expected cheese/bites pairing at all stops with an actual lunch (at least a full panini or sandwich). 4. The wineries - this was where it really all fell down. We stopped at three places on Seneca. First stop was Damiani. We were NOT brought to the tasting room but rather the barn where the wine was made. Let's just say having your first stop pull up to a metal barn when you've paid ~$400/pp is NOT the best first impression. The wine itself and the staff member, Noah, were actually the best of the three stops. But the aesthetic of it was again, not it. Second stop was red newt - this was at least a more "expected" tasting room set up. We were brought to the back and had our flight/tasting there. The wine was OK at best - sadly we did buy a bottle with our "wine bucks" to have with lunch (again not great considering the price point that lunch didn't just come with a complimentary full glass) and one of us in the group got a whole mouth full of legitimate sediment (like straight grit she had to spit out). It was off putting to say the least especially since we had to buy this to have with "lunch". The pours themselves at ALL the stops was exactly that - a tasting pour. It wasn't more "generous" - just a standard 1oz pour and no one was pouring more. When we had "time" at the end we weren't offered more or even a half glass - we instead felt very pressured to buy bottles (and sadly, none of the vintages were really purchase a whole bottle worthy). Again, not expected for the price point - we thought with the "curated" experience and "lasting partnerships" the tour has with these stops we'd at least get heavier pours or extras. Def did NOT happen. The last stop was Flatt Rock - again, sold as a farm/mom and pop shop - that's what it was. The tasting room was not aesthetically a vibe. The wine was also not great and we were told they had a great champagne style drink - we didn't get any. Overall, we were looking for an all-inclusive. No one in our group wanted to plan the itinerary because we didn't want to invest the time but I think it would have been much more worth it to just do that. The three "on route" places we were brought to were old and just not what we expected for the price point. Maybe their public tours on other lakes is better but I can say with confidence the Seneca lake, private winter tour is NOT the vibe for the price per person.

What a nice experience!…read more Laura was a wonderful tour guide. She owns the company and is just so passionate about all things wine and the Finger Lakes. it was such a relaxing day filled with good wine and good food. Our tour included three winery stops, tastings at each winery, lunch at one winery and some cheese pairings at the other two. We didn't book a private tour but got really lucky because our hotel was an included pick up / drop off point. We spent a good amount of time at each winery and learned alot from all of the wine makers and Laura. If you want to spend a day drinking wine without worrying about driving or having to think about where to go / what to taste then this tour is definitely for you. Leave it to the experts, relax and have a good time and eat and drink well. You can't go wrong!

Definitely a must do!! So many winery's all good. Brought home 24 assort bottles and several types…read moreof ice wines!!

Enjoyable time. Friendly knowledgeable people. Great wine tasting experience. I bought several…read morebottles of wine both sweet and dry.

Wade lived up to all expectations. He arrived early and catered to our every need, both early and…read morelate in the trip. If you've ever desired to go on the perfect carefree hired wine tour, there is nobody other than Wade that you should choose!

Wade curated a several-stop winery tour along the SE Seneca Lake for a friend and me, with fun…read morebanter on the drive about animals (birds and dogs), local tidbits, advice for other activities and meals in the area, and more. The winery staff obviously had a fondness for Wade, and we definitely felt like VIPs, getting great seating with gorgeous views and visiting calm wineries (a vibe we wanted!). It was such a fantastic day trip for us. Would recommend

The owners are super nice and knowledgeable. The fruit wines are unique and the apple cider is very…read moregood. They also have donuts! We tasted the wines and then walked the orchard to pick some apples. The orchard has many varieties of apples including the favorites honeycrisp, cortland, mac, gala, and empire. The property is gorgeous to boot, so just being there is a treat. Prices are reasonable!

One of my favorite places to go. I've gone 3 times to this orchard just this year. Their fields are…read morehuge and it's so beautiful there. But, it's not just for picking apples, although they have the biggest variety of apples anywhere. The Fuji apples are my favorite to add to pies, so I'm glad they have them! The wine samplings are the best. Their Desert Blossom wine is their driest, and the one I buy the most, but the Orchard Spice wine served hot or cold is amazing. They also have a mead beer and a cider ale that is high in alcohol by volume and tastes amazing! And, of course, their apple cider is better than anyone else's. I won't buy it anywhere else. You can purchase some hot cider, and on a cold fall day, it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling. I've made several gift baskets from their store. I start with wine, then add a wine cover, apple cinnamon jelly, apple butter and beautifully scented apple soy candles. You'll meet all the family members and probably have a favorite before you leave, unfortunately, I didn't bother to ask for any names....Doh!! A must go to spot!

I booked a tour with Winewagen for a small bachelorette party. Zach was fantastic--punctual,…read moreprofessional, great communication, and very laid back. The van was comfortable, clean, and roomy, and we had a blast during our jumps between wineries playing DJ and singing along to the glory of the early 200s. Our group had a couple hiccups when the day got started that Zach went above and beyond handling--like our Airbnb door not closing (bizarre, I know!), and Zach was kind enough to help us fix it so we could get on our way. All around wonderful experience; I would not hesitate to book again if (hopefully, when!) I am back in the area. Thank you again, Zach! (Also posted on Google reviews by me).

This review is a bit overdue, but we are still talking about it a year later for a girls trip with…read moremy 3 best friends. We knew it was going to be a great trip when we got in and Zak simply asked where do you want to go? We said you are from here take us where you would go. He asked white or red? We said red.. We asked him to pick some cool music and he started with Bob Seger Roll Me Away and we were hooked. And so it began, he took us to smaller wineries with excellent products, good pricing, customer oriented and less crowded. Not a single tourist trap. Zak even put up with me pestering him about the bus, the motor, the restoration - I'm a bike and car nut. He even showed me his friend's beautiful european sports car at one winery.. nice! :) This classic VW Westfalia bus has complete charm, a few rattles, old school seat belts, a few bumps on the stone road and cool tunes; she showed us girls old school cool. This ride was exactly what we hoped for, we loved that we could visit, not sit there listening to some over the top driver bugging us with a bunch of chit chat stories, bragging tales of the area or taking over our day; he just let us have fun and relax. In some of the other reviews they wanted more chit chatty tour guide, not us, we want laid back and not trying to struggle talking to each other over a tour guide. We preferred that the wineries give us the tour we wanted and information at each stop. Zak was so polite, very responsive to answered to winery, sites and local questions we had. We enjoyed that he opened the door for us and took us into the wineries and introduced us to the folks there. The folks at the wineries treated us wonderfully and they seemed to be friends with Zak we felt they went out of the way to take care of us. Overall, I have told everyone I meet that this is the way to tour if you are into laid back, peaceful rides with great places to visit. All 4 of us ladies agree, this was the highlight of our trip; Zak and the the Winewagen exceeded ALL expectations. Thanks again! Kris Atwater Oak Harbor, OH

Owner is extremely rude on the phone. Literally yelled at me and told me to go to another company…read morewhen he couldn't provide a vehicle for my needs. I'm sure that this place would no longer be in business if it was in a larger market.

Wow. It has taken me 2 weeks to try to think of how to review this service. If there was a…read morenegative star rating, I would have chosen it. Here it goes: 1) The car is neither luxurious nor comfortable. The body is rusted. The interior is dirty. The console in front of the seat is broken and stuffed with a dirty pillow. The handles on all of the doors on the inside are broken. The doors can't be opened from the inside (which is super-creepy with a driver like Orlando). The car beeps for 3 minutes every 20 minutes or so, but Orlando assures you that there is no problem. I am not sure that the seatbelts in the back work (it's ok with Orlando because it's "legal"). The car shudders when it goes over 50 MPH. The 4th, 5th, and 6th people of your party have to climb over a seat into a raised seat with barely enough room for three (we are small people--all less than 160 lbs). 2) Orlando is offensive. Within 5 minutes of starting our trip, Orlando had succeeded in offending everyone in our party--Canadians, Drivers of Subarus, Democrats, Physicians. Orlando never stops talking, and it is not about the area and local attractions or what to look for. He lectured the car about how doctors are criminals who prescribe medications that people don't need--such as insulin for diabetes. "All you need to do is take large doses of cinnamon." You can cure cancer by,"mixing Flax oil in cottage cheese. Its a well known fact. It's on the google." 3) You will feel like Orlando's prisoner. We were a group that likes conversation. We usually have to keep two members of our party from chatting too much. Orlando talked non-stop the entire trip. We were taking turns sitting in the front seat next to him to share the burden. We ended our trip one hour (and one winery) early just to be able to get out of his car. Some of the topics that Orlando pontificated on: his past employment for the government--"I can't tell you what I did. They asked me to fake my death, but I wouldn't do it; so I had to quit." He also told us about the buried UFOs as big as a football field in the desert. He also commented on how there are, "so many democrats that you could bury them." I am not sure what that was in reference to. 4) Despite the number of times that Orlando will tell you about his 28 years of experience, he is not all that knowledgeable. I had been planning this trip to the Finger Lakes for many months as a birthday celebration for my wife. I had carefully selected wineries that I wanted to visit. Right after getting into the car, he argued with me about my choices and asked me if, "you know anything about this area?" and then told me that it would be impossible to include Ravines in our itinerary as the Winery is in Geneva. I told him that there was a tasting room on Keuka lake, and he said, "I don't know anything about that." I had to tell him that I was confident in my itinerary and essentially argue with him to accept it. I don't think that visiting three wineries and having lunch between 1030 AM and 6 PM is too much to ask. In the end we were dropped off at 5 PM. In summary if you are looking for a knowledgeable, friendly driver in a safe comfortable vehicle for a relaxing day touring the amazing Finger Lakes wineries, DO NOT BOOK WITH Orlando. However, if you are seeking a nightmare version of Carpool Karaoke, but instead of James Corden driving you around in a nice car with pleasant conversation, you want an ignorant, rude, offensive, conspiracy theorist driver with verbal diarrhea and a dirty unsafe and uncomfortable ride, then Orlando and Finger Lakes Transport and Tours is for you.

We had a wonderful experience with Nicole! I highly recommend this service. We opted to use our…read moreown vehicle and Nicole expertly drove us around to all the places we had planned. Nicole was full of information and was able to stir us in the direction that best suited our tastes. Our trip was a fantastic success. Thank you Nicole and Grapevine Country Tours!

I loved this tour ! We had booked a package from Glass Magnolia B&B and we got a 2 person tour of…read morethe wineries near Seneca and Cayuga. Bonnie was great! We explained what type of wine we liked and she made fantastic recommendations. It was a joy hearing her passion and knowledge for the region. I learned a lot. She also went at a great pace and was very fun. We got the space to enjoy our wine and we never felt rushed. It was a nice experience. I really enjoyed her recommendations. I'd definitely recommend and would try this tour again!

Ice Wines - need I say more? Sweet wine drinkers, this is the place to be without a doubt. (They…read morehave dry as well.) I enjoy the tastings here beside they as split into Dry and Sweet so I don't have to bother with dry wines. The grounds are stunning and so relaxing!

Another stop on our Seneca Lake Westshore wine tour. This location is very nice and staff was very…read moreinformative and friendly. We took a guided tour this time with Karen. She was great and told us about the wines we tried from our sweet and dry flight $10 each (pictured). All wines were very good and we even bought one to take home. They offer a large selection of wines to buy as well as purchase along side some small cheeses you can enjoy during your visit. We will be back to enjoy more of their selection.