When planning my 2024 Finger Lakes trip, I made a list of old favorites and places that I’d heard good things about but never been. Heart & Hands was part of the later category. But it wasn’t until I heard rave reviews from a pair of friends who visited them months earlier that I decided they were a ‘must visit’.

Considering this turned out to be on of my Top 3 visits (along with Forge and Kemmeter) on a 5-day, 16-winery trip, I’d say I chose well.

Heart and Hands is located on the NE side of Cayuga, which added a good 30-minutes to our Day #4 trip itinerary. I know that seems far, but it’s worth the extra time. Not only did we avoid the crowds, it was some of the best wine of the trip.

The name “Hearts and Hands” is a reference to a Claddagh ring, which is an Irish symbol of love. Co-owner Susan Higgins did our tasting and was kind enough to open a little early since we were trying to make the most of our day.

When I asked Susan what they have planted, she said “Lots of fun things! We are a nerdy winery.” They concentrate on pinot and riesling, but also have some aligoté, langrein, petit arvine, and a little chardonnay.

Most of their fruit is estate, although they do source some from nearby vineyards. Heart & Hand makes between 2,500-3,000 cases/year, mostly (and increasingly) based on their 11 acres of vines.

During most of my Finger Lakes visits, people talked a lot about the lake’s importance in reflecting heat on the shoreline vineyards. That’s true at Heart & Hands, but a lot of credit also goes to their limestone soil that’s rare to this area. Limestone drains well, and minimal water retention is important to keeping the vines healthy.

The tasting room is small, but that’s fine with me. Heart & Hands didn’t design the winery to entertain masses of visitors; it’s all about the wine.

Susan walked us through multiple side-by-side comparison tastings, either from different years or different growing sites for the same grape. They make lots of sparkling, but plenty of dry wines as well.

My tasting notes:

1. 2015 Blanc de blanc (traditional): Very nice; one of the best sparklings I had on the trip. Not tried was a blanc de noir.
2. Sparkling Riesling; also very nice; wonderful nose
3. 2019 Auxerrois: This grape is a cross between pinot noir and gouais blanc. Interesting, but not a favorite.
4. 2020 Chardonnay: French oak; somewhat lees-y.
5. Pinot comparison #1: 2021 H&H Pinot (estate and local fruit), vs their 2021 Nutt Road Vineyard Pinot. The ‘standard’ pint had lots of bright fruit, while the vineyard-specific one had fruit but was earthier. I took home a bottle of the ‘standard’.
6. Pinot comparison #2: 2021 Hedrick Pinot, which had 20% stem inclusion for extra tannin. It was a great balance between fruit and tannin. Paired against it was a 2021 Estate Pinot (forgot the specific name), which was heavier, had a longer finish, and more tannin. 100% stem inclusion on the later.
7. Riesling comparison: The 2022 was drier, with more petrol notes. The 2021 was more layered, with notes of tangerine.

This was certainly one of the best sparkling wineries I’ve visited in the Finger Lakes, alongside Red Tail Ridge. My tasting crew took almost 2 cases worth of wine between us in what was the greatest single-winery haul of our entire 5-day trip.

I confined myself to buying a blanc de blanc and pinot noir, but I’ll be back for more.