The wine appellation is entirely contained within the larger Finger Lakes AVA, and includes portions of Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, and Yates counties.

In 1829, Boswick grew Catawba and Isabella grapes in his rectory garden located in Hammondsport, New York on the southern tip of Keuka Lake.

The Seneca Lake Grape Wine Company had folded and area farmers struggled to survive in a much reduced New York State market.

Two young European viticultural pioneers named Charles Fournier and Konstantin Frank began to research and experiment with Vinifera grapes in the Finger Lakes Region.

Fournier and Frank's research led them to Seneca Lake where they found the most favorable microclimates conducive for growing Vinifera grapes.

At the same time, a German native named Hermann Wiemer bought and planted 140 acres (56.7 ha) of Vinifera on the west side of Seneca Lake.