Drive thirty minutes past the racetrack and the crowds, and the hills roll open into something quieter: rows of cold-hardy vines climbing toward the Vermont border, converted barns doubling as tasting rooms, and vintners who can tell you exactly which slope grew the grapes in your glass. If you’re searching for great wineries near Saratoga Springs NY, Washington County is where many of the region’s best vineyards can be found, tucked between charming small towns and farmland that’s been worked for over two centuries.
Find Cold-Hardy Wineries Near Saratoga Springs, NY
Washington County, NY is home to four wineries with tasting rooms open to the public: Victory View Vineyard, Northern Cross Vineyard, South Dominion Vineyard, and Autumn’s Harvest Vineyard. Each one is part of the Upper Hudson Wine Trail, the only officially recognized wine trail based in the county. Each vineyard grows cold-hardy grape varietals bred to survive winters that would kill a typical Bordeaux vine, and each is a short drive from Cambridge and Easton.
Consider this your invitation to skip the crowds of a big-name wine region. Here, the person pouring your tasting is often the same one who pruned the vines that morning.
Northern Cross Vineyard in Valley Falls, NY
History
It was a trip to Spain that first got Andrew and Kathleen Weber thinking about a vineyard of their own, though Washington County’s subzero winters ruled out the grapes they’d tasted abroad. Then, a visit to Lincoln Peak Vineyard in Vermont introduced them to cold-hardy varietals bred to survive exactly that kind of winter, and in 2011 they planted their own as Northern Cross Vineyard.
Yet Andrew didn’t stop at planting vines. He and Kathleen personally submitted the petition that led federal regulators to designate the Upper Hudson AVA in 2018. Andrew also served as president of the Upper Hudson Wine Trail, working directly with state legislators to get the trail formally recognized in 2017. This is what genuinely sets Northern Cross apart: every vineyard on this list benefits from the Upper Hudson AVA, but the Webers are the ones who built it.
What They Grow and Pour
The Webers keep their vineyard’s labels uncomplicated and authentic: red wines named Marquette, Frontenac, and St. Croix, and white wines named Lacrosse, La Crescent, and Prairie Star, each named for the grape that made it. As the Webers put it, enjoying wine should be effortless, with no rambling tasting notes required.
Visiting
Northern Cross Vineyard doesn’t rush anyone through a flight. Guests settle into a seated tasting and can taste, tour or picnic as they please, surrounded by displays of original art from local artists. This is the vineyard for anyone who wants to set their own pace: no guided pitch, no script, just a glass and as much time as you want to sit with it.
The tasting room sits at the corner of Beadle and Ives Hill Roads in Easton, open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 PM. Often in the summer, you’ll find gallery talks and classes from local artists taking place as well. Yelp also lists Northern Cross among the area’s dog-friendly wineries, so leashed pups are welcome to tag along.
Each fall, Northern Cross Vineyard joins its fellow Washington County craft beverage producers in the annual Flannel Fall Crawl.
Victory View Vineyard in Easton, NY
History
In August of 2013, Gerry and Mary Barnhart opened Victory View Vineyard’s tasting room in the hamlet of North Easton, firmly within the eastern stretch of the Upper Hudson Wine Trail. The name comes from the view itself: the property looks out over Saratoga National Historical Park, where British forces surrendered during the Revolutionary War.
That history runs straight into the wine list. Reds like Revolution, Turning Point, and Independence trace back to the battle and the spirit of the era, while Lafayette honors the French general who became one of George Washington’s most trusted officers. On the white side, a Strong Women series carries names like Abigail, for Abigail Adams, and Annalise, for the undocumented women who kept farms and households running while their husbands and sons marched off to fight.
Learn more about Victory View Vineyard in our How It’s Made blog >
What They Grow and Pour
The Barnharts grow seven cold-climate varietals on their own farm: Marquette, Maréchal Foch, Frontenac, Melody, La Crescent, LaCrosse, and Petite Pearl. Every wine on the list starts and ends on that same ground, hand harvested and crafted into mostly dry reds and whites.
Visiting
When asked, visitors keep circling back to the same thing: the people. “The folks who own and operate the vineyard are salt of the earth,” wrote Tripadvisor reviewer Wineskillguy. Several Yelp reviewers also mentioned ordering and enjoying the cheese plate, consisting of a small board of local curds, crackers and pretzels, grapes pulled from the vineyard, olives, and tomatoes.
Victory View Vineyard’s tasting room sits inside a charming blue barn. Outdoor seating opens up when the weather cooperates, and the barrel room takes over when it doesn’t. Take your glass and walk up through the vines to the top of the hill. The view opens onto the actual ground where the war turned, offering a short, easy walk with a stunning payoff.
Planning a visit? Stop by Fridays from 4 to 8 PM or Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 PM.
Each year, Victory View participates in several of the county’s biggest agritourism events. Look for them during the Flannel Fall Crawl, the Art + Ag Tour, and the County Bounty Tour. Come August, find their wines in the County Bounty Building at the Washington County Fair. In fact, during that same weeklong showcase, all four of the county’s vineyards pour side by side!
South Dominion Vineyard in Cambridge, NY
History
South Dominion Vineyard sits on land that traces back to the 1761 Cambridge Patent. Around 1782, Reverend William Waite bought 450 acres of it and built the cabin that still stands today. Later, he divided the land among his sons – at least, all but one, who was cut out of the inheritance for fighting alongside the British during the Revolution. Those parcels stayed in agricultural use for generations until 1975, when one of them became the roughly 20-acre footprint the vineyard occupies today.
In 2016, the Bateman family, led by Shawn and Vance Bateman, planted that historic ground with 1,300 Franco-American hybrid vines, a cold-hardy cross developed by a Minnesota scientist in the 1960s specifically to survive frigid northern winters. Those same vines now share the property with a small flock of Romney-Dorset sheep. That’s helped South Dominion to become a regular stop on the county’s Fiber Tour, where visitors can catch shearing and spinning demonstrations set against a backdrop of rows upon rows of grape vines.
What They Grow and Pour
Like the other estate vineyards on this list, South Dominion’s wines come entirely from their own Franco-American hybrid vines. The lineup includes three reds and four whites, varying in body, sweetness, and finish, all grown and bottled on site.
Visiting
Hospitality is one of the ways in which South Dominion shines. “The owners go out of their way to make this a relaxed/pleasurable wine tasting experience,” wrote one Tripadvisor reviewer. Another reviewer, MichaelsFood, summed up a Friday Night Fire Pit evening more simply: “their wines are superb.”
The vineyard’s post and beam tasting room, built in 2019, features a vaulted ceiling, a fireplace, and an upstairs loft stocked with used books and a vinyl record collection guests are welcome to browse with a glass in hand. Order a cheese board or a charcuterie plate, or let the kids settle in at their own art table while you taste!
The restored 1766 log cabin on the property is also available for overnight stays. It’s recognized by the Washington County Historical Society as a historic landmark. It sleeps up to six with a full kitchen, a fireplace, and vineyard views. It also doubles as the setting for the vineyard’s guided history walks when it isn’t booked.
Sheep graze steps from the tasting tables, a fire crackles in the upstairs loft, and the log cabin sits quietly in the vines. The whole visit feels less like a wine tasting and more like an afternoon spent on a working farmstead.
South Dominion is open seasonally from early May through late November. Hours are the last Friday of each month, 4 to 8 PM; Saturdays, noon to 6 PM; Sundays, 1 to 5 PM. Be sure to stop at the vineyard during the Flannel Fall Crawl, the Art + Ag Tour, the County Bounty Tour, or at the Fair!
Autumn’s Harvest Vineyard in Cambridge, NY
History
While Autumn’s Harvest Vineyard is the newest name on the Upper Hudson Wine Trail, it still has plenty to offer any discerning wine enthusiast. It’s a family-owned, farm-to-glass winery planted with two acres of cold-climate grapes on a scenic stretch of Center Cambridge Road.
Owner Tim Post brings serious credentials to that small footprint. He holds a Master’s degree in Enology and spent years working in the Finger Lakes wine industry. He’s also a certified judge with the American Wine Society.
Post keeps a favorite philosophy from Robert Mondavi close to heart: great wine starts in the vineyard, not the winery. It shows in how intensively he manages the rows. Canopy work lets each grape cluster ripen fully in a short northern season, and he hand-harvests every cluster himself. In addition, he also makes a small selection of local hard cider alongside the wine. More on that below.
What They Grow and Pour
Seven cold-climate varietals grow on the property: Itasca, LaCrescent, Brianna, Petite Pearl, Marquette, Sabrevois, and Lacrosse. Once processed into wine, the lineup includes a LaCrescent and Itasca field blend, a Brianna rosé, and a Marquette rosé. Single-varietal pours of Petite Pearl, Marquette, and Sabrevois round it out, spanning dry to sweet.
Want something a little different? Finish off a flight with one of the vineyard’s fruit or hop-flavored hard ciders! They’re made from apples grown right here in Washington County.
Visiting
Tim Post runs Autumn’s Harvest largely on his own, splitting time between the vineyard rows and the tasting counter. Call ahead if you can, since he’s often out working the vines and may not catch the phone.
Where Autumn’s Harvest actually stands apart is what’s in the glass. It’s the only one of the four pouring hard cider alongside wine, so a flight here can run from a dry Marquette red to a fruit-forward cider without ever leaving the counter. The tasting room at 93 Brownell Road in Cambridge is open Saturdays, noon to 6 PM, and Sundays, noon to 5 PM, with the vineyard itself a short drive away.
Autumn’s Harvest also joins the county’s Flannel Fall Crawl each year, and pours at the fair each August as well.
More Ways to Taste Your Way Through Washington County
A vineyard doesn’t have to pour its own wine to be part of the experience! These stops are the perfect addition for any visit to these incredible wineries near Saratoga Springs, NY.
Ives Hollow Vineyard, a family-owned pick-your-own operation, opens its rows for a few weekends each fall, typically September into early October. There’s no tasting room here. Instead, visitors fill baskets with St. Croix, Brianna, Petite Pearl, and Frontenac Gris grapes. Then, they take them home for jelly, juice, or their own batch of homemade wine! Some weekends bring horse-drawn wagon rides alongside the picking. See it alongside the county’s other seasonal harvests in our pick-your-own farms guide.
For a different kind of pairing, Dancing Ewe Farm in Granville hosts seasonal farm dinners. The menus lean Mediterranean, paired with wines the owners import directly from small Italian producers. While it’s not a stop for local wine, anyone chasing a full evening of food and wine will find the farm’s ticketed dinners an unforgettable experience.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wineries Near Saratoga Springs, NY
How many wineries are in Washington County, NY?
Four wineries currently pour tastings to the public: Victory View Vineyard, Northern Cross Vineyard, South Dominion Vineyard, and Autumn’s Harvest Vineyard. All four grow their own grapes and sit along the Upper Hudson Wine Trail.
What kind of wine does Washington County make?
Washington County’s vineyards grow cold-hardy, Franco-American hybrid grapes such as Marquette, Frontenac, La Crescent, and Petite Pearl, varietals bred to survive winters that would kill more familiar vinifera vines. The result is mostly dry reds and whites, along with a few rosés, that taste distinct from what you’d find in a warmer wine region.
Is there a wine trail near Saratoga Springs, NY?
Yes. The Upper Hudson Wine Trail runs through southern Washington County, roughly 20 to 30 minutes from Saratoga Springs, and is the only New York State recognized wine trail based in the county.
Can you visit multiple Washington County wineries in one day?
Yes, most of the county’s wineries sit within a short drive of Cambridge and Easton, making it possible to visit two or three in a single afternoon. Each vineyard keeps its own seasonal hours, so check ahead before building a route.
Plan Your Trip
Whichever wineries near Saratoga Springs NY make the list, plan for a full day! Tasting rooms here run on their own unhurried schedule, and the drive between them is half the fun.
Ready to build your trip? Explore the full Craft Beverage Trail for the rest of Washington County’s breweries, cideries, and distilleries. Or, check out some of our other fun things to do, from fishing, horseback riding, hiking and biking to golfing, u-pick produce, museums and more!
Discover more ways to See, Taste and Explore the best parts of Washington County, NY.
