Address: 800 South Main Street, Canandaigua New York 14424
Phone: 585-394-7070
Website: www.nywcc.com
Wine Tasting Room Tues.-Thurs. 10 am-6 pm/ Fri.-Sat. 10 am-9 pm
Sun. Noon-6 pm
Mon. Closed

The New York Wine & Culinary Center is designed to engage, excite and inspire the people of New York State and the world in a celebration of New York wine and food. The Center is an educational and experiential gateway to New York State’s incredible wine, food and culinary industries. The Tasting Room offers a wine experience like none other. Wines from all regions of New York State are featured at our stunning tasting bar. Knowledgeable staff guide you through your tasting flight of New York’s delicious, complex, award-winning wines, and educate you about winemaking, wine styles and wine-producing regions.

The wine tasting menu changes frequently and featured wines can be purchased in the Wine Tasting Room. Non-alcoholic options are also available.  New York State is one of America’s centers of agriculture. Not surprisingly, New York has a long history as a wine producing state. Since the 1600s, vintners have maximized New York’s unique climate and soil characteristics to produce an assortment of wines. New York State is home of U.S. bonded winery number one, Pleasant Valley Wine Company, located in Hammondsport, New York. It also lays claim to America’s oldest continuously operating winery - Brotherhood Winery in the Hudson Valley.

The number of wineries in New York surged following the 1976 passage of the Farm Winery Act, which made it easier for small wineries to enter the business. Additional laws that support the wine industry combined with advances in cold-climate viticultural techniques have vaulted New York wines onto the world stage. Today, New York is the third largest wine producing state in the country. The number of wineries in the state jumped from 63 in 1985 to more than 212 today, and is expected to continue to grow.

New York is also home to many innovative, philanthropic food and beverage organizations. In 2002, four of these organizations came together with a common goal - to create a gateway for the people of New York and from around the world to experience New York’s wine and food industries.

The four organizations are:
Constellation Brands - the largest wine company in the world.
Wegmans Food Market Inc. - a leading regional supermarket chain.
Rochester Institute of Technology - an internationally recognized leader in professional and career-oriented education.
The New York Wine and Grape Foundation - a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and executing promotion and research programs that support the New York wine and grape industry.

After three years of research and planning, this vibrant partnership of corporate, academic and government organizations formed the non-profit New York Wine and Culinary Center to showcase and provide a gateway to New York’s dynamic wine and food industries. The partnership hired Lord Cultural Resources Inc., a firm that consults with museums and cultural centers around the world, to help in the development of the Center.

Canandaigua New York was chosen as the ideal location for the Center. A small city perched on the north shore of Canandaigua Lake, it is a major tourist destination during the summer months. Canandaigua is known for its historical architecture, bustling main street and proximity to many farms and wineries.

Overlooking the City’s picturesque pier, the new Center building is designed to be inviting and a stunning showcase for exhibitions, classes and eating and drinking experiences. The $7.5 million facility is supported, in part, by grants and contributions from agriculture, culinary and wine businesses as well as the state and federal governments.