By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent While the basic strategy for opening a functional winery differs from region to region, in the Finger Lakes the trend seems to follow a path that calls for the opening of the tasting room first with production facility and vineyard coming later. While this might be a generalization of sorts, it makes sense in many respects. Nearly 75% of wine sales in the Finger Lakes occur on site; many larger wineries lease production space; and a vineyard takes quite a few years to produce grapes. A winemaker or entrepreneur can purchase grapes, make wine at a different…
