The largest and deepest of New York State’s Finger Lakes, Seneca Lake became an AVA in 2003. It boasts unique grape-growing conditions, including sloping hills, well-draining soils and a heightened warming effect due to the lake’s size. (The region’s lower east side earned the nickname “Banana Belt” for how much warmer it is than the surrounding area.) The AVA is most known for Riesling, Pinot Noir and ice wines. Because of the depth of the lake, the region experiences a favorable diurnal shift, aka the difference between the highest daily temperature and the lowest nightly temperature in a one-day period.