ABOUT – History – TEAM

About Lakeland Winery

A 16-year-old urban winery located in Syracuse, NY State.

We are an Urban Winery located in Syracuse, upstate NY. The term Urban Winery means that in Lakeland we choose to produce our wines in an urban setting, closer to our customers as part of our vision to make our wines more accessible and less overwhelming. We source our grapes, fruits, and berries from multiple vineyards, and then, we ferment, bottle, and sell the wine in our facilities located at 877 State Fair Blvd, Syracuse, NY. Our Founder, Andrew Watkins had the vision to build a place specially curated to create that homey feeling, in which you can sit back, relax, and sip wine with your friends and family or join many of the events that the winery has to offer.

The main focus of our wines, far from how pompous, and overwhelming the Wine Industry can be, is the quality and variety of flavors we have to offer. We want you to be the one who decides if a wine is good or not, simply by tasting it and allowing yourself to enjoy its flavor and effects. We can assure you that you will not only find a flavor you like, but many. We invite our customers to visit us, and we would love to welcome you into our growing Lakeland Family or to purchase our wines Online.

“Great wine requires a lucid poet to make it and a lover to drink it, to us Wine is bottled poetry.”

We are an Urban Winery located in Syracuse, upstate NY, the term Urban Winery means that in Lakeland we chose to produce our wines in an Urban setting, closer to our customers as part of our vision to make our wines more accessible and less overwhelming. We source our grapes, fruits, and berries from multiple vineyards, and then, we ferment, bottle, and sell the wine in our facilities located at 877 State Fair Blvd, Syracuse, NY 13209. Our Founder, Andrew Watkins had the vision to create a place specially curated to create that homey feeling, in which you get to sit back and relax with a sip of wine with your friend and family or join many of the events that the winery has to offer.

The main focus of our wines, far from how pompous, and overwhelming the Wine Industry can get, is the quality and variety of flavors we offer, We want you to be the one who decides if a wine is good or not, simply by tasting it and allowing yourself to enjoy their flavor and effects. We can assure you that you will not only find a flavor you’d like but many. So we invite our customers to visit us, we would love to welcome you into our growing Lakeland Family or to purchase our wines Online.

“Great wine requires a lucid poet to make it and a lover to drink it, to us wine is bottled poetry.”

History

Formerly known as “Vine 2 Wine”, Lakeland Winery was founded in 2005, when Andrew Watkins, it’s Founder, came across the opportunity to create the first custom winemaking facility in the State of New York.

This Winery started out as a Wine Making Shop, a place where you could source all elements to produce your own wine, quickly developing into what currently is: A beautiful homey urban winery that offers amazing wines and curates a variety of services.

All the improvements we have set in place were based on our guest’s feedback, and we will continue to improve, adjust and grow guided by our original vision, FOR YOU TO ENJOY THE FLAVORS OF LIFE.

Our Team

Andrew Watkins
Andrew WatkinsOwner
With a Environmental engineering background, in 2005 Andrew came across the opportunity to open the first custom winemaking facility in the State of New York.
“My background and education in Engineering has come in useful, organizing the many tasks and maneuvering around hurdles that come from guiding a successful and thriving business.”
Aimee King
Aimee KingWholesaler
Aimee King is our Wholesaler and Festival Coordinator. She works relentlessly to continue to bring Lakeland wines closer to you. So far we have been a part of more than 1000 festivals and food markets; you can find our wines in several retail locations across New York State.
Janette Ranieri
Janette RanieriAdministrator
As the Operations Administrator of Lakeland Winery, Janette oversees the whole operation of the winery, and you will likely find her in the winery with a welcoming attitude and a unique willingness to make the best out of your experience with Lakeland.

What People are saying

Great Wine Tasting

“Wine Tasting Our party of seven had a wonderful time. The wines were delicious and the service was exceptional. We would love to come back for another outing.”

Genbook Verified Review
Birthday Wine Tasting

“We had a lovely evening tasting wine and celebrating my mother’s 60th birthday. Our group of fifteen people fit well in the space and had plenty of room to spread out, chat, and enjoy tasting the wines offered. Staff was super accommodating and fun!”

Genbook Verified Review
Best Wine Tasting in Syracuse

“Lakeland Winery has a great selection of wine to choose from. My server was extremely nice and helpful. Before I came here I had no idea what kind of wine I would like and he was very helpful in trying to figure out what I do and don’t like. I found out I liked fruit wines and white wines. Plus we all had a great time just hanging out together because it was a very friendly and homey atmosphere. I would definitely recommend coming here for wine and I would definitely recommend a tasting.”

Genbook Verified Review
Family wine-tasting fun

“What an enjoyable experience! Will was awesome and led us through the finer points of dry and sweet wines. We brought snacks and were not rushed through this experience……we will definitely come back!”

Genbook Verified Review