APPELLATION located in northern New York State just south of Lake Ontario. Its name comes from its four largest glacial lakes (Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga), which look like the fingers of a giant hand. Grape growing survives in this region because the environment around the lakes moderates the temperatures and extends the growing seasons (see LAKE EFFECT). MESOCLIMATES in this area are extremely important. Although there are a dozen lakes in the area, the areas around the larger lakes of Cayuga (which has it own AVA) and Seneca are considered best because the water is deeper and thereby stores more warmth, and because the lower altitude is warmer. Finger Lakes AVA was approved in 1987; the Cayuga Lake AVA, one year later. Finger Lakes AVA encompasses approximately 2,600,000 acres with over 10,000 acres planted. Growers in this area still plant a lot of NATIVE AMERICAN GRAPES (CATAWBA, CONCORD, DELAWARE, and NIAGARA) and HYBRIDS (AURORA, BACO NOIR, CHELOIS, DE CHAUNAC, and SEYVAL BLANC). However, VITIS VINIFERA grapes continue to increase in popularity, gaining acreage at the rate of 20 percent per year since the mid-1990s. The most popular of these are CABERNET FRANC, CHARDONNAY, GEWÜRZTRAMINER, PINOT NOIR, and RIESLING. There are over seventy wineries in the Finger Lake AVA.