Rooster Hill Partners Vineyards Partners With Opus Cafe Offering Lunch on the Terrace

Rooster Hill Vineyards, maker of fine Finger Lakes wines and home to spectacular Keuka Lake views, and Opus Espresso & Wine Bar, local purveyor of specialty gourmet foods, are teaming up to enhance the Rooster Hill experience.

Opus, a wine and coffee emporium on Exchange Street in Geneva, will be preparing a special menu for Rooster Hill ­ on Friday through Sunday each week, to start ­and then bringing the fare to the winery. The menu of specialty sandwiches and salads will be prepared fresh each morning in Geneva and served outside on the winery's creekstone terrace.

Opus Café staff will serve the gourmet meals on the terrace from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the warm-weather season.

Amy Hoffman, president and co-founder of Rooster Hill Vineyards, is excited about the new wine-and-food pairing. Hoffman had been seeking a business to serve food at the winery. She said Opus is the perfect partner for the venture because it offers exemplary quality and service as well as unique products.

"I'm really impressed with what they¹ve done in Geneva," Hoffman said of Opus co-founders Heather Tompkins and Chelsey Madia (pictured left). "And I am excited that our customers will be able to taste their culinary creations here at Rooster Hill."

Open in Geneva since September 2010, Opus has expanded from the two founders to a total of 18 employees and is a busy spot for students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, downtown workers and others.  We're busting at the seams here, Tompkins said. "We have a very good mix of people as customers."

Previously, Opus entered into a partnership with Fox Run Vineyards, south of Geneva on the west side of Seneca Lake, and has been serving specialty lunches there for several months.  Tompkins said that Opus will see how the first season of the Rooster Hill venture goes and may expand it in the future.

Rooster Hill Vineyards is at 489 Route 54, near Penn Yan, about a half-hour from Geneva. The tasting room's hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more details about the winery visit http://www.roosterhill.com/.