The fruits of the fall season provide the fun at King Ferry's Harvest Festival.

Whether it's the wines of King Ferry Winery or the apples of Bakers' Acres, the festival feeds its attendees with plenty locally grown products while offering them a glimpse into the work that goes into their production.

At King Ferry, a late harvest Riesling Eis wine is the centerpiece of this year's festival. Rather than harvesting frozen grapes from the vine, the fruits were taken to a freezing facility and the wine was fermented longer at a colder temperature.

“The major difference is it's less expensive than it would be to go out and harvest the grapes frozen,” said Chris Couch, tasting room manager at King Ferry Winery. The dessert wine will be released Saturday.

Also that day is a raffle for a 2007 Mini Cooper in the rather appropriate color of champagne. Proceeds will go toward the Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance, which supported winery co-owner Tacie Saltonstall during her recent battle with the condition.

Live music by Restless will accompany the festival from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The barbecue cuisine of Mo's Pit BBQ in Cayuga and the ice cream of the Cayuga Lake Creamery will accompany the wide selection of wines available for tasting.

Couch estimates as many as 600 glasses of wine - roughly 100 bottles - will be tasted during the two-day festival. Tours are offered on an informal basis; if King Ferry senses any demand for one, they'll take a group behind winery lines.

Visitors can view the vineyards down Lake Road and the travels of each grape from vine to bottle.

“There's so much to know,” Couch said. “We love having questions asked; some people already know a lot but want all the nitty gritty details.”

A Mystere off-dry sweet red is among the highlights of the tasting lineup at this year's festival.

“It's been a wonderful growing season in general; not just for us, but for the apple growers and all our neighbors in the agricultural business,” Couch said.

The child-friendly festival fare of Bakers' Acres complements the more adult-directed attractions at King Ferry Winery.

“We've always supported each other, us and King Ferry,” said Cathy Kessler, assistant manager at Bakers' Acres.

The orchard, a 15-minute drive from the winery, will be open Saturday afternoon to offer visitors freshly made cider and doughnuts. An old-fashioned cider press will showcase the process by which some of the fruits of Bakers' five apple-growing acres are turned into drink.

The orchard will also feature a petting zoo and alpaca and reptile exhibits - the latter presented by the Cayuga Nature Center. The 4-H Exchange Club will be selling pies, and children can enjoy the face-painting and story-telling stations as well as a treasure hunt.

“We try to make it as family-oriented as possible and get people to know that it's a neat place to come and explore the gardens, orchards and have a really fun day,” Kessler said.

Based on previous years, upwards of 500 people are expected to turn out at each location. Couch is hopeful this year's Harvest Festival will pull in many more to partake in a special season for the King Ferry Winery and Bakers' Acres.

“Harvest almost came a little earlier than usual this year,” he said. “Come and enjoy the fruits of our labor.”

Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net

If you go

What: Bakers' Acres Harvest Fest

When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 13

Where: Bakers' Acres, 1104 Auburn Road, Groton

Cost: Free

For details: Call (607) 533-4653