The Greyhounds are coming to the Finger Lakes to the third annual Greyhound Gathering during the Grapehound Wine Tour. More than 400 dogs and their owners are expected. This year, the wine trail will host the event for four days - July 24 through 27.

The event begins Thursday, July 24, at Montezuma Winery with a chicken barbecue with music by Chuck and Paul. Friday, July 25, the east wineries will officially kick off the event, and in the evening, Knapp Winery will host a welcome reception with light appetizers and wine by the glass. At Buttonwood Winery, visitors will be able to enjoy live music under the stars from the Zydeco Trail Riders.

The event continues over the weekend at the wineries on the west side from Montezuma to Six Mile Creek. Sunday, July 27 morning, the greys can hike up Taughannock Falls, and after that, a breakfast will be served at Americana with more concerts. Two ice cream socials are planned throughout the weekend.

This event is not only for greyhound owners and their pets but for anyone who wants to learn more about these tranquil animals. The sad story about these dogs is after they are no longer considered ideal racers they become puppies of the past. That is why adoption to forever homes is so important.

Last month, I met Jolene who told me of how her greyhound of 10 years passed away two weeks before last year's event. They decided to attend the event and wound up adopting two older dogs, Jenny and Corey, from the Ithaca adoption group.

Greyhounds can be traced back to the Egyptian era and in fact the greyhound Starr Gospel, who adorned the wine trails Web site last year enticed by the sight of Taughannock Falls, has lineage going back to the 1850s. They're very low key dogs, and they don't mind snoozing right in the middle of a winery floor.

Adopt-a-Greyhound booths will be set up. A portion of the ticket proceeds is donated to Greyhound Adoption Agencies.

Last month, the Vigneron group from Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery met for another session called “suckering and shoot positioning.” There we were again out in the vineyard learning another part of the process in making fine wine. My partner, Mary Jane Challen, and I went down a row and cut away at the vines below the first wire to thin out the vine so that the grapes would be more exposed to better air flow and a greater amount of sunshine. The best part after the suckering was when we moved up the bottom wire to the top located on the post leaving a pristine row of vines.

Summer is upon us and Buttonwood Grove Winery will host numerous concerts from 7 to 10 p.m. every other Friday at Taughannock State Park and every Saturday evening until Aug. 16. Americana Vineyards hosts concerts as well from 4 to 6 p.m. Sundays.

Other events taking place this summer include the 11th anniversary party at Goose Watch Winery Saturday, July 12, the sixth annual chicken barbecue at Knapp Vineyards July 26, and on Aug. 2 and 3, “Wine and All that Jazz” at Thirsty Owl Wine Co.

Cathy Millspaugh is the executive director of the Cayuga Wine Trail. To learn more, visit www.cayugawinetrail.com