Sarah S. Thompson, author of Finger Lakes Wine Country, will  sign copies of her book at the Geneva History Museum during Geneva Night Out on Friday, June 5 at 7:00 PM. The book is a comprehensive regional history of the wine industry with more than 200 images from the collections of area wineries, museums and archives. It traces the development of the industry from the first vineyards in the 1830s to the revolution of the past thirty years. Thompson looks at the success of early wineries in the late 19th-century, how Prohibition decimated this business in the early 20th, and how innovators transformed and resuscitated it at mid century, bringing about a Finger Lakes wine renaissance.

Sarah S. Thompson is a freelance writer living on Seneca Lake, where she and her husband plan to open a small winery. Sarah writes about food, wine, science, and news for Cornell University and regional publications.

In addition, the new exhibit, “Now is the Time of Our Country’s Need”: Geneva and the Civil War, will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. during Geneva Night Out.

For more information, call the Geneva History Museum at 315-789-5151 or visit our website at www.genevahistoricalsociety.com. The Geneva History Museum is located in the Prouty-Chew House at 543 South Main Street, Geneva, NY. Parking is on the street or in the Trinity Episcopal Church lot across the street.