GENEVA, N.Y. - Geologists say the Finger Lakes were created eons ago by glaciers gouging long furrows in the earth as they receded. The Iroquois Native American tribes, whose homeland this was, had a more mythic explanation.

In their version God, after creating the earth, rested his (or her) hands on it for a moment to survey the finished product. The lakes are divine handprints. Whatever version you prefer there's no question that the result is a lovely landscape, almost European-looking in its mix of manicured farmland, centuries-old towns, and hillside vineyards sloping down to sparkling blue lakes. There are even a few faux chateaux.

Geneva, named for the beautiful Swiss lakeside city, is at the northern end of Seneca Lake, and with a population of 15,000, the hub of this rural region. Its boom years came in the 19th century when construction of a canal linking the lake to the Erie Canal spurred industrial development. In time local plutocrats built imposing lakeside houses, often inspired by buildings they had seen on grand tours of Europe.

Seneca, 36 miles long, is the second-largest of the Finger Lakes. Cayuga Lake to the East is four miles longer but Seneca is much deeper - an important difference. For instance, Seneca Lake's great depth, 632 feet, makes it an ideal habitat for trout and other game fish. It touts itself as "Lake Trout Capital of the World."

There are some 50 wineries in the Finger Lakes region - the greatest concentration in the eastern United States - and Seneca's depth is the reason about half of them are found along its shoreline. Because it's so deep, Seneca rarely freezes. Its water warms the shore and surrounding hillsides, which protects vines during the short growing season.

There is a Seneca Lake Wine Trail, with 23 participating wineries, that loops around the lake. All the participants have tasting and sales rooms and are open year-round. Lake Cayuga has a similar trail. Even if you're not an oenophile, these wine trails are beautiful drives or bike routes that pass through lush farm country. There are sweeping lake views most of the way.

Some wineries also have restaurants. A notable one is Veraisons at Glenora Wine Cellars, on the western shore of the lake, where entrees include dishes such as crabmeat ravioli with Port Salute-Merlot newburg sauce. Glenora also has an inn, an attractive rustic lodge where all 30 rooms have decks or balconies overlooking the lake.

Winemaking began in the Finger Lakes region in the mid-19th century, but it wasn't until the 1960s, with the introduction of French-American hybrid and classic European grape varieties, that the area began to be known for quality wines. The trend accelerated in the mid-1970s when the law was changed to allow small boutique or farm wineries, which usually emphasize quality rather than quantity.

Although red wines - including Pinor Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon - are produced here, the area is known primarily for white wines. Some of its Rieslings, bone dry and elegant, rank among the world's best. All the wineries will put their finest vintages out for tasting at the Finger Lakes Wine Festival July 21-22 in Watkins Glen, at the southern end of Seneca Lake.

Built on the site of a former Seneca Indian "castle" or fortified village, Geneva was settled in the 18th century and laid out to a precise plan around a small square (now Pulteney Park) and along a ridge paralleling the lake. The town attracted a number of settlers from the South. The row houses in the South Main Street historic district were mostly built between 1825 and 1850 in a so-called Baltimore style uncommon in the Northeast.

Geneva also has a number of white-pillared 19th-century houses resembling the plantation mansions of the antebellum South. (Think Tara in "Gone with the Wind.") One such 1820s house, Cobblestones on Hamilton Street, is now an Italian restaurant specializing in pasta dishes. Rose Hill Mansion, on Route 16A just east of Geneva, built in 1839 and now owned by the Geneva Historical Society, is considered one of the finest restored Greek Revival mansions in the country.

The South Main Street historic district also includes Hobart and William Smith Colleges, whose handsome campus offers what is perhaps the best view of Seneca Lake in the city.

Geneva's long history, visibly reflected in its eclectic architecture, is well-told at the historical society, housed in the Prouty-Chew House, a Federal style mansion on South Main built in 1829. "Geneva is unique architecturally," says Charles Bauder executive director of the historical society. "We've got everything from Greek Revival to Gothic Revival, and we even have some adobe buildings and an octagonal house."

Two of the grandest of these, Geneva on the Lake and Belhurst Castle, are now hotels.

Geneva on the Lake, was built in 1914 by Byron Nester a wealthy local businessman who loved Italy and modeled his mansion after the magnificent Lancelotti Villa in the Alban Hills outside Rome. The villa was bought by Capuchin monks in 1949 for a monastery but was sold in the 1970s and converted into an apartment building. In 1980, the Schickel family acquired Geneva on the Lake. They restored the building and the long-neglected lakeside formal gardens - now once more dotted with classical statuary - and turned the property into an all-suites resort hotel.

The suites range from efficiencies to two-bedroom ones, all with kitchens and furnished with antique replicas from the Stickley Furniture Co. in Syracuse, the owners of which now own the hotel. The Lancelotti Dining Room, the ornate drawing room of the original villa, is considered one of the area's best restaurants.

Belhurst Castle was completed in 1889 in the turreted Richardsonian Romanesque style. It looks like a fantasy castle, which is exactly what the original owner, a mad romantic named Carrie Harron Collins, had in mind. There is even a suit of armor in the dark paneled and medieval-looking entrance hall. Belhurst has 14 guest rooms and another dozen or so in another only slightly less atmospheric nearby old mansion, White Springs Manor.

IF YOU GO

Geneva, located in the heart of the Finger Lakes region of New York, is about 350 miles from Boston via Interstate 90 (Massachusetts Turnpike and New York State Thruway). Geneva is about halfway between Rochester and Syracuse, and 6 miles south of the Thruway.

The Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce operates an information center in a lakeside park at 35 Lakefront Drive in downtown Geneva. This is a source of information for the entire area. It has information on accommodations, dining, wine tours, boating, bicyling, fishing, and canal excursions. Call 315-789-1776 or visit www.genevany.com

Three well-known hotels:

Geneva on the Lake: Nightly rates in season are $210 to $700 a suite on weekends, $189 to $630 weekdays. Continental breakfast and a bottle of local wine included. Call 800-343-6382 or visit www.genevaonthelake.com

Belhurst Castle: Rates in the castle are $145 to $315 weekends, $125 to $290 weekdays. White Spring Manor Rates are $145 to $295 weekends, $175 to $275 weekdays. Call 315-781-0201.