For 2008, the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail has revised its Vino Visa Coupon Book. The 16 member wineries of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail each have a coupon entitling customers to specials and discounts throughout the year. To make your visit complete, accommodations, attractions, restaurants and transportation services in the region also are offering deals.

The Vino Visa Coupon Book costs $15; the coupons are valued at more than $250. To purchase a book, call (800) 684-5217, order online at www.cayugawinetrail.com or visit any of the wineries on the trail: Montezuma Winery, Cobblestone Farm Winery, Swedish Hill Vineyard, Knapp Winery & Vineyard Restaurant, Goose Watch Winery, Buttonwood Grove Winery, Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery, Thirsty Owl Wine Co., Hosmer Winery, Sheldrake Point Vineyard and Simply Red Lakeside Bistro, Lucas Vineyards, Bellwether Hard Cider, Americana Vineyards, Six Mile Creek Vineyard, King Ferry Winery and Long Point Winery. The coupon book is valid until the end of the year.

For more information on wineries and events and to download a trail guide, visit www.cayugawinetrail.com.

Also along the Trail ...

On April 12, the owners and winemakers of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail will hold their 25th anniversary "Toast the Trail" celebration dinner at the Holiday Inn in Waterloo, and the public is invited.

The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with a sparkling wine and hard cider reception followed by a five-course meal pairing the Trail's wines with a specially prepared gourmet dinner by local chefs using local produce.

Attendees will receive a commemorative sparkling wine glass to celebrate the vision that began in the early 1980s when four wineries along Cayuga Lake had a dream of working together to bring more visitors to their doors. The Trail, which has grown to 16 members, is the first organized and longest-running wine trail in the United States.

Tickets are $80; call (800) 684-5217 or visit www.cayugawinetrail.com.

One sure sign of spring in upstate New York is the Marathon Maple Festival, which this year will be held on April 5 and 6. And, when it is Maple Festival time, it is time to eat pancakes.

For the past 11 years, festival goers have gathered in the auditorium of Marathon High School to watch 15 minutes of competitive consumption of flapjacks. The 2008 edition of this chowing down for charity will start at 9 a.m. April 5.

Every contestant is sponsored by a not-for-profit organization, which uses the opportunity to raise funds for special projects, by soliciting pledges per pancake. Champion Joe LaRue, 48, now of Sebring, Fla., will be back to defend his title and will be eating pancakes for Peck Memorial Library.

"I love Marathon and the good people who live there. It is my adopted hometown" he said. "I am happy to come and eat pancakes for the library; it is important to keep that building on Marathon's Main Street."

The first time LaRue ever ate in a contest was at a Marathon Maple festival. From that point on, says the professional chef, his interest in food and competitive eating has changed his life. He is a former national champion for eating corn on the cob (34 ears). Last year he lost that championship by half an ear but plans on regaining the title this year.

Other pancake eaters come from Oswego, Homer, Cortland, McDonough and Marathon. The contenders and their projects are:

Ben Rowell, Lime Hollow Center for Environment & Culture; Kyle Knickerbocker, Cortland Valley FFA; Michael Scott Jr., St. Anthony's World Youth; Doug Gilbert, United Methodist Church of East Homer; John Potter, Cortland County Sportsman's Federation; Jim Graham, Cameo's Jamboree; Kevin Allison, YWCA of Cortland's Karate Club; Ian Bleck, First Presbyterian Church of Marathon, and Kipp Salisbury, Homer Avenue United Methodist Church of Cortland.