Do you know you can find our wines at local restaurants?

When you're out and about in the Lehigh Valley, Jim Thorpe and the Poconos, did you know that you can order one of our wines with your meal? That's the case at more than 40 area restaurants and entertainment venues which sell wines made by Lehigh Valley wineries.

So while we love it when you visit our wineries and stores, they aren't the only places you can get our wines. Consider having a local Chambourcin or Riesling with your dinner next time you dine out.

Here's the list of restaurants that have our vintages on their wine lists:

Big Creek Vineyard

    * Cherry's Sunset Family Restaurant, Kresgeville
    * Moya Café, Jim Thorpe
    * Through the Looking Glass, Jim Thorpe
    * Café Origins, Jim Thorpe

Blue Mountain Vineyards

    * Bear Creek Resort, Macungie
    * Blue Monkey, North Catasauqua
    * Holiday Inn, Allentown
    * Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs/Coca-Cola Park, Allentown
    * Olde Homestead Golf Course, New Tripoli

Cherry Valley Vineyards

    * J & R Green Scene
    * Panther Valley Inn
    * Giordano’s
    * Barley Creek

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery

    * First Energy Stadium - Reading Phillies, Reading
    * Hilton Garden Inn West, Breinigsville
    * West Reading Tavern, West Reading
    * Restaurant at the Station, Tamaqua

Franklin Hill Vineyards

    * Allentown Brew Works
    * Bethlehem Brew Works
    * Big Woody's, Forks Township
    * Apollo Grill, Bethlehem
    * The Galley, Wind Gap
    * The Broadway Pub, Bangor

Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery

    * G.G. Brewers, Glenside
    * Macaluso's at the Lantern, Nesquehoning
    * The Restaurant at the Station, Tamaqua
    * Flow, Jim Thorpe

Pinnacle Ridge Winery

    * Camillos, Kutztown
    * Flow, Jim Thorpe
    * The John Jeffries, Lancaster
    * Glasbern Inn, Fogelsville
    * Kempton Inn
    * Kutztown Tavern
    * The Restaurant at the Station, Tamaqua

Vynecrest Winery

    * Glasbern Inn, Fogelsville
    * Allentown Brew Works
    * The Restaurant at the Station, Tamaqua
    * Pacifico's in the Promenade Shops in Center Valley
    * Hilton Garden Inn West, Breinigsville
    * Valley Preferred Cycling Center (Velodrome)

Lehigh Valley wineries offer their pairing suggestions for Easter Dinner

Easter is a special occasion that brings families together for a day of egg hunting in the backyard, visits with an oversized bunny, and baskets filled with candy and treats. But the highlight of the day is the celebratory meal.

The nine family-owned and operated wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail understand how important that meal is and are pleased to offer the following wine pairing suggestions for this year’s dinner.

Amoré Vineyards & Winery, Nazareth
Pink Passion is a perfect match for pork and sauerkraut or ham.

Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville
Vin di Pasqualina is best served lightly chilled with lamb.

Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli
The newly released 2009 Vignoles pairs nicely with ham, lamb or pork.

Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg
Seyval Blanc, a crisp, clean white wine similar to Pinot Grigio, with citrus- like characteristics, is fantastic with shellfish, fish and fowl.

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville
Clover Hill Cuvee is a semi-sweet, traditionally made sparkling wine. It’s excellent as an aperitif or served as a Mimosa.

Franklin Hills Vineyards, Bangor
Kiss, which is a blend of Cayuga and Vidal with just a touch of Chambourcin, is perfect with an Easter dinner of turkey or ham.

Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas
Vin Gris is a crisp rosé blended from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin with hints of cherry, making it ideal to serve with ham or turkey.

Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown
The 2009 Riesling is the perfect accompaniment to the Easter meal.

Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville
Vynecrest White is a versatile, semi-sweet, all-occasion dinner wine. It's a "house" blend of grapes with an aroma of apricots and green apples, with a soft pleasant finish.

Join the nine wineries of the Wine Trail on April 24 and 25 for their first A.V.A. (American Viticulture Area) Weekend, as they celebrate this important, new national designation. Visitors will learn about the uniqueness of the region’s soil that adds complexity to their wines.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is a non-profit organization of wineries whose mission is to promote agri-tourism and to create a premiere wine destination and grape growing region while promoting Pennsylvania wines from the region. All of the member wineries have won numerous awards at state, national and international levels.

Lehigh Valley Wine Trail special events for 2010 announced

The nine family-owned wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail have announced their 2010 schedule of special events. So mark your calendars now and be sure to join us. We hope to see you at all of them!

•    AVA Weekend - From the Soil, to the Vine, to the Glass – April 24 & 25 - This event celebrates the anniversary of the Lehigh Valley region’s designation as an official American Viticultural Area by the Federal Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in April 2008. The Lehigh Valley AVA includes portions of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania.

•    Wine on the Mountain – July 24 & 25 - Held at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, this event includes wine samplings, local artisans displaying their arts and crafts, light fare available for purchase, and live entertainment. Tickets are required for this event and can be purchased at each winery as well as at the door.

•    Harvest Weekend – The Butcher, The Baker and The Winemaker – September 11 & 12 –The wineries proudly promote the state’s “Pennsylvania Preferred” program by partnering with manufacturers of other Pennsylvania products to showcase their high level of quality. Wine pairings, vineyard tours, food, music and other special activities are featured.

•    Chambourcin Weekend – October 16 & 17 - Taking place after the harvest is over, this event celebrates the “official wine grape of the Lehigh Valley,” the Chambourcin.

•    Nouveau Weekend – November 20 & 21 - This is the earliest chance to sample the first vintages of the new harvest. It’s also a great opportunity to purchase wines for the upcoming holiday season to give as gifts or to drink at dinner. March Madness passports also go on sale this weekend.

All events are free except for Wine on the Mountain at Penn’s Peak. Event hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon – 5 p.m.

Welcome to Taste of the Trail - the official blog of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail

Welcome to the inaugural post of the new Taste of the Trail blog from the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail. If you don't already know who we are, then allow us to tell you.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail in eastern Pennsylvania is a non-profit organization of family-owned and operated wineries whose mission is to promote agri-tourism and to create a premiere wine destination and grape growing region while promoting Pennsylvania wines from the region. All of the member wineries have won numerous awards at state, national and international levels.

Members include:

• Amoré Vineyards & Winery, Nazareth
• Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville
• Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli
• Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville
• Franklin Hills Vineyards, Bangor
• Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas
• Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown
• Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg
• Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville

The goal of this blog is to help inform those of you with a passion for buying hand-crafted, locally made wines about our wines, wineries, special events and much more. We plan to publish posts a few times a week, so please check back with us often to find out what's going on.

In addition to this blog, be sure to follow us on Twitter and become a fan of our Facebook fan page. We also have a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail group on LinkedIn that you are welcome to join. We want to stay in touch with you and hear about your experiences exploring our wine trail and wineries.

Do you already have a favorite Wine Trail experience that you'd like to share with us? If so, please leave a comment on this blog post. We'd like to hear from you.