First-Ever Wine Tourism Day in North America to take place May 11

Clover Hill & Vynecrest Wineries hosting Spring Fling in Breinigsville

The first-ever Wine Tourism Day in North America will take place on Saturday, May 11 with wineries, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses offering a variety of events to the public throughout North America. Clover Hill & Vynecrest Wineries are joining together to offer a special Spring Fling in Breinigsville to mark this day locally.

“There are now over 7,500 wineries in 205 American Viticultural Areas, 38 authorized wine appellations in Canada, and another 40 appellations in Mexico”, says Allan Wright, president of Zephyr Adventures, the active wine tour company organizing Wine Tourism Day. “Most of these wine regions and many of these wineries are dependent on visitors who sleep in hotel beds, eat in restaurants, and buy wine from cellar doors. Wine tourism is very important to the success of many local economies and is a subject worth commemorating.”

Locally, Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery and Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery, both in the appellation Lehigh Valley, are offering a Spring Fling in Breinigsville Wine Pairing Event from noon to 5 p.m. at both locations in Breinigsville. Your ticket of $5 per person will include a sampling of three new releases at each winery paired with local cheese and chocolate. Tickets are available for purchase at both wineries. Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, 610-395-2468, www.cloverhillwinery.com and Vynecrest Vineyard & Winery, 610-398-7525, www.vynecrest.com.

The idea for a Wine Tourism Day comes from Europe, where the European Day of Wine Tourism has been ongoing since 2009. Attendees of the 2012 Wine Tourism Conference, an annual gathering of the industry’s leaders, discussed bringing the concept to North America.

Wine Tourism Day is supported by a number of industry partners including LocalWineEvents.com, Touring and Tasting Marketing & Media, WineAmerica, the Wine Industry Network, the Wine Tourism Conference, and Zephyr Adventures, in addition to wine and tourism associations in wine regions throughout North America.

For more information and to find a list of events on Wine Tourism Day, please visit www.WineTourismDay.org.