We're excited to announce the following 2015 schedule of events. All events are free except for Wine on the Mountain and the Vino in the Valley Passport Program, which requires the purchase of a ticket and an event passport, respectively. Event hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon – 5 p.m.
• Vino in the Valley – weekends only, March 7 – 29 – (formerly known as the March Passport Program) Customers purchase a $35 passport for access to wine and tasting-sized food pairings at each winery during the four weekends of March. Passports are stamped during each visit and are entered into a drawing for prizes. Passport holders also receive a wine backpack as this year’s gift. Passports are currently on sale at member wineries and online via Eventbrite.
• Spring Wine and Cheese Event – May 16 and 17 – Taking place mid-spring, this event has a “Wine and Cheese from Around the World” theme. Each winery will select one of its wines to pair with the perfect cheese from a different country and will offer complimentary tastings of the pairing to wine lovers who will explore how the texture, acidity, fat and tannin compliment or contrast each other. Guests will also learn tips to help them skillfully develop their own pairings.
• Wine on the Mountain – July 25 and 26 - Held at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, this wine festival includes wine sampling, 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 in advanced at each winery or online, as well as at the door the days of the event.
• Harvest Weekend – The Butcher, The Baker and The Winemaker – September 12 and 13 –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 17 and 18 - Taking place after the harvest is over, this event celebrates the “official wine grape of the Lehigh Valley,” the Chambourcin. It is the only wine grape grown by all nine of our member wineries. In the greater Lehigh Valley, there are more than 40 acres of Chambourcin, which ferment into 150,000 bottles of wine. Chambourcin is very versatile, and the wineries craft it into several styles of wine including nouveau, rosé, semi-sweet, sweet, dry barrel aged, sparkling and port.
• Nouveau Weekend – November 21 and 22 - This is the earliest chance to sample the first wines from the new vintage. It’s also an opportunity to purchase wines for the upcoming holiday season to give as gifts or to drink at dinner. 2016 Vino in the Valley passports go on sale this weekend.
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. www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com
Members include:
• Amoré Vineyards and Winery, Nazareth
• Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville
• Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli
• Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery, Breinigsville
• Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor
• Galen Glen Vineyard and Winery, Andreas
• Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown
• Tolino Vineyards, Bangor
• Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville
The Lehigh Valley region is an official American Viticultural Area as designated 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. In order to receive the designation a least 85% of the grapes used to make local wines must be grown within the region. Wineries in the region are permitted to list “Lehigh Valley” as the growing region on their labels.
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