Lehigh Valley wineries offer alternative Mother's Day plans

Wine lovers looking to do something different this year to celebrate Mother’s Day can take mom to a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail member winery for the following activities and events:

Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli – Reserve a table for Sunday Blues from 2 - 5 pm with award-winning band Scott Marshall and Marshall’s Highway ($5 cover charge includes wine tasting; reservations required) and bring a picnic lunch. To honor every woman who visits on Mother’s Day, they will receive a complimentary carnation (while supplies last).

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville – On Friday, May 8 at all Clover Hill location

Guests can sample their newest release, Vidal Verde. Clover Hill has given a modern twist to a traditional Portuguese wine, Vinho Verde. Vinho Verde (literally means green wine) is a light, fruity, white wine with a touch of fizziness. Our Vidal Verde is made from 100% Vidal Blanc grapes: dry with clean, fresh pineapple and citrus flavor and a pop of fizz! Stop in and sample this quintessential summer sipper and a perfect treat for Mother’s Day.

Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor - will host its Annual Mother’s Day Yoga class in the Vineyard. Enjoy an hour of yoga led by Silver Kim of Kula Heart Yoga in Bethlehem and then head back to the deck at the winery and enjoy a light brunch and mimosas. Yoga begins at 10 am and is $20 per person and includes the yoga, brunch, mimosa, and a tour of the winery at noon. Limited spaces are available and is always a sell out event. BYOM (bring your own mat). Email cheryl@franklinhillvineyards.com or call 610.588.8708 to reserve a spot. This is the kick off to the Yoga in the Vineyard Summer Series. Future dates include June 7, July 19, August 9 and September 6, same time, price and location. They will have dessert plates for sale to let mom indulge featuring dark chocolate truffles, cheesecake squares, brownies and more.  They also will be making mimosas with their Harvest Berry sparkling raspberry wine at half price for all moms.

Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas – will be honoring all ladies on Saturday and Sunday with a complimentary tasting of six table wines and a thank you gift of a wine charm and Galen Glen coaster.

Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown - On Sunday, May 10 all moms will get a free tasting of sparkling wine paired with a tasty treat.

Tolino Vineyards, Bangor – On May 9 and 10, treat mom to an afternoon filled with wine tastings, Sangria, a tour of the vineyard, live music by Erin McClelland on Saturday and by Peshi on Sunday from 1 to 4 pm. A cupcake pairing from Sweet Girlz Bakery in Easton will be available for $8 that includes tasting six wines, one cupcake and an etched Tolino Vineyards wine glass to take home.

Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville – On Saturday, May 9 enjoy music by Steve Myers playing on their baby grand piano in the Vyneskeller 1 - 4 pm. On Sunday, May 10 enjoy Mother’s Day Brunch in the Vyneskeller from 11 am - 1 pm featuring $3 mimosas, brunch pastries available for sale, and live piano music on our baby grand piano. Reservations are required for brunch only 610-398-7525.

Food trucks come to Galen Glen this spring and summer

Wine Education - Wine Myths and Misconceptions
Sunday, May 3 at 1 pm

$10 per person - Make your reservations now
                                     
Join us on Sunday, May 3rd at 1pm for a wine education event. Wine broker, Mike Schiffman, has designed this class to help you approach wine with a spirit of adventure, rather than fear of the unfamiliar. Mike has found that wine appreciation is much more than knowing geography, grape varietals, appellations, and thinking that the more expensive the bottle, the better the wine. As he says, "without the tasting experience, all the information or knowledge in the world is simply useless." This is sure to be an entertaining and educational tasting experience as you will taste wines from Pennsylvania and Austria.

Seating is limited. Reservations are required. Payment of $10 per person requested at time of reservation.

Call the tasting room at (570) 386-3682 during normal business hours to secure your place for this event. Our last wine education class was a sell-out.

Sarah on stage at The Sands Casino Resort

Get your tickets for the Lehigh Valley Food and Wine Festival online through Ticketmaster or at the Sands box office: Monday - Friday 10 am - 4 pm, Saturday 10 am - 2 pm. Sarah will be speaking on exquisite white wines Saturday, May 30 and Sunday May 31 at 3 pm.

Mark your calendar

This summer, on the fourth Friday of May, June, July and August we will host different Lehigh Valley Food Trucks from 5-8 pm so you may purchase a great dinner and a glass of wine and enjoy the evening in our peaceful vineyard setting.

Friday, May 22 from 5 - 8 pm, we will welcome Tim and Hala and the TAZA Truck--a full-service, mobile, gourmet kitchen that serves fresh Egyptian cuisine that include beef, chicken and turkey options as well as vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. Don't miss this fun evening in the vineyard.
Get more info on the TAZA Truck.

NOTE: These are rain or shine events.  There will be indoor seating if necessary.

Planning ahead? Check out these vendors too:

• Friday, June 26 from 5-8 pm - The Full of Crepe Green Machine
• Friday, July 24 from 5-8 pm - Bob-B-Q Sliders & Sides
• Friday, August 28 from 5-8 pm - Vince's Cheesesteaks

Vino in the Valley 2015 raffle prize winners

Here is the list of winners for this year's Vino in the Valley raffle prizes. 

Each of them will receive in the mail a $25 Lehigh Valley Wine Trail gift certificate to be used for wine only.  (We apologize for any name misspellings - some handwriting was hard to read!)

Mark Wawrzenski - King of Prussia
Robin Hartung - Coopersburg
Linda Cantrel - Easton
Harry Miller - Blakeslee
Jerry Fry - Allentown
Karen Fowler - Bethlehem
Dylan Powers - Blandon
Nina Kressley - Easton
Jessica Kunsman - Easton
Scott Felchock - Bethlehem
Carla Conarty - Lehighton
Mildred Bentler - Hackettstown
Wendy Beltz - Germansville
Carole Kalman - Hellertown
Ann Rawlinson - Bushkill
Kris Hamm - Slatington
Jesse  Smith  -Bangor
Kirsten Mondillo - Allentown
Lynda Reynolds - Harrisburg
Al  Setzer - Emmaus
Roberta Heiser - Slatington
David  Mann - Bethlehem
Derek Weikel - Allentown
Edie Fella - Schnecksville
Lori Rathman - Ephrata
Dan Osle - Sinking Springs
Donne  Smith - New Tripoli
David Heard - Bangor
Jim Fliszar - Nazareth
Harold Nolt - Fleetwood

Vynecrest invites wine lovers to join them for Brunch and a Ballgame on April 19

The weather is finally starting to warm up. That means the dormant buds on the vine will begin to swell and eventually open, signaling the start of the 2015 growing season.

April Specials 
* Wine of the Month - Riesling, additional 10% off
* 3 Pack of the Month - 3 DiVyne Red for $25.

(available at winery only; 3 pack cannot be combined with other offers.)

Upcoming Events

April and May - Vynecrest Piano and Wine Bar - Open every Saturday and Sunday, 1 - 5 pm. Free admission.


April 19 - Brunch and a Ballgame

Come out and celebrate spring as we showcase Food, Wine and the Phillies on April 19 from 11 am - 5 pm. Highlights include the following:

* Signature sangrias on special for $3 from 11 am - 1 pm.

* FUD truck on site all day.

* Phillies vs. Nationals in the Vyneskeller starting at 1:35 pm.

* Patio will be open.

Pop on in, catch a few innings, grab a bite to eat and glass of wine, and kiss winter goodbye.

Sunday, April 26 - Jazz Sunday, Live Jazz music in the Vyneskeller, 1 - 4 pm.

May 16 and 17 - Spring Wine and Cheese Event

This event features the pairing of cheeses with local wines at each of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail's nine member wineries. This year’s event theme is “Local Wine with Cheeses from Around the World.” Each winery will select one of its fine wines to pair with the perfect cheese 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. Cheeses will be offered for sale so that guests can recreate the wine and cheese pairings at home.

Glass Half Empty
by Jim Hutchings

With the arrival of April, I look back on the busy month we leave behind. March is the true beginning of the year for me from a winery perspective. It’s when the vines start to awaken and the weather typically begins to turn from the blustery cold winter to the beautiful springtime.

Vino in the Valley is what brings many of our longtime customers out of hibernation as well. While I see many customers several times throughout the year, there are others who I look forward seeing on their annual pilgrimage each March. It’s a good time to reflect on what’s new on our wine list from their last visit and think about what’s in the works for the year to come.

This year we saw Cabernet Franc (a favorite grape of mine) taken off of the list but in its place is a real winner: No. 36, a Merlot-based blend which shows how great Merlot from the Lehigh Valley can be. Some of our Cabernet Franc has made it into this blend as well, so that old friend is not too far away.

The conclusion of March also officially kicks off our 2015 festival season - we’ll be setting up with some of our other winery friends this Saturday, April 4 at Bear Creek Mountain Resort for their Spring Wine Festival. That fun festival gets us chatting with our fellow winery workers and prepares us for the rest of the summer festivals including Split Rock in June, Penn’s Peak in July, and of course the many Lehigh Valley Wine Trail events hosted at each of the nine member wineries for the rest of the year. March is over, winter is over… we’re looking for the next new and exciting release out of our winery so bring on the summer and another fantastic growing season in the vineyard!

Franklin Hill makes plans to celebrate Earth Day, plus Yoga in the Vineyard

EARTH DAY 3K HIKE & WINERY TOUR - April 25

This Earth Day we invite you to join us on a 3K hike around the vineyard. As we walk we'll tell you all about the land, the vines, the grapes and all the ways we love the earth so it will continue to love us back. We'll end the tour in the winery and chat about the winemaking process and the benefits of drinking wine. You'll see that every step of the way, we put our planet first.

The hike will begin in the parking area at 2 pm. Each hiker will receive a six-bottle reusable wine tote to fill up with Franklin Hill wine. Wine tastings will of course be available all day as will some special Earth Day pairings and cocktails.

The $8 per person fee includes hike, wine tasting, reusable wine tote, winery tour, pairings, and a FHV logoed tasting glass. Call 610-588-8708 to register. Space is limited.

YOGA IN THE VINEYARD

We are proud to once again begin our Yoga in the Vineyards Series with Kula Heart Yoga's Silver Kim. As always we'll kick off the series on Mother's Day. Come celebrate and honor yourself and mom with an hour of relaxing and rejuvenating yoga. Afterward, we invite you to the deck to enjoy a light brunch and of course a cocktail.

The $20 per person fee includes yoga, brunch, cocktail, and winery tour at noon. Call us to register.

Crepes & Mimosa Sunday - May 17

Full of Crepe, located in Bethlehem, is pulling their "Green Machine Crepe Truck" into our parking lot. They'll be offering sweet and savory crepes for you to enjoy with a Harvest Berry Mimosa if you choose.

FRANKLIN HILL VINEYARDS - 2015 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

May 16 & 17
Taste of PA, York, Pa.

May 23 & 24
FlavorFest, Manheim, Pa.

June 6
Taste of Kutztown, Kutztown, Pa.

June 6 & 7
Blue Mountain WineFest, Palmerton, Pa.

June 20 & 21
Split Rock,  Lake Harmony, Pa.

July 25 & 26
Wine on the Mountain at Penn's Peak, Jim Thorpe, Pa.

August 1
Martin on Main, Nazareth, Pa.

August 29 & 30
Seven Springs, Seven Springs, Pa.

September 12& 13
Gettysburg Wine Fest, Gettysburg, Pa.

Three questions with... Gregg Amore of Amore Vineyards

This month we interviewed Gregg Amore, owner of Amore Vineyards in Nazareth.

1. How did your family get started in farming in the Nazareth area?

My grandfather bought the farm in the 1940s. It was passed on to my father and uncle. My father passed his share to me and I purchased my uncle's half, when he decided to retire. I also purchased seven acres at Rt. 512 and Steuben Road from my dad and uncle in the early 1970s to start building greenhouses.

2. When did the winery get started?

The vineyard is 5.5 acres and we grow nine different varieties of grapes and craft 30 different wines. Grapes were first planted in spring 2000 and we had our first harvest in fall 2002. The winery opened in spring 2003.

3. What is your favorite part of the spring season when it comes to the new growing season ahead?

The favorite part of the spring season is seeing all of the flower and vegetable plants growing in the greenhouses. It is gratifying to think about the pleasure, beauty and abundance they will bring or customers.

It is also very satisfying to see our field vegetables grow and bear fruit. Knowing our customers will enjoy our fresh fruits and vegetables also brings great satisfaction. More recently, the opportunity to grow grapes and share the fruits of that labor, in the form of personally crafted wine, has been great fun.