Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Small Business Saturday at Clover Hill, Franklin Hill and Tolino

Remember to buy local this holiday season, including local wine. Here is what three of our Lehigh Valley wineries have planned for Small Business Saturday, November 28.

Clover Hill Winery 
All Clover Hill locations

Show your support for the small businesses you love by ‘shopping small on Saturday.’ Clover Hill will offer specials on select 2 and 3-bottle wine gift sets, and also a 20% discount on case purchases. They will also offer a wine by the glass special of $6 per glass and you keep the 30th anniversary glass. Refills are $5 per glass.

Franklin Hill Vineyards 

They will offer 10% off their newest wine Potion X at all locations. They’ll offer tours of the winery in Bangor at noon and 2 pm to show guest just how successful their small business has become. Learn about their wines and hear the heart warming story of how they started out and got to where they are today.

All locations will be giving complimentary recyclable 6-bottle carrier bags to anyone who purchases a case of wine or more and they’ll have special cocktails for tasting at all of locations as well. On Cyber Monday order up to a case of wine (12 bottles) and enjoy a flat rate shipping of $15.

Tolino Vineyards 
Small Business Saturday Sale and Cookie Pairing

After the mad rush of Black Friday, help the Bangor winery celebrate the importance of small businesses.  Stop by from noon - 6 p.m. on Saturday for 25% off all 2012 wines (by the bottle) and Italian cookies made by Easton Baking Company paired with Tolino wines. They will also offer warm, spicy, mulled wine for sale by the glass, live music by Blue Hearts Revelry and tours at 2 and 4pm. They offer an array of wine-related gifts in the tasting room such as Carlotta clutches, wine openers, wine totes, wine sippy cups, and wine gift boxes.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Black Friday Sale November 27 at Galen Glen

Black Friday Sale
Friday, November 27
10 am - 5 pm

Once a year we put the winery on sale. Enjoy 15% off all case purchases in-store only. One day only, in-store only, no exceptions. (Cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts. Custom labeled orders, shipped orders & gift baskets are not included. )

Our Toys-for-Tots donation box will be onsite for donations. We will have a special gift for anyone who brings a donation.

Santa's Coming - Toys-for-Tots Drive
Sunday, November 29 from noon - 5 pm

Bring your family, your camera, your smile and a donation for our 7th annual Toys-for-Tots Drive. Our friendly staff will help you capture a lasting memory. We will have an ornament for every household who makes a donation of a new, unwrapped toy or monetary donation. Plus, Santa will ensure your name makes it to the "nice" list.

Wine Wednesday Extended Holiday Hours

To assist you with your holiday shopping, we are extending our hours on Wednesdays in December by opening two hours early and closing an hour later.

December 2 - 10am - 6pm
December 9 - 10am - 6pm
December 16 - 10am - 6pm
December 23 - 10am - 6pm
December 30 - 10am - 6pm

Gift Ideas:

Custom Labeled Wine
Give the gift of wine. We offer many different types of holiday labels for your gift giving needs. When you purchase custom ordered labels, you become or renew your case club membership. Learn more about case club membership here.

Plan your visit enjoy a glass of wine while you select the perfect gift from our selection of gift baskets, candles, glassware and custom-labeled wine. We also offer gift certificates in any denomination you choose.

Galen Glen Gift Cards
Perhaps you would rather give a gift card. We offer gift cards in any denomination you choose. We will even mail the gift cards for you. Stop by or call the tasting room at 570-386-3682 during normal business hours to place your order.

Gift Baskets
Do you have a list of clients or staff and need an exquisite, memorable gift basket. We can help. Tell us your budget or items you want in your gift and we will create a basket that will impress any recipient. Please note: gift baskets cannot contain perishable items, nor be shipped.

Ship Our Wine to Someone
We can ship wine inside PA, as well as many other states. In PA order online. Outside of PA? Call our tasting room during normal business hours for details and to place your order. We ship wine in increments of 3, 6 or 12 bottles.

Vino in the Valley Passports
Vino in the Valley passports make excellent holiday gifts and are now on sale at our winery or online. $35 each

Upcoming Event:

3rd Annual Chili Cook Off
January 23, 2016

Are you the next champion? Do you think you have what it takes to win our third-annual chili cook-off in January? We are now accepting applications. Click here for an application. Space is limited to six chefs. The competition is open to professional chefs and home cooks. This year's chili cook off will benefit The West Penn Fire Company. Mark your calendar now and plan to attend and vote for your favorite chili recipe.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Vynecrest returns to Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem for holiday season

The 2015 Harvest is over (except for our Late Harvest Vidal) and it feels good to take a breath before the busy holiday season begins. Just a reminder that our gift area has locally made products that make wonderful gifts for teachers, hostesses, family and friends. Soy candles, crackers, chocolate, dips, cheese. Remember we have make your own baskets ($5 for basket and wrapping) where you add whatever wine, candles, cheese, crackers, dips, wine gifts you want and we'll make it up for you.

Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem starts this Saturday, November 20 and runs through Dec 21.

▪ Thursday, Dec 3-17, 11am - 6pm
▪ Friday, Nov 20 - Dec 18, 11am - 8pm
▪ Saturday, Nov 21 - Dec 19, 11am - 8pm
▪ Sunday, Nov 22 - Dec 20, 11am - 6pm

November Specials:

* Wine of the Month - Spiced Winter Red 10% off
* 3 Pack of the Month - DiVyne Red, 3 for $25

(Wine of the month and 3 pack available at winery only. Three pack can't be combined with other discounts.)

Nov. 21 & 22 - Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Nouveau Weekend

The nine wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail debut the first wines from the new vintage during Nouveau Weekend, the last Wine Trail event of the year. Wineries will also feature food and wine pairings for visitors to sample. Nouveau wines are bottled very young without barrel aging, and exhibit lots of fruitiness. They are light, fruity and semi-dry to dry red wines.

Vynecrest Winery will feature the release of our 2015 Nouveau Beaujolais, the first wine from the 2015 harvest, made from the traditional Gamay Beaujolais grape, 100% Lehigh Valley Grown and Produced. Event hours at all of the wineries are Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon – 5 p.m.

Nov. 29 - Jazz Sunday, Live Jazz music in the Vyneskeller from 1 - 4 pm. Free.


Glass Half Empty by John Landis

November is the month when grape vines slowly shut down for the winter and Jan, Sam, Malachi and I all breathe a sigh of relief as harvest is over with no major disruptions like hurricanes, flocks of grape-eating birds, or early frost to impact the quality of our grape harvest.

A quality grape harvest requires a yearlong effort starting with pruning in late winter and early spring and continuous vineyard maintenance after bud break in early May. This year’s crop was exceptional. The growing season was warmer than the last two years and the fall was dry with cool nights and warm days.

We are excited about our 2015 vintage and you will be able to taste the first 2015 wine when we release our Nouveau Beaujolais on Tuesday, November 17. This month, we also will be introducing a new Vynecrest wine, our 2014 estate -bottled Seyval Blanc. We first planted Seyval Blanc in 1974 and typically we blend this French hybrid grape, but the 2014 Seyval was exceptional so we decide to make a varietal once again. November is the month to stock up for the holidays, so come on out and taste the wines.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Pinnacle Ridge offers wine pairing recommendations for Thanksgiving

We are excited to release these new vintages on November 14:

2014 Pinot Noir
2014 Cabernet Franc

Sadly, these vintages have sold out:

2014 Riesling
2013 Pinot Noir
2013 Cabernet Franc

Nouveau Weekend
November 21, 10 am - 5 pm
November 22, noon - 5 pm

Or as we say at Pinnacle Ridge, NuVo! This is a free Lehigh Valley Wine Trail event, in which each vineyard will be debuting a Nouveau (young) wine. Ours is made from 2015 Chambourcin - and as quantities are limited, it'll only be available for a few weeks.

All weekend long, our chef Dominick will be serving a hearty fennel/cranberry sausage stuffing, to pair with the Nouveau wine. (Or for a semi-sweet option, our red blend Quaff is also available.) We hope this selection will inspire everyone with thoughts of Thanksgiving dinner.

The Nouveau tradition originates in the Beaujolais region of France, where vintners are known to debut a young wine, aged only a few months, on the third Thursday of November. This is to celebrate the end of harvest - as well as provide a foretaste of the vintages soon to come.

Thanksgiving Recommendations

It's that time of year again when families gather around the table and give thanks for good food (and good drinks!).

If you are looking for a wine to pair with your Thanksgiving meal, we would recommend our 2013 Chardonnay.

If your palate leans more toward reds, however, you may find our 2013 Chambourcin or 2014 Pinot Noir livening up your feast.

Come and pick up your wines early. The weekend before Thanksgiving, we will be quite busy hosting our NuVo weekend, so it may be worth your while to stop in before then. (We are closed on Thanksgiving day, November 26.)

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

NOUVEAU WEEKEND LETS WINE LOVERS TASTE THE FIRST WINES FROM THE 2015 VINTAGE

The nine wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will debut their first wines from the 2015 vintage and other new wine releases during Nouveau Weekend on November 21 and 22. It is the final Wine Trail event of the year.

Wineries will also feature food and wine pairings for visitors to sample. Nouveau wines are bottled very young, with limited barrel aging, and are light, fruity and semi-dry to dry red wines. The event is based on a tradition started in France and continued each year in which nouveau wines are released the third Thursday of November.

Nouveau Weekend is a great opportunity to purchase wine to give as holiday gifts or to complement holiday meals. Event hours at all of the wineries are Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon – 5 p.m. Nouveau Weekend is a free event, however some wineries charge for wine tastings.

Passports for the 2016 Vino in the Valley event go on sale that weekend at the member wineries as well as online via EventBrite.com. Passports are $35 each. Only 1,800 passports are printed, so wine lovers are encouraged to purchase them early since they often sell out in advance of the March event. More information on this event can be found online: http://lehighvalleywinetrail.com/vino-in-the-valley-passport-program/

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. For more information on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, visit www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com.


NOUVEAU WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS


Amore will serve chicken medallions with a variety of dipping sauces, paired with their new release of Chambourcin Reserve.

Big Creek will release a Nouvelle Frontenac Gris paired with mini cupcakes made with a wine-based icing courtesy of MMM Cookies.

Blue Mountain Vineyards is releasing their 2015 Nouveau Beaujolais, which is produced from Gamay grapes grown in their vineyards. They will pair it with a vegetarian lentil stew. In addition, they will offer complimentary live entertainment on Saturday. On Sunday, Adam Motto performs live music from 2-5 p.m. Reservations for Sunday are required; admission is $5 (includes wine tasting). Tickets can be purchased via the website.

Clover Hill Winery is ready to celebrate the first release from their 2015 grape harvest; a new, limited release Chocolate Cherry Chambourcin. This wine will make you feel like you are drinking a cherry cordial.

Franklin Hill will celebrate Nouveau Weekend with the release of their 2015 Seyval Blanc. They’ll offer samples of 2015 Seyval Blanc paired with a delicious butternut squash soup made by Chef Phil from Social Still in Southside Bethlehem. In addition they’ll be celebrating the release of their newest wine, Potion X, a pumpkin spice wine, and the release of their Hard Cider, which is now available in cans. They’ll have fresh apple cider from Kachline’s Farm and fall-inspired baked goods from Buttercup Bakery for purchase as well.

Galen Glen will offer a complimentary pairing of their Thankful White Lasagna paired with one of their aromatic white wines.

Pinnacle Ridge produces a small amount of their NuVo wine made from 100% 2015 Chambourcin.  Their NuVo is typically only available for several weeks due to the small quantities. For Nouveau Weekend they will pair a fennel cranberry sausage stuffing with NuVo or Quaff (for a sweeter option).

Tolino will release their 2014 Chambourcin and pair it with vegetarian chili. Enjoy live music in the tank room by Erin McClelland on Saturday and Tom Vicario on Sunday. Learn about the wine making process during their tank room tours at 2 and 4 p.m. They will also give away a copy of I’ll Drink to That, Beaujolais and the French Peasant Who Made It the World's Most Popular Wine by Rudolph Chelminski. All customers who make a purchase are eligible for the drawing.

Vynecrest will serve their new release of Nouveau Beaujolais made from the Gamay Beaujolais grape. Nouveau Beaujolais is a young, fruity unoaked red wine, the first of harvest season 2015. It will be paired with Sugar ‘n Spice French onion dip on a baguette. They will also feature the following samples from Sugar ‘n Spice:
Vegetable Dips – festive, pesto, bacon horseradish, jalapeno
Fruit Dips – caramel, pumpkin, vanilla


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Celebrate local heritage at Blue Mountain's Annual German Night

You're invited to Blue Mountain Vineyards' Annual German Night

Please join us in celebrating the Lehigh Valley's German heritage!

Enjoy live music and authentic German food while your sip on your favorite Blue Mountain wines. We appreciate and enjoy celebrating our area's German heritage, and this has long been our most popular event.  Buy your tickets now and don't miss out.

Tickets: $25 per person. Advance reservations required.
Includes food, music, wine tasting, and a souvenir glass

When: Saturday, November 14 from 5 - 9 pm

Where:
Blue Mountain Vineyards
7627 Grape Vine Drive
New Tripoli, PA  18066

Go here for more info and tickets.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Wine Tourism Day is this Saturday Nov. 7

Celebrate wine, specifically Lehigh Valley wine, this Saturday, November 7 for Wine Tourism Day.

According to LocalWineEvents.com "Wine Tourism Day is designed to celebrate the many wineries and other businesses offering wine-related events throughout North America and beyond, promote the concept of traveling to wine regions on vacation, and highlight the economic impact of wine tourism. We believe that if the wine tourism industry as a whole is successful, we can all succeed as individuals."

Here is what three of our wineries have planned for the day:

Galen Glen 
Saturday, November 7, 10am to 5pm
Sunday, November 8, Noon to 5pm

Twilight Weekend: First sight or first bite, you will fall in love with our Twilight pairing.  Twilight, a dessert wine, that was hand-harvested on January 1, 2015 as New Year celebrations were concluding, is brimming with honeyed sweetness and a beguiling fragrance.

This weekend only, and while supplies last, we'll pair a 6-ounce glass of Twilight with a Japanese coconut-mango mini-cheesecake for $9. Let this pairing captivate you while you drink in vineyard views from our enclosed, heated pavilion.

Clover Hill
National Wine Tourism Day
The Winery in Breinigsville, Pa.
November 7; 2-4pm

Let us give you a wonderful reason to celebrate National Wine Tourism Day at Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery. Join us for live music by Ed Randazzo and Bret Alexander from 2-4 pm. We will have wine by the glass specials and cheese plates available for purchase.

Tolino Vineyards
November 7  1 - 4 pm Live Music by Erin Kelly
November 7  6 - 9 pm
Paint and Sip – Saturday, November 7th,- 6 – 9 PM
Sip wine and channel your inner Van Gogh! The class will be instructed Anna Kaszupski (www.artbyannak.com). Everyone will paint a winter scene Tickets are $35 per person and include all art supplies, snacks (fruit, cheese, hummus) and a glass of wine. Purchase tickets here: http://www.tolinovineyards.com/specevent.html