Vynecrest announces new wine releases

The Annual March Passport Program is here! The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail passport program began this past Saturday. No worries if you don't have a passport as there are still some available at the winery or you can order them online here. If you don't get one before they sell out, we are still open to the public for sales and complimentary tastings. If you do have a passport, come on in and head right downstairs to the Vyneskeller to have your passport stamped and get your food pairing.

It was February madness in the wine cellar as we worked tirelessly to replace the quickly disappearing 2011 vintage with the 2012 wines. Since our last newsletter we have released a few new wines from the 2012 growing season.

New Releases:

2012 Pinot Grigio - It has been out for about two weeks and we can't keep it on the shelves. If this keeps up it won't last long.

2012 Autumn Gold - New label this year for Autumn Gold. Always a favorite. A blend of Vidal Blanc and Cayuga.

2012 Blueberry - One word - awesome! It's like an Oompa Loompa in a bottle! A perfect representation of Blueberry.

2012 Chambourcin - We tinkered a little this year with our Chambourcin. We tried a different method called cold soaking. We picked the grapes, ran them through our crusher destemmer, then dumped a bunch of dry ice in the bin. We kept the grapes cold for about five days before allowing them to heat back up and start fermentation. The cold soak helped extract tannin from the grape skins adding complexity to this wine. We think you will be pleased with the results.

March Specials:
* Wine of the Month - Spiced Winter Red - additional 10% off
* 3 Pack of the Month - 3 Autumn Gold for $25.
(available at winery only; 3 pack cannot be combined with other offers.)

Upcoming Events:

March - Lehigh Valley Wine Trail March Passport Program
The winery will be open for tastings but all food pairings are exclusively for passport holders.

Vynecrest Winery will feature two PA Farm Show Silver Medal Winners. Our food pairings are made by two fellow vendors at the Macungie Farm Market, A Buy Fresh, Buy Local market.

Week 1 and 2 pairing - Vynecrest White, our house white wine with Blackberry Bliss - a moist vanilla white wine cake featuring Vynecrest white wine filled with a fresh blackberry filling and topped with a
blackberry lemon frosting. Food by Sugar So Sweet Cupcakes.

Week 3 and 4 pairing - Vynecrest Red, our house red made with the Chambourcin grape, with Triple Mushroom Lasagna, a rich and savory dish with Gorgonzola cheese sauce. Food by Hereford Country Store.

Glass Half Empty
By Jan Landis

If you've been to the winery since the new year, hopefully you noticed our beautiful new addition to the Vyneskeller, our iPad baby grand piano. We wanted to experiment with different formats of music over the course of the year as well as provide a fun, lively atmosphere on both Saturdays and Sundays. This isn't an ordinary piano; it provides new technology which can be played by a person or through an iPad, allowing us to offer a wide range of music from classical to Sinatra, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett etc.

We think it allows our customers the opportunity to enjoy some background music while still allowing them to engage in conversation and enjoy some wine and appetizers. We will still be featuring Jazz Sunday, the last Sunday of every month (except March) from 1-4 p.m. This past Sunday we had a favorite performer of ours, Dan Harakal, on guitar and a new friend, Mike Spangler, on the piano. So I encourage you to come visit our Vyneskeller sometime soon.

With spring almost upon us, soon we will be able to throw open the windows and you can enjoy the use of the patio again. The tickling of the ivories can then be enjoyed both inside and out, with the view of the vineyard coming to life once again... ah, life is good! The next Jazz Sunday is April 28.