Perfect Pairings joined us last month for the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Wine in Bloom event and they were a big hit. Come check them out the weekend of June 29 and 30. They will be set-up in the barn showing their expertise of pairing with all kinds of different items. This is a free event - noon to 5 p.m. both days. Feel free to pull up a chair and enjoy the afternoon in the barn with a glass of wine.
We were also involved in some activities with the Hotel Fauchere in Milford, Pa. on May 31 and June 1. The hotel has been using our sparkling wine and Chardonnay for over a year in their restaurant. We did a wine dinner at the restaurant on Friday evening and Saturday there was a small wine festival in Milford. If you find yourself in northeast Pennsylvania and are hungry or tired I suggest you give it a try. Chef Christopher Bates is an innovative chef who manages the hotel and the Delmonico room. Check it out at www.hotelfauchere.com.
VINEYARD REVIEW
Early June brings rampant growth to all things green in our area of Pennsylvania and the vineyard is no exception. We had a relatively late bud-break this year due to the moderately cool weather in March and April. Consequently, we dodged the late frost that occurred in mid-May. The estate vineyard, however, did not dodge an early bullet - hail. A small but very strong storm system came up from the south and brought with it strong winds, rain and piles of marble sized hail. The early varieties in the estate vineyard (Pinot Noir and Chanonnay) had small shoots exposed which were beaten up by the hail. The crop size will be down in the estate vineyard but this usually translates into increased quality.
The vineyards in Kempton that we have sourced fruit from for over 20 years have changed hands. The new owner has named the vineyard Stony Run Valley Vineyard and is enthusiastically throwing himself into grape growing. Larry has hired Darrin Scott (son of Dean Scott who you may occasionally see in the tasting room and also grows 2.5 acres of grapes for Pinnacle Ridge) as the vineyard manager and has planted four more acres of grapes. We are looking forward to this new relationship and will continue to source the majority of our fruit from this Kempton vineyard.
ERIK KNAPP LANDS WINEMAKER POSITION AT CAL POLY
My son, Erik Knapp, who has been attending the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (also known as Cal Poly at SLO), studying enology (winemaking) has been appointed as one of two winemakers for the school. The University produces wine from their own vineyards in Paso Robles and the winemaking is done by the two student winemakers. Will he ever find his way to the east coast - time will tell. Congratulations son!
No comments:
Post a Comment