Toast the new year with local sparkling wine

Not into champagne but still want to ring in the new year next week with something bubbly? Then try a local  sparkling wine instead. Here are a few suggestions for sparkling wines made by local Lehigh Valley Wine Trail wineries:

Amore Vineyards: White Mist - Slightly dry, tingly and sparkling. Celebration - Pink, sparkling, spicy fun. Blueberry Mist - Sweet and bubbly with natural blueberry flavor. Peach Mist - Sweet and bubbly with natural peach flavor. Blend it with orange juice to make a great mimosa. Strawberry Mist - Sweet and bubbly with natural strawberry flavor.

Blue Mountain: While they don't have any sparkling wines right now the winery recommends mixing their Mountain Frost wine with club soda and canned or fresh peaches for a fun wine cocktail instead.

Clover Hill Winery: Blackberry Sparkler - A sweet, sparkling wine made with blackberry.
Brut - Produced in the traditional method of making sparkling wine, Méthode Champenoise, our Brut has no perceivable sweetness, showcasing yeasty and fruity flavors.
Generations Sparkling Pinot Noir - Made in the Méthode Champenoise fashion, this sparkling wine is produced from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from their Broxspen vineyard. This dry sparkler shows delicate flavors of strawberry mingling with a classic yeasty flavor.

Pinnacle Ridge: Brut Rosé and Blanc de Blanc 

Franklin Hill: Brut (Methode Champenoise)

Vynecrest: Sparkling Chardonnay - A dry sparkling with great balance of acid and fruit, this 100% Chardonnay sparkling wine goes great with seafood and appetizers.

Keep in mind that at this time of year supplies may be limited for some sparkling wines. So we suggest calling ahead to the winery you plan to visit to verify they still have the one you want in stock.

Here are a few tips for your sparkling wine, courtesy of Clover Hill:

• Always have your bubbly well chilled prior to opening. We suggest putting the bottle in the refrigerator for a couple hours and then the freezer for 20 minutes prior to opening. 
• As much fun as it is to shake the bottle and shoot the cork, you do lose most of the wine when you do so! Remove the wire hood on the bottle and keep your thumb on top of the cork. Hold the cork in one hand and slowly twist the bottle. Always have a towel and a champagne flute close by. 
• Sparkling wines always add a festive feel to any celebration, but they are also great food wines. Some of our favorite bubbly pairings include a creamy brie with quince paste, steamed lobsters, crab stuffed mushrooms or smoked salmon. 

2012 March Madness prize winners

We are pleased to announce the list of prize winners for this year's March Madness event. Please excuse any misspellings of names as we were trying to read handwriting on the entry slips.Your prize will be mailed to you within the next two weeks.

Congratulations to everyone who won and thanks for attending March Madness on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail!

• Hawk Mountain Bed & Breakfast, Kempton – Jen Mitchell
• Long Swamp Bed & Breakfast, Mertztown – Jamie Koch
• Camillo’s Italian Restaurant, Kutztown – Deb Cumello
• Camillo’s Italian Restaurant, Kutztown – Kellie Clay
• Antelao Restaurant, Delaware Water Gap – Liam Russell
• MultiSport Fitness, Mount Bethel and Bethlehem   – Beverly Tannenbaum
• MultiSport Fitness, Mount Bethel and Bethlehem – Ann Centanni
• MultiSport Fitness, Mount Bethel and Bethlehem – Christina Michener
• Main Street Inn Bed & Breakfast, Kutztown – John Trevis
• Amore Greenhouse, Nazareth – Steve Seaman
• Amore Greenhouse, Nazareth – Gina Mustacchia
• Amore Greenhouse, Nazareth – Ray Vanderhoff
• Moya Restaurant, Jim Thorpe – Carol Young
• Cherry’s Sunset Diner, Kresgeville – Lauren Behie
• Cab Frye’s Restaurant, Palm – Pat Block
• Cab Frye’s Restaurant, Palm - Donna Wojciechowski
• Hops Fogelsville Hotel, Fogelsville – Becky Stone
• Hops Fogelsville Hotel, Fogelsville – Wayne Jones
• Hops Fogelsville Hotel, Fogelsville – Jennifer Fishee
• Hops Fogelsville Hotel, Fogelsville – Alicia Seaman
• Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn, Germansville – Tara Brunner
• Pampered Chef – Becky Wagner
• Grapes Alive Glassware – Lydia Cochran
• Premise Maid Candies, Breinigsville – Kevin Gillespie
• Mr. Bill’s Poultry Market, Allentown – Kristina Williams
• Bear Creek Mountain Resort & Conference Center, Macungie – Paulette Williams
• Holiday Inn Conference Center, Breinigsville – Keith Huff
• Holiday Inn Conference Center, Breinigsville – Aliceann Gogel
• Blue Mountain Summit Bed & Breakfast, Andreas – Diandra Berry

Appellation America delivers accolades to Lehigh Valley wineries

We are pleased to announce that our wineries have received the following accolades from Appellation America in a recent Best of Appellation evaluation:

• Amore Vineyards - GOLD for 2008 Chambourcin
• Big Creek Winery - GOLD for 2010 Seyval, 2010 Seyval Reserve, 2011 Marechal Foch, and 2011 Regent, and DOUBLE GOLD for 2011 Nouveau Marquette
• Blue Mountain Winery - GOLD for 2011 Riesling and for 2007 Pinot Noir/Beaujolais
• Franklin Hill Vineyards - GOLD for 2010 Vidal Blanc and DOUBLE GOLD for 2010 Chambourcin
• Galen Glen Winery - GOLD for 2010 Chambourcin, 2010 Zweigelt, and 2010 Riesling, and DOUBLE GOLD for 2010 Gewurztraminer, 2010 Gruner Veltliner and 2010 Vidal Blanc
• Pinnacle Ridge - GOLD for 2009 Chambourcin, 2010 Pinot Noir, 2010 Chardonnay, 2010 Cabernet Franc, and 2010 Traminette 
• Vynecrest Winery - GOLD for 2010 Chambourcin and 2010 Lemberger, and DOUBLE GOLD for 2010 Cabernet Franc

The Appellation America Best-of-Appellation Evaluation Program is an on-going process of identifying the wines in each appellation which best express the character of the appellation and the quality of wine craftsmanship in the region. 

The Award winning wines from this evaluation, along with the tasting notes for each, appear on the respective Best of Appellation Wine List, where they will be featured as wines defining the quality and character of the Lehigh Valley American Viticultural Area as long as the product stays current on the winery’s in-stock list. 

Taste these and other ward-winning wines during a weekend trip to the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail and during our March Madness event.