Final thoughts on LVWT's first A.V.A Weekend Celebration

This post was written by guest blogger Kari Skrip, co-owner of Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery in Breinigsville and features her thoughts on the Wine Trails' recent A.V.A. Weekend.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail was thrilled to celebrate our Lehigh Valley AVA in the end of April.  At the end of the day, after I finished work, I was sipping my glass of Pinot Grigio overlooking the vineyard thinking just how luck I am.  These grapes have given me so many opportunities and things to be thankful for.  To name a few…

Over the years I have learned intimately about the land and developed a real respect for farming.  The Lehigh Valley vineyards and wineries are doing wonderful things to preserve open spaces and maintain a local farming community.  In a global food world, I am most proud to be making a local product that is unique and specific to the Lehigh Valley.  We like to think of wine as a food. 

Our vineyards have also given me the opportunity to work with my family (which most days that is a wonderful thing) and my friends who own the other Lehigh Valley Wineries.  Like all of the nine wineries on the trail, Clover Hill is family owned and operated, and it is a pleasure to work with my mom, dad and brother everyday.  I value and appreciate all of the wine trail wineries, almost as if the wine trail is an extension of family.  It is exciting to see first and second generations working in the vineyards and wineries.  It is a joy witnessing the success and growth of the Lehigh Valley wineries and the acceptance of Lehigh Valley wines in our community. 

Lastly, these vineyards have given me wine!  In my opinion, a glass of wine is the best way to end your day!

Thank you for supporting the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail and choosing to drink wines grown within our precious Lehigh Valley AVA! 

Sorrenti Cherry Valley wins slew of awards in Finger Lakes International Wine Competition

Congratulations to Mary Sorrenti and the wine making team at Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards in Saylorsburg on their big win at last month's 2010 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. Of the 11 wine entries they submitted, 9 of them received medals.

The winners are:

1. Blueberry Spumante - Silver
2. Raspberry - Silver
3. Raspberry Spumante - Silver
4. Apple wine - Bronze
5. Blackberry - Bronze
6. Blackberry Merlot - Bronze
7. Chancellor - Bronze
8. Niagara - Bronze
9. Raspberry Blush - Bronze

Visit Cherry Valley this weekend for the Wine Trail's first A.V.A. Weekend and try some of these award-winning wines to see for yourself why they received these honors. An A.V.A. is a Federal designation of an American Viticultural Area, and the Lehigh Valley is one. So be sure to ask Mary about how the soil in her region of the Poconos affects the grapes she grows and thereby the flavor of her wines. After all, that's what A.V.A. Weekend is all about!

More details on our new A.V.A. Weekend event April 24 & 25

In one of last week's Taste of the Trail blog posts we told you about our next event which is brand new. It's A.V.A. Weekend taking place April 24 & 25. This event celebrates the region's federal designation as an American Viticultural Area for wine making, which was achieved in April 2008.

A.V.A. Weekend will have an educational theme to it as the different wineries offer visitors a chance to learn more about the "terroir" or soil of our region and how it affects the grapes grown here and the flavor of the resulting wine.

Here is the list of what each of our nine wineries is planning for our newest weekend event:

Amore Winery in Nazareth: " Taste the Terroir" - Experience the taste difference produced by our mineral rich soil. You will taste the complexity in our wine. Also, we will serve homemade tomato sauce from our very own tomatoes. This will be a delight to remember. Our greenhouses will open for the season. Get hardy garden flower and vegetable plants. Think hanging baskets. Geological maps will illustrate the unique structure of our soil. Join us in celebration.

Big Creek Winery in Kresgeville: For AVA weekend we will be "Tasting the meaning of AVA' with varietal wines from comparable AVA's for people to taste the importance of location.

Blue Mountain Winery in New Tripoli: Check back soon for details!

Cherry Valley Vineyards in Saylorsburg: "Meet the wine maker" and learn the differences of grapes grown  in our AVA and how that affects the end product, tours of the winery will be available, and comparison tasting.

Clover Hill Vineyards in Breinigsville: Help Clover Hill Winery celebrate the land that we love to grow grapes on! We will be hosting a vineyard scavenger hunt at Clover Hill Winery.  Stop in the tasting room anytime between noon -5 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday to receive your vineyard scavenger hunt list and rules, then off you go into the vineyard to find your items.  Return to the tasting room with your completed list and we will give you a prize!

Franklin Hill Vineyards in Bangor: Come see and enjoy the first established vineyard and winery in the Lehigh Valley. Our vines are 34 years old. We are excited about planting our second vineyard. We hope you will be able to see the early stages of the planting of our vineyard in the new Lehigh Valley AVA. We will be featuring Evanswood, Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc and Katie's Creek. These award-winning wines are still being produced from our original vines. Supporting local agriculture, we will be featuring our Gold Medal Apple Wine with apples freshly picked from Kachline's Farm along with their apple butter and honey for sale. Delicious local cheeses from Klein's Farm will also be for sale.

Galen Glen Winery in Andreas: Interactive Soil Experience: Tours, Dessert and Master Gardeners. As stewards of our 200 year old farm, Galen will offer tours and tales of our soils.  In the theme of terroir, taste some “Dirt Dessert” paired with our Barrel 29. And on Sunday from 12:30-4:30 p.m., the Schuylkill County Master Gardeners will dispense advice on soil health, amendments, nutrients and their importance, pH and have soil test kits available to purchase.

Pinnacle Ridge Winery in Kutztown: Pinnacle Ridge celebrates the anniversary of our AVA designation by holding educational talks in our vineyard on “Terrior.”(Putting it a bit more plainly, our soil.) Why is the Lehigh Valley such a prized grape growing region? What about its soil and climate make the Lehigh Valley so suitable? Pinnacle Ridge winemaker, Brad Knapp, will take you into our vineyard and talk about dirt, rocks, rain, minerals –ask questions- Brad loves the inquisitive! Pinnacle Ridge will be serving a variety of locally grown foods and pairing them with our amazing wines. Bad Farms from Kempton PA will be showcasing their cheeses made from their own cows! Pinnacle Ridge will serve home-made pizza using mushrooms from Oley Valley Mushroom from Lobachsville,PA and cheese from Bad Farms! Additionally, we will serve a Micro-greens salad made from local farmer, Oh, Produce in Kempton, PA.

Vynecrest Winery in Breinigsville: Saturday April 24th, in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day and to celebrate our Lehigh Valley AVA, Percy Doughtery will be our guest at 1pm. Percy, a former geology professor at Kutztown University, is a Lehigh County Commissioner, Wine Judge and Wine Professor at Northampton Community College. He will be joining our winemaker John Landis in the vineyard to dig a hole and discuss the terroir of the Lehigh Valley. Reservations are not required. In the winery, we will have Rob & Marty playing live on Saturday, and Arianne on Sunday from 1 - 4:30 pm. We will also have samples of our Jose Madrid Salsa to accompany tastings of our Estate -bottled Chambourcin. Open to the public, free admission.

Mark your calendars for our next event - A.V.A. Weekend

Our next special event takes place Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25 and is brand new. A.V.A. Weekend - From the Soil, to the Vine, to the Glass - celebrates the Lehigh Valley region's official designation as an American Viticultural Area, which was obtained in April 2008.

An AVA is a federal designation that enables vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to identify wines they purchase. The Lehigh Valley AVA is distinguished in part by rolling hillsides, an agricultural climate and soil composed mainly of shale, sandstone and siltstone.

It means that when you drink wine from a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail winery, you know that you are drinking something that is locally produced, unique, and specifically crafted to best showcase the Lehigh Valley!

This event will feature educational components at each winery as we teach you about what the French call "terroir" or the soil. We'll explain how the soil in our region effects the growing of the grapes and the wine's resulting taste. Some wineries will offer vineyard tours and talks, while others will feature tastings and food pairings.

Event hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon - 5 p.m. We hope you will join us! Stay tuned for more information!

Lehigh Valley wineries offer their pairing suggestions for Easter Dinner

Easter is a special occasion that brings families together for a day of egg hunting in the backyard, visits with an oversized bunny, and baskets filled with candy and treats. But the highlight of the day is the celebratory meal.

The nine family-owned and operated wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail understand how important that meal is and are pleased to offer the following wine pairing suggestions for this year’s dinner.

Amoré Vineyards & Winery, Nazareth
Pink Passion is a perfect match for pork and sauerkraut or ham.

Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville
Vin di Pasqualina is best served lightly chilled with lamb.

Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli
The newly released 2009 Vignoles pairs nicely with ham, lamb or pork.

Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg
Seyval Blanc, a crisp, clean white wine similar to Pinot Grigio, with citrus- like characteristics, is fantastic with shellfish, fish and fowl.

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville
Clover Hill Cuvee is a semi-sweet, traditionally made sparkling wine. It’s excellent as an aperitif or served as a Mimosa.

Franklin Hills Vineyards, Bangor
Kiss, which is a blend of Cayuga and Vidal with just a touch of Chambourcin, is perfect with an Easter dinner of turkey or ham.

Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas
Vin Gris is a crisp rosé blended from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin with hints of cherry, making it ideal to serve with ham or turkey.

Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown
The 2009 Riesling is the perfect accompaniment to the Easter meal.

Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville
Vynecrest White is a versatile, semi-sweet, all-occasion dinner wine. It's a "house" blend of grapes with an aroma of apricots and green apples, with a soft pleasant finish.

Join the nine wineries of the Wine Trail on April 24 and 25 for their first A.V.A. (American Viticulture Area) Weekend, as they celebrate this important, new national designation. Visitors will learn about the uniqueness of the region’s soil that adds complexity to their wines.

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.

Lehigh Valley Wine Trail special events for 2010 announced

The nine family-owned wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail have announced their 2010 schedule of special events. So mark your calendars now and be sure to join us. We hope to see you at all of them!

•    AVA Weekend - From the Soil, to the Vine, to the Glass – April 24 & 25 - This event celebrates the anniversary of the Lehigh Valley region’s designation as an official American Viticultural Area by the Federal Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in April 2008. The Lehigh Valley AVA includes portions of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania.

•    Wine on the Mountain – July 24 & 25 - Held at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, this event includes wine samplings, local artisans displaying their arts and crafts, light fare available for purchase, and live entertainment. Tickets are required for this event and can be purchased at each winery as well as at the door.

•    Harvest Weekend – The Butcher, The Baker and The Winemaker – September 11 & 12 –The wineries proudly promote the state’s “Pennsylvania Preferred” program by partnering with manufacturers of other Pennsylvania products to showcase their high level of quality. Wine pairings, vineyard tours, food, music and other special activities are featured.

•    Chambourcin Weekend – October 16 & 17 - Taking place after the harvest is over, this event celebrates the “official wine grape of the Lehigh Valley,” the Chambourcin.

•    Nouveau Weekend – November 20 & 21 - This is the earliest chance to sample the first vintages of the new harvest. It’s also a great opportunity to purchase wines for the upcoming holiday season to give as gifts or to drink at dinner. March Madness passports also go on sale this weekend.

All events are free except for Wine on the Mountain at Penn’s Peak. Event hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon – 5 p.m.