Harvest season at Pinnacle Ridge brings new wine releases, a special event and live music

Harvest is here!

Happy harvest season to all of our wonderful customers! Thank you for all of your support and your passion for what we are doing. As we begin to undertake the always daunting (and equally rewarding) task of harvesting our vines, we would like to invite you all to come out and enjoy the sights. The fair weather is fleeting, the grapes are coming off of the vines and we have begun to process our fruit.                                  
There are going to be a lot of great events and happenings at Pinnacle Ridge this fall, and we want to invite you to come out and take part. Want to be a part of the team that helps harvest our fruit? Give us a call at (610) 756-4481 or shoot us an e-mail at pinridge@aol.com.

House Concert Series  - October 12

Steve Brosky and Jimmy Meyer will be jamming in the barn that Saturday afternoon from 2-5 p.m. They will help to kick off the release of our brand new 2012 Cabernet Franc. Also, check out some vintage gifts and notions from Bee Stung by Melanie Tatasciore that will be available throughout the afternoon. They will include everything from homemade jewelry, to artisan bath and body scrubs

Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Event: Chambourcin Weekend                                                            

Join us October 19 and 20 for the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail's annual Chambourcin weekend - an entire weekend of food, fun and cheer devoted to one of the Lehigh Valley's signature grape varieties!                                
New Wine Releases

2012 Pinot Noir
This lighter-weight red has aromas of vanilla, cherry and pie spices. The moderate tannins give way to cherry fruit flavors coupled with the wood influences derived from aging the wine in French oak barrels. A perfect wine to enjoy with lighter pork and chicken dishes.

2012 Cabernet Franc
Our Cabernet Franc displays herbal aromas, hints of vanilla and crushed berries. The flavor profile follows that of the nose and this wine displays moderate tannins, indicating an aging potential of anywhere between 3-5 years. The Cabernet Franc does very well in the Lehigh Valley and this particular wine is an excellent example. Pair this wine with wild game, like pork or venison, or with a light blush pasta sauce.

Cabernet Franc and the Lehigh Valley - Part 2

Today's blog post is written by wine lover and guest blogger Jim Hutchings. To read part 1 of this blog post, click here.

If consumed at a cool cellar temperature, Cabernet Franc pairs well with summer picnic or barbeque foods, and is fantastic all by itself.

Franc actually plays a significant role in Château Cheval Blanc’s wines which are said to be among the best in the world. At one thousand dollars per bottle, I have not yet been fortunate enough to try a Cheval, but five of our very own Lehigh Valley wineries are producing outstanding examples of Cabernet Franc.

Blue Mountain, Franklin Hill, Galen Glen, Pinnacle Ridge, and Vynecrest all produce a Cabernet Franc varietal though supply is low at a few of them. If you enjoy more complex and robust wines, Blue Mountain and Franklin Hill have fine examples of the full orchestra to continue yesterday’s metaphor. Vynecrest, Galen Glen, and Pinnacle Ridge have some of the most elegant Francs I’ve tasted. Their Francs stand apart from their other bold reds and leave you with a powerful simplicity which lingers well after your last swallow.

If you haven’t done so yet, give our Lehigh Valley Cabernet Francs a taste. With an elegant flavor, wisdom, maturity, and simplicity, Cabernet Franc knows where it wants to go, what it wants to do, and does it very well.

Cabernet Franc and the Lehigh Valley - Part 1

Today's blog post is written by wine lover and guest blogger Jim Hutchings.

Cabernet Franc has long been ignored, looked down upon, and confused with its more robust offspring, Cabernet Sauvignon. Other times, Franc plays the second fiddle to Sauvignon and is used only in blending. In its blending capacity, Franc needs to be better understood. It is not merely a filler grape. Instead, Franc adds a maturity to young Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Meritage wines. It adds an elegance that greatly helps in keeping wild young wines under control.

This elegance became clearer to me while attending a recent orchestra performance. Each piece of the orchestra played flawlessly and added its own individual sound to the whole, which I compare to the big and complex wines Cabernet Sauvignon and blends often produce.

On this particular evening, though, Elizabeth Pitcairn was the violin soloist and her performance was my Cabernet Franc. The orchestra behind her was powerful, robust, and beautiful, but it was a completely different affair when she started playing. Her single violin rose above the orchestra with an elegance that was simply not available with a full orchestra.

Don’t get me wrong – big reds with lots of flavors working together or sometimes fighting for attention can be very fun. But as we move into the summer months and people tend to switch from big reds to lighter whites, the Cabernet Franc virtuoso is worth keeping on the summer drinking list. Thankfully this mature and elegant wine can be found at more than half of our Lehigh Valley Wineries!

To be continued tomorrow…