Ice Wine Sundays, Second Annual Chili Cook Off, and Holiday Spice Wine special this month at Galen Glen

Cheers to a fantastic 2015! As Glen Glen celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, we look forward to sharing something special with you each month during 2015. Keep watching your inbox if you are signed up to receive our emails, or follow us on social media for all of the details each month. Some monthly specials will only be shared via email, so sign up now so you won't miss out.

Tasting Room Winter Hours
Friday, Noon to 5 pm
Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm
Sunday, Noon to 5 pm

Second Annual Chili Cook Off
Saturday, January 17*
noon to 4 pm

This is a free event and you are the judge for this competition  Stop by the winery that day any time between noon - 4 pm and receive a taste of Chambourcin or Cellar Red to pair with the chili samples from our visiting chefs. Savor each chili and vote on your favorite. If you'd enjoy a glass of either wine to pair with your chili, you may purchase a 6 oz. glass for $4. Come and enjoy a fun afternoon, meet new friends, try several chili recipes and help choose the winning recipe that will be featured at Galen Glen during the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail's Chambourcin Weekend 2015.
*Snow date is Saturday, January 24

Ice Wine Sundays
Join us on Sundays in January for a complimentary pairing of our Stone Cellar Vidal Blanc Ice Wine with a Bleu Cheese Appetizer.  Decanting like liquid gold, with profound sweetness this award-winning wine and pairing is sure to delight your palate and chase away the winter blues.
"Harvested and crushed in the middle of the frigid night, this golden dessert nectar is a whirl of honeyed floral sweetness and lyrical bright fruit that would easily sell for $50 plus." Philadelphia Inquirer Review

Holiday Spice Special
Warm up on those cold winter nights with our Holiday Spice. A mulled red wine, served warm it will melt away the post-holiday dole-drums. "Gluhwein" is a festive German tradition and our blend features cinnamon, cloves, allspice and citrus peel infused into a sweet red wine.

During the month of January you may purchase three bottles of our Holiday Spice wine for $30. (additional discounts do not apply.)

Save on Clover Hill's Holiday wine in January

January 1, 2015, marks the start of another new year. January 1 is special to me in that it is the 17th birthday of my oldest grandson, John Skrip IV (aka J.B.) son of John Skrip III, my “BEST” son and my only son, who is the winemaker at Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery.

January 1 is also the third birthday of my Rottweiler dog, DeCha. OK ~ she is half mine and half my wife’s! DeCha was named after one of the grape varieties that we successfully grow and the popular wine we make bearing its name - DeChaunac. Since our kids left the nest, DeCha fills the void nicely. She likes to lick a little wine off my wife, Pat’s, finger, but moments later has to sneeze. We only give her this treat on special occasions like New Year’s Eve. She likes to go where I go whether it be riding shotgun in my golf buggy or accompanying me in my car. She is man’s best friend, and if you pet her you will have a friend for life!

New Year’s Eve is a time for our traditional New Year's Eve roof raising, town painting celebration… senior style. My wife and I, along with my 90-year young mother, Olga, for the past six years have been enjoying a stay-at-home lobster dinner complete with homemade French fries, cranberry sauce, a Spanish hand-dressed salad made by me, and  bubbles… lots of bubbles (that's champagne for all you BEER drinkers!).

But wait it gets better. The final act is the result of too many bubbles. There is a tendency to doze off before the big ball in Times Square touches down at midnight. After giving Pat a big New Year's kiss, toasting with a glass of Clover Hill Sparkling Pinot Noir, and making our new year’s resolution about losing weight for 2015, we retire for the balance of the evening.

Daughters, Kari and Lori, and son, John III, may call us to wish us a Happy New Year if they remember… the youngin's like to party more than us seniors. That is New Year's...Skrip Family/ Clover Hill style - life in the fast lane!

A NEW 2015 resolution for me will be that I spend less time with the grapes and wine business and more time at our second home, appropriately named by Kari as Grape Escape, at Cape Cod. Don’t worry - I’ll be watching Clover Hill but I’ll be watching more of Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Clover Hill will be in good hands with Pat, John III and Kari. As always, I will be available to cut the grass, take the garbage out, and all the other important chores they will ask me to do. Spending more time with my grandkids is also in the equation.

Bottom line is, I wish the BEST to you and yours in 2015. And remember to drink Clover Hill wine in moderation as your key to longevity! - John Skrip Jr.

Owner’s Selection for January 

The holidays may be over, but it is never too late to sip a warmed glass of Holiday wine on a cold night. This is a sweet rose that is jazzed up with cinnamon, cloves and citrus. Now only $9.45.

Try this: mix equal parts of Holiday and brown sugar for a sweet and spicy ham glaze.

Beginner Wine Tasting Class
Saturday, January 10 and 25 at 2 p.m. (almost sold out!)
Tickets required - $25 per person

Join us in a beginner wine tasting class. This 1.5 hour long class will teach you the basics of wine tasting, give you tips on wine and food pairing and help to answer any wine questions you may have. This class is limited in seats and tickets are required: $25 per person and you must be 21+ years old. Call 610-395-2468 or visit the winery in Breinigsville to reserve your ticket.

Winter Warmers 
The Winery in Breinigsville
January 17 and 18

Take a wintertime country drive to Lehigh County and sip something special. At Clover Hill Winery in Breinigsville we will be offering a trio of warmed wines for you to sample. Recipes will be available.

2014 Wine Trail events and tips for exploring the trail

The wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail would like to wish everyone a happy 2014. We're excited for the year ahead and for our six annual events. We hope you will mark your calendar and plan to join us for one or more of them.

All but one of the events (Wine on the Mountain) are held at our member wineries. For a list of member wineries, as well as addresses and driving directions, please visit our web site. Remember that you must be at least 21 years of age to participate in our events, and designated drivers are always highly recommended and encouraged.

Each winery sets its own policy on wine tastings including fees and number of tastes per visit, as well as group visits and commercial vehicles such as limos, buses and vans. Be sure to call ahead or go to each winery's respective web site before planning your visit. All events take place Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday noon - 5 p.m.

March Passport Program
March 1 & 2, 8 & 9, 15 & 16, and 22 & 23

Passports are now on sale for $35 each online via EventBrite (credit card payment only) or at our eight member wineries (cash or check payment only).

Wine in Bloom
May 17 & 18

Wine on the Mountain at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, Pa.
July 26 & 27

Harvest Weekend - The Butcher, The Baker and The Winemaker
September 13 & 14

Chambourcin Weekend
October 18 & 19

Nouveau Weekend
November 15 & 16

We'd also like to take this opportunity to share with you our list of tips for exploring the wine trail and visiting our wineries:

• Start at any winery, visit all eight.
• Consider beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday right when our wineries open.
• In general, Sundays are less busy than Saturdays.
• No alcohol of any kind may be brought onto winery premises.
• Visibly intoxicated guests will not be served, in accordance with the law.
• If you will be traveling all day long, pack a snack or stop by a local restaurant.
• We strongly discourage trying to visit all 8 wineries in one day. Anyone, regardless of whether they are the driver or not, can be denied a wine tasting if it appears they are impaired. Remember: little tastes add up!
• We treat our wineries as if they are our homes, which in many cases they are. As our guests we appreciate your patience, consideration and respect.
• Each winery sets its own policy regarding wine tasting fees and limits, as well as commercial vehicles (vans, buses, limos) and groups. Please contact the winery or wineries you plan to visit, or visit their web sites, to find out what their house rules are before heading out.

Franklin Hill starts the new year with a new bottling line

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As we say goodbye to 2012, we are looking forward to the new year and all the wonderful things to come. It's been our busiest year on record and for that we thank you, our customers. We wish you all the very best 2013 has to offer.

Cheers,

Elaine, Adam and the Franklin Hill Vineyards Family


Our Brut is back! Stop by any location for a bottle of bubbly to celebrate 2013! $12.

Always Moving Forward

Franklin Hill Vineyards has grown to another level. We welcomed our new bottling line earlier this month.  It's capable of doubling our production and its many features will help us become more efficient. Please stop by the winery anytime so we can proudly show you how amazing it is!

Vineyard News

Pruning is an art which our vineyard manager Scott Sandt has mastered. Scott has just started to prune back the vines which will take him most of the season to finish. Pruning allows the new growth to develop. Once he's done, he will tie the vines back which helps them withstand any weather we may receive and prepares them to hold all the beautiful fruit which will start growing in May. Bundle up, Scott... it's cold out there!

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. 

Happy Holidays from the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail

Christmas is almost here and we know that some of you might be behind on your shopping list. But no worries; our wineries can help. Many of them have extended holiday hours this weekend and some will even be open on Christmas Eve Day for a few hours. Be sure to call ahead to the winery or wineries that you plan to visit to make sure they will be there to greet you.

Local wine makes a great gift and requires little or no wrapping.  Several of our wineries sell gift bags, boxes and other holders in their gift shops to make the presentation perfect. Pair the wine with snacks, dips, wine glasses and other wine accessories to make it into a vino-themed present.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued patronage of our eight family-owned and operated Lehigh Valley wineries. We are honored to have our wines served at your holiday parties and meals with family and friends.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!