Lehigh Valley wineries bring home medals and awards in January

Our wineries have been busy winning awards already this year, and we're only one month into 2014! We'd like to congratulate Vynecrest, Pinnacle Ridge and Franklin Hill on their recent honors. Thank you all for making our region and our wine trail proud!

12th Pennsylvania Wine Excellence Awards 
Pennsylvania Wine Society 

Top 10 Scoring Wines:

Vynecrest Lemberger 2012 - Top scoring wine/winner
Pinnacle Ridge Veritas 2010

Honorable Mention:

Franklin Hill 2012 Chambourcin


2014 PA Farm Show Wine Competition

Vynecrest 2012 Lemberger - Double Gold
Vynecrest 2012 Chambourcin - Gold
Vynecrest 2012 Dry Riesling - Bronze
Vynecrest 2013 Cherry DiVyne - Bronze
Vynecrest 2012 Riesling - Bronze
Vynecrest 2012 Vynecrest Red - Bronze
Vynecrest 2012 Pinot Grigio - Bronze
Vynecrest 2012 Traminette - Bronze

Pinnacle Ridge 2012 Vidal Blanc - Silver
Pinnacle Ridge 2012 Cayuga - Silver
Pinnacle Ridge 2012 Chambourcin Rose -Silver
Pinnacle Ridge 2012 Traminette - Silver
Pinnacle Ridge 2012 Merlot - Bronze
Pinnacle Ridge 2012 Cabernet Franc - Bronze
Pinnacle Ridge 2012 Chambourcin - Bronze

Franklin Hill 2012 Kiss - Silver
Franklin Hill 2012 Fainting Goat - Bronze
Franklin Hill 2012 Fiesta - Bronze

Pinnacle Ridge wins seven medals at PA Farm Show

LEHIGH VALLEY WINE TRAIL'S ANNUAL MARCH PASSPORT PROGRAM RETURNS 

Passports are still available for the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail the March Passport Program. Join us for the first four weekends in March for the biggest event of the Wine Trail. Passports are $35 per person and are available at the winery (cash or check only) or online at: http://lvwtmarchpassportprogram2013.eventbrite.com.

The menu and wine pairings for Pinnacle Ridge are as follows:

• March 2 and 3: Apple Wood Smoked Pork with Mango BBQ Sauce paired with our 2011 Riesling
•  March 9 and 10: Grilled Chicken with creamy Traminette Sauce paired with our 2011 Traminette
•  March 16 and 17: Beef Pot Roast - tender beef in rich brown gravy paired with our 2011 Chambourcin
•  March 23 and 24: Chicken Cordon Bleu - cheesy chicken and ham paired with our 2012 Naked Chardonnay

The pairings of the other wine trail member wineries can be found here.

PINNACLE RIDGE EARNS SEVEN MEDALS AT THE 2013 FARM SHOW
 
The wines of Pinnacle Ridge showed well at the 2013 Pennsylvania Farm Show on January 5. Medal winners include our Chardonnay, Naked Chardonnay, Riesling, Chambourcin, Chambourcin Rose, Chambourcin Reserve, Veritas, and Merlot. All of these wines are currently available at the winery.
 
UPDATE ON SPARKLING WINES

As many of you know, we ran out of our Brut Rose and Blanc de Blanc during the rush of the winter holidays. We have been busy working on the new vintages and will soon be releasing our Blanc de Blanc.  We did not produce a Brut Rose for the upcoming year but did produce a Cuvee Chardonnay. This is a wine produced from 100% Chardonnay grapes and is a dry sparkling wine with a crisp finish and flavors of green apple. In 2014 we will return back to our Brut Rose. The Blanc de Blanc and Cuvee Chardonnay will be available sometime during February. Please contact the winery regarding their availability prior to making a trip for these wines.

Vynecrest introduces Vyneskeller Piano and Wine Bar

We are excited to announce our new piano and wine bar. Located in the Vyneskeller, it is open every Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Come downstairs, grab a glass of wine and enjoy yourself.

Recent Awards - 2013 PA Farm Show Wine Competition

2011 Traminette - Gold
2011 Vynecrest Red - Silver
2011 Vynecrest White - Silver
2011 Dry Riesling - Silver
2011 Cherry DiVyne - Bronze

January Specials 

Wine of the Month - Spiced Winter Red, additional 10% off
3 Pack of the Month - 3 First Blush for $25*
(*at winery only; 3 pack can't be combined with other discounts)

Upcoming Events

February 2 - Super Bowl Chili Saturday 
Although our Chili Saturday falls on Groundhog Day this year, rest assured that the two kinds of chili available for tasting and purchase will not be made from relatives of Punxsutawney Phil! So come join us to hopefully celebrate an end to winter while you warm up with homemade chili. You get to vote for your favorite, predict the Super Bowl score, and a chance to win Vynecrest gift cards. Admission is free; no reservations needed.

February 15 - Valentine's Day Wine and Chocolate Event 
7-9 p.m. Taste a flight of five wines and five chocolates with a special chocolate gift for the ladies. Live music. Make this your after-dinner dessert. $25 per couple. Reservations required. Call 610-398-7525. (Please let us know when calling if this is for a table of two or four. Credit card required to hold the reservation).

Weekends in March - Lehigh Valley Wine Trail's March Passport Program
There are still passports available for sale, but we are sold out here. Tickets can be purchased online here. The winery will be open for tastings but all food pairings are exclusively for passport holders only.

Vynecrest Winery will feature two Farm Show Silver Medal Winners. Our food pairings are made by two fellow vendors at the Macungie Farm Market, A Buy Fresh, Buy Local Market.

Week 1 + 2 - Pairing Vynecrest Red, our house red made with the Chambourcin grape, with Triple Mushroom Lasagna a rich and savory dish with Gorgonzola cheese sauce. Food by Hereford Country Store.
Week 3 + 4 - Pairing Vynecrest White, our house white wine with Blackberry Bliss - A moist vanilla white wine cake featuring Vynecrest White Wine filled with a fresh blackberry filling and topped with a
blackberry lemon frosting. Food by Sugar So Sweet Cupcakes.

Glass Half Empty
by John Landis

On Saturday, January 5 we spent the day at the PA Farm Show in Harrisburg. I went to judge chocolate cakes in the PA Preferred competition (tough job but somebody had to do it!). Sam went to collect five medals for our wines that we entered in the state competition. Winning medals in wine competition is both satisfying and silly. It is satisfying because a panel of judges picked your wine as an exceptional wine and it's silly because medals are transitory. They have a finite life - the life of that vintage wine. When you see a medal hanging from a bottle does that mean you should buy it?

Judging wines is a subjective process based on the judges' past experience and wine prejudice. The contest format can also impact results. Is a judge as good tasting 200 wines a day as they are tasting 20? All you can say about medal-winning wines is that they are well made and probably have no serious flaws.

So the moral of the story is: medals are good but tasting a wine and selecting one that suits your own palate is more important. And by the way, our Cherry DiVyne goes great with chocolate cake. Enjoy!

Lehigh Valley wineries bring home medals from PA Farm Show

Congratulations to four Lehigh Valley Wine Trail wineries who took home medals for their wines at the PA Farm Show last weekend.


Blue Mountain Vineyards:
2006 Meritage - Silver
2011 Vidal Blanc - Bronze
2008 Chardonnay - Bronze
2011 Riesling - Bronze

Franklin Hill Winery:
2011 Fiesta - Silver
2011 Sir Walters Red - Silver
2011 Chambourcin - Bronze
2011 Thin - Bronze
2011 Vidal Blanc - Bronze
Trio -  Bronze
2011 Fainting Goat - Bronze
2012 Seyval Blanc - Bronze

Pinnacle Ridge Winery:
2010 Melot - Silver
2010 Veritas - Bronze
2011 Chardonnay - Bronze
2010 Reserve Chambourcin - Bronze
2010 Chambourcin - Bronze
2011 Naked Chardonnay - Bronze
2011 Riesling - Bronze

Vynecrest Vineyards and Winery:
2011 Traminette - Gold
2011 Vynecrest White - Silver
2011 Dry Riesling - Silver
2011 Vynecrest Red - Silver
2011 Cherry DiVyne - Bronze

The PA Farm Show continues this week and weekend in Harrisburg. Be sure to stop by the Blue Mountain Vineyards wine booth for wine tasting and sales if you go. 

Get Kissed at Franklin Hill Vineyards this Valentine's Day

From our grapes... to your glass
 
Congratulations to Franklin Hill Vineyards Winemaker, Bonnie Pysher, for taking home three medals from the 2012 PA Farm Show. Let's toast to Harvest Berry bringing home a Silver Medal, and Pomegranate Peach and Chambourcin winning Bronze Medals!

Our Vineyard Manager, Scott Sandt, has been spending a lot of time outdoors. He just finished pruning DeChaunac and is making progress in the new vineyard as well. And congratulations to our Bethlehem location for winning the 2011 "Doors of Bethlehem" competition! Thank you for all of your votes. We couldn't have done it without you!

Get Kissed this Valentine's Day Weekend at our Winery! 

Visit our winery for complimentary wine tastings featuring chocolate tastings from our friends at Chocolates on Broadway. Complimentary appetizers include Meatballs served with Rothschild Chipotle Sauce, Tomato Pie and, a customer favorite, Rothschild Habanero Dip. 

While you're here, don't forget to get "Kissed." Enjoy 10% off a single bottle of our Kiss - a medium dry Rose wine. Wine & chocolate available for purchase.

Shop for a Cause  
February 17-19
Downtown Bethlehem

Franklin Hill Vineyards' Bethlehem location is participating as Downtown Bethlehem hosts its second annual Shop for a Cause benefiting charities Lehigh Valley-wide.

February is filled with LOVE!  Shop, dine, get styled, and relax at the participating locations and 10% of all proceeds spent over the weekend will be donated back to the charity of your choice from a list. It is simple and fun.

Lehigh Valley wines win top honors

2011 PA Farm Show medals

Congratulations to Vynecrest, Pinnacle Ridge and Franklin Hill wineries on their medals at the recent PA Farm Show in Harrisburg.

Franklin Hill won a Silver for its Harvest Berry 2010, and Bronzes for Chambourcin 2010 and Pomegranate Peach 2010.

Pinnacle Ridge won Best Vinifera and Double Gold for its Pinot Noir 2010, a Gold for its Late Harvest Vidal 2010, Silvers for Veritas 2008 and Chardonnay 2010, and Bronzes for Riesling 2010 and Traminette 2010.

And Vynecrest won a Silver for its Chambourcin 2010 and a Bronze for its Cabernet Franc 2010.

Vynecrest Winery wins top honors at PA Wine Excellence Awards

Vynecrest Winery of Breinigsville received accolades at the recent PA Wine Excellence X Competition in Harrisburg.

The Pennsylvania Wine Society bestowed top honors to Vynecrest's 2010 Chambourcin Reserve.

Vynecrest's 2010 Cabernet Franc, a bronze medal winner at the Farm Show, also finished in the top 10 at the Wine Excellence X show.

Update from Franklin Hill Vineyards

We recently received the following e-mail update in our inbox from Elaine Pivinski, owner of Franklin Hill Vineyards in Bangor. Find out what's happening there.

From Our Grapes to Your Glass...
In between all of this season's snow storms, we're still keeping busy pruning out in the vineyard. The luckier members of our staff get to stay warmer inside while preparing to bottle 1.5L of Sir Walter's Red. We're also working on producing our new peach-pomegranate wine! Keep your eye open for its highly-anticipated release this coming March!


2011 PA Farm Show

The 2011 PA Farm Show results are in. Congratulations to all of our Award-Winners!

Double Gold/Best American Wine: Sir Walters Red

Silver: Catawba and Kiss

Bronze: Chardonnay, White Jade, Seyval, Harvest Berry, Fainting Goat


Franklin Hill Vineyards Locations

Did you know that there are 4 convenient locations at which to purchase our wines?

Winery
7833 Franklin Hill Road
Bangor, PA 18013
(610)-588-8708

Bethlehem
Main St. Commons
567 Main St.
Bethlehem, PA 18018
(610)-332-9463

Easton
3625 Nazareth Rd.
Easton, PA 18043
(610)-559-8966

Tannersville
Fountain Springs West, Suite #1, Route 611
Tannersville, PA 18372
(570)-619-7260

Update from Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery

The latest monthly e-newsletter from our friends at Clover Hill in Breinigsville is out. If you're not signed up to receive it, then you're missing out on some great information about upcoming events, monthly specials and other fun facts. Below are highlights from the February edition. Read on.

Clover Hill Winery has started the year off nicely with a couple of favorable awards. We were named People’s Choice 2011 in Berks County for Best Winery.

Also, we received the below awards at the 2011 PA Farm Show Wine Competition. We are thrilled with these medals and a special thanks to our Berk’s County customers who voted us People’s Choice 2011.

• Gold ~ Vignoles, Catawba and Strawberry Pear
• Silver ~ 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Bronze ~ Riesling, Clover Hill Rose and 2007 Merlot

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, it is a sweet time of year to take someone you love wine tasting. Don’t forget, the tasting room is open 7 days a week and the winter months provide a more intimate and personalized wine tasting experience. We also have a few special wine and chocolate events scheduled as a sweet treat. Click here for all the details.


Owner's Selection
Enjoy a 10% discount on Turtle Rock Red the entire month of February. The deep purple color and fresh berry flavors, hint of sweetness and touch of acidity are all characteristics of Turtle Rock Red. Made from 100% Chambourcin, Turtle Rock Red, has quickly become the flagship of Clover Hill wines.  Receive a 20% discount on the Owner's Selection when included with case purchases.

Lehigh Valley Wine Trail wins big at 2011 PA Farm Show!

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is taking place in Harrisburg and the wine competition happened this past weekend. We wanted to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to our wineries that won the following awards:

Best of:

Best American:
Franklin Hill 2009 Sir Walter’s Red

Best Vinifera:
Pinnacle Ridge 2007 Veritas



Cherry Valley Vineyard
Gold: Raspberry
Silver: Cranberry Blush, Pink Catawba
Bronze: Merlot Blackberry, Proprietor’s Red

Clover Hill Winery
Gold: Vignoles, Catawba, Strawberry Pear
Silver: 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Bronze: Riesling, 2007 Merlot, Clover Hill Rose

Franklin Hill Winery
Double Gold: 2009 Sir Walter’s Red
Silver: 2009 Kiss, 2009 Catawba
Bronze: 2009 Harvest Berry, 2010 Seyval Blanc, 2008 Chardonnay, 2009 Fainting Goat, 2009 White Jade

Pinnacle Ridge Winery
Double Gold: 2007 Veritas
Silver: 2008 Pinot Noir, 2009 Quaff, 2008 Chambourcin, 2009 Chambourcin Rose, 2009 Traminette, 2009 Vidal Blanc, 2008 Chambourcin Reserve, 2008 Cabernet Franc

Vynecrest
Silver: 2009 Cherry Divyne, 2009 Pinot Noir, 2009 Riesling, 2009 Lemberger
Bronze: 2009 Late Harvest Vidal, 2009 Pinot Grigio, 2009 Blueberry, 2009 Cabernet Franc, 2009 Chambourcin