Vino in the Valley 2017 passport program introduces wine lovers to local wineries during weekends in March

The annual Vino in the Valley passport program introduces wine lovers to locally produced wine by encouraging them to explore all nine wineries that belong to the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail during the four weekends in March 2017.

An event that has become an annual tradition for many, it takes features wine and food pairings for passport holders at each of the wine trail’s member wineries. Passports are stamped at each winery, and after visiting at least eight wineries and collecting their stamps, the passport is turned in and entered into a raffle.

New for 2017 passport holders will be entered to win one of 10 Lehigh Valley Getaway Packages at a local inn or bed and breakfast that includes accommodations for two, dining, and other amenities.

How the Vino in the Valley Passport Program works:

1.     Wine lovers purchase a passport for $35, either at one of the wine trail’s nine member wineries, or online. (Passport program participants must be age 21 or older.)

2.     During the four weekends of March (Saturdays and Sundays), participants visit the member wineries to enjoy a food and wine pairing (tasting-sized) and have their passport stamped in the corresponding winery box on the front.

3.     Once stamps are obtained from at least eight of the nine wineries, they fill out their contact information on the bottom front side of the passport before tearing it off and turning it in at the last winery they visit in order to be entered to win one of 10 Lehigh Valley Getaway Packages in the Grand Prize Drawing.

Passports are now on sale for $35 each at all nine member wineries (cash or check only), as well as online via EventBrite.com (credit card only) - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vino-in-the-valley-2017-along-the-lehigh-valley-wine-trail-tickets-29267831873. Online orders for holiday gift giving must be placed by Friday, December 16 to ensure enough time for delivery of the printed passports via First Class USPS. Only 1,800 passports are printed, so wine lovers are encouraged to purchase them early since they may sell out in advance of the event.

Visit the wine trail’s web site to review group guidelines, tips for traveling the trail, passport program rules, and other event details: www.VinointheValleyLVWT.com (Note: each winery sets its own house rules, policies and procedures.)

Lehigh Valley Wine Trail member wineries are:

• Amoré Vineyards & Winery, Nazareth
• Big Creek Vineyard, Kresgeville
• Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli
• Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville
• Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor
• Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas
• Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown
• Tolino Vineyards, Bangor
• Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville

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. For more information, visit www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com.

Vynecrest welcomes food trucks on weekends in March

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Vino in the Valley passport program event is underway. No worries if you don't have a passport; we are still open to the public for sales and complimentary tastings. If you do have a passport, come on in, head right downstairs to have your passport stamped and get your food pairing.

To escape the weekend crowds, don't forget we are open every day until 5 pm and open until 5:30 on Fridays. Fresh bread is available Friday through Sunday. Stop in Friday after work to pick up fresh bread, local cheese and local wine.

As a special treat in March, when tasting our Cherry DiVyne wine at the winery, you will be treated to a complimentary chocolate covered pretzel from Billy's Candies. Since so many people will be traveling the Wine Trail in March, we will have small bags of these delicious pretzels available for $5 to take along with you. We will also have boxes of Billy's Easter candy available for sale during March. They are a wonderful small candy company in Temple, Pa. that we are proud to have available here at the winery.

March Specials 
* Wine of the Month - Autumn Gold - 10% off
* 3-Pack of the Month - 3 Niagara for $25

(available at winery only, 3-pack cannot be combined with other offers.)

Upcoming Events

March 19 - Live music in the Vyneskeller - Steve Myers on the baby grand, 1 - 4 pm. Free admission.

March 19 and 20 - Stuffed to the Grills Food Truck - 10 am - 5 pm Saturday, 11 am - 5 pm Sunday

March 26 - Bob-B-Q Food Truck - 10 am - 5 pm

March 27 - Easter Sunday - CLOSED

April 2 and 3 - Bear Creek Spring Wine Festival - noon  - 6 pm both days

April 9 - Live Music in the Vyneskeller - Steve Myers on the baby grand, 1 - 4 pm. Free admission

April 17 - Brunch and a Ball Game - Stuffed to the Grills Food Truck will be dishing out some great food from 11 am - 5 pm and the Phillies will be taking on the Nationals at 1:35 pm.

Glass Half Empty by John Landis

When March arrives I think about St Patrick’s day, spring, Easter, NCAA March Madness and of course the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail’s Vino in the Valley event. This is the 16th year for the ticketed passport program event which features wine and food pairings at each of the nine wineries.

Just for fun, I checked the Internet to see what else happens in March and I found that there are 113 “national holidays” in March including National Mulled Wine Day on March 3. Then there are another 100 state and local “days.”

So if you’re looking for some reasons to come to our winery and celebrate, there is always some special day available. For Vynecrest, March is also the time of year we start bottling some of our 2015 harvest as our 2014 wine supply diminishes. And, in March we will be releasing our No. 37 wine, which represents the best of the best of the reds from our 37th harvest (2014). Last year, No. 36 was predominately Merlot; No. 37 will be predominately Cabernet Franc.

The start of Vino in the Valley is just a few days away!

Our annual March passport program is starting this coming weekend, March 5 & 6 at all 9 of our wine trail's member wineries.

Online passport sales ended last week but a limited number of passport remain for sale at:

• Amore
• Blue Mountain
• Clover Hill
• Pinnacle Ridge
• Tolino 

Passports are $35. You can pick them up this week, or this weekend if there are any left by then. Call ahead before visiting one of these wineries to ensure they still have passport left to sell you.

Read the Passport Program Rules before heading out, as well as our Tips for Traveling the Trail here.  One of those tips is that we recommend you plan on visiting no more than three wineries a day so you can get the most enjoyment out of your experience without being rushed. DO NOT try to visit all 9 wineries in one day. You will be too rushed and need to allow for time to drive from winery to winery safely. And of course, remember to always have a Designated Driver.

Group Guidelines:

No commercial vehicles of any type (buses, limos, vans, etc.) are allowed at the 9 member wineries during weekends in March. If you are traveling by car with a group of 8 or more people, appointments, scheduled in advance, are required at each winery you plan to visit.

Food and Wine Pairings:

Review the list of what each winery has planned for its food and wine pairings each weekend here, and then plan which wineries you will be visiting each weekend.

Where to pick up your passport holder gift: 

On the top left corner of your passport is a passport number. It correlates to a chart entitled "Pick up your gift" on the front of the passport. Check the chart to find out at which member winery you are to pick up your gift.

10 Important Things to Know about Vino in the Valley

If you are new to this annual event, or even if you've participated in it in the past, check out our blog post offering even more tips and advice to make it a great experience.

FYI - We will be launching a redesigned web site this Friday that is mobile friendly to make it more helpful when you are viewing it on a smart phone.

10 important things to know about Vino in the Valley Passport Program

Below are a few things to know about our annual Passport Program.

If you are new to this event, please take a moment to also read the five steps that explain how the program works and our tips for traveling the trail HERE.

1. The event takes place at all nine of our wineries weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) in March. Winery hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon - 5 p.m. on Sunday. HOWEVER: our wineries will all be closed on Sunday 3/27 for the Easter holiday. So the last weekend of the event is only one day - Saturday 3/26. 
2. Online passport sales close on Friday 2/26, so place your order soon! Passports are mailed out via first class USPS and need 3-4 days to arrive in the mail prior to the starting weekend of the event. You MUST have a passport to use for the event. Printing out an online receipt for your passport order will not work.
3. Passports can also be purchased in person (cash or check only please) at our member wineries. HOWEVER: wineries are starting to sell out of their supplies of passports. Big Creek and Blue Mountain are already sold out. So be sure to call ahead before going to a winery to buy passports just to make sure they still have some left to sell to you!
4. Write your name on your passport as soon as you get it and record your passport number somewhere in case you lose it at one of our wineries. This way we can return it to you!
5. Pick up your passport holder gift - a t-shirt and logoed wine glass - at the winery indicated by the number on the top corner of your passport. There is a small chart on the front of the passport that correlates passport numbers to wineries. It indicates which winery you should collect your gift at. 
6. Wine and food pairings at each winery are tasting sized, so they are small. They are just meant to be a sample of each. Please do not expect large portions or a small meal. Review the list of pairings HERE. 
7. Start at any winery and visit the rest in any order you wish. Consider planning out your visits in advance based on your favorite food and wine pairings each weekend. 
8. Get your passport stamped at each winery you visit. When you have collected at least 8 stamps, fill out the contact information on the bottom front of the passport, tear it off and turn it in at the last winery you visit. This will get you entered into a Grand Prize Drawing to win wine trail gift certificates. 
9. Please expect the wineries to be VERY busy! Saturdays are busier than Sundays in general, and the first two weekends of the event tend to be busier than the last two are.
10. If you will be traveling with a group, please be sure to review the Group Guidelines HERE before heading out.

Chocolate and Wine pairing weekends continue at Galen Glen and Tolino

If you missed Valentine's Weekend at our wineries, there's still time to enjoy chocolate and local wine pairings at two of our wineries this weekend and next.

Galen Glen -

Seduce your taste buds with a wine and chocolate adventure. The winery owners invite you to indulge in their Triple-Treat of three decadent chocolate truffles with a 3-ounce glass of wine for $3. Lancaster chocolatier, Steve Evans, has created more truffles with Galen Glen wine.

Tolino Vineyards -

Each weekend in February the winery is partnering with a different local chocolatier to offer a free chocolate and wine pairing with the purchase of a premier tasting. The winery also has free live music from 1 - 4 p.m. each Saturday.

Vino in the Valley

Also, just a reminder that Vino in the Valley online passport sales end next Friday 2/26. Supplies are getting low so place your order soon. Or stop by one of our wineries this weekend or next week and pick up your passport in person. (Note: Blue Mountain and Big Creek are sold out.)

Join us in 2015 for our six annual wine trail events!

We're excited to announce the following 2015 schedule of events. All events are free except for Wine on the Mountain and the Vino in the Valley Passport Program, which requires the purchase of a ticket and an event passport, respectively. Event hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon – 5 p.m.

• Vino in the Valley – weekends only, March 7 – 29 – (formerly known as the March Passport Program) Customers purchase a $35 passport for access to wine and tasting-sized food pairings at each winery during the four weekends of March. Passports are stamped during each visit and are entered into a drawing for prizes. Passport holders also receive a wine backpack as this year’s gift. Passports are currently on sale at member wineries and online via Eventbrite.

• Spring Wine and Cheese Event – May 16 and 17 – Taking place mid-spring, this event has a “Wine and Cheese from Around the World” theme. Each winery will select one of its wines to pair with the perfect cheese from a different country and will offer complimentary tastings of the pairing to wine lovers who will explore how the texture, acidity, fat and tannin compliment or contrast each other. Guests will also learn tips to help them skillfully develop their own pairings.

• Wine on the Mountain – July 25 and 26 - Held at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, this wine festival includes wine sampling, 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 in advanced at each winery or online, as well as at the door the days of the event.

• Harvest Weekend – The Butcher, The Baker and The Winemaker – September 12 and 13 –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 17 and 18 - Taking place after the harvest is over, this event celebrates the “official wine grape of the Lehigh Valley,” the Chambourcin. It is the only wine grape grown by all nine of our member wineries. In the greater Lehigh Valley, there are more than 40 acres of Chambourcin, which ferment into 150,000 bottles of wine. Chambourcin is very versatile, and the wineries craft it into several styles of wine including nouveau, rosé, semi-sweet, sweet, dry barrel aged, sparkling and port.

• Nouveau Weekend – November 21 and 22 - This is the earliest chance to sample the first wines from the new vintage. It’s also an opportunity to purchase wines for the upcoming holiday season to give as gifts or to drink at dinner. 2016 Vino in the Valley passports go on sale this weekend.

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. www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com

Members include:
• Amoré Vineyards and Winery, Nazareth
• Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville
• Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli
• Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery, Breinigsville
• Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor
• Galen Glen Vineyard and Winery, Andreas
• Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown
• Tolino Vineyards, Bangor
• Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville

The Lehigh Valley region is an official American Viticultural Area as designated 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. In order to receive the designation a least 85% of the grapes used to make local wines must be grown within the region. Wineries in the region are permitted to list “Lehigh Valley” as the growing region on their labels.

Taste first wines from the recent harvest at Nouveau Weekend

The nine wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will debut their first wines from the 2014 vintage next weekend, November 15 and 16, during Nouveau Weekend, the last Wine Trail event of the year.

Wineries will also feature food and wine pairings for visitors to sample. Nouveau wines are bottled very young, without barrel aging, and are light, fruity and semi-dry to dry red wines.

Nouveau Weekend is a great opportunity to purchase wine to give as holiday gifts or to complement holiday meals. Event hours at all of the wineries are Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon – 5 p.m. Nouveau Weekend is a free event, however some wineries charge for wine tastings.

Passports for the 2015 Vino in the Valley Program (formerly known as the March Passport Program) go on sale that weekend at the member wineries as well as online. Passports are $35 each. A limited supply of passports is printed, so event-goers are encouraged to purchase them early. 

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. For more information on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, visit www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com.

NOUVEAU WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS

Amore – will pair meatballs in marinara sauce with a new release of Red Rapture.

Big Creek - will release its traditional Nouveau Marquette and slice some of their favorite Nouveau-worthy cheeses.

Blue Mountain - will feature a traditional French dish called Pot au Feu, or "pot on the fire," a hearty stew-like French peasant dish of beef and vegetables paired with their 2014 Nouveau wine.

Clover Hill - Be the first to taste their newest, limited edition, release - Strawberry Niagara. This wine is a blend of fresh, grapey flavors and bright strawberries.

Franklin Hill - will release their 2014 Seyval Blanc, which is crisp and citrusy with hints of honey. They’ll offer complimentary tastings in their wine cellar and baked goods from Buttercup Bakery.

Galen Glen – will pair an exotic Moroccan Turkey Soup with an aromatic, award-winning wine. We will have the recipe available for everyone looking to use those Thanksgiving leftovers in a fun and unique way.

Pinnacle Ridge - will feature an Eggplant Bruschetta "Caviar" paired alongside their limited-release "NuVo."

Tolino - will offer a complimentary food and wine pairing of their Chardonnay with smoked salmon chowder. The winery will also offer warm, spicy mulled wine for purchase by the glass, as well as live music from 1-4 pm both days.

Vynecrest – Vynecrest Winery will feature the release of its 2014 Nouveau Beaujolais, the first wine from the 2014 harvest, made from the traditional Gamay Beaujolais grape, 100% Lehigh Valley grown and produced. The winery will pair it with Festive Dip from Sugar 'n Spice featured on a toasted baguette along with sharp cheddar cheese from September Farms. The Festive Dip Mix is a gourmet dip with pieces of vegetables.

Pinnacle Ridge celebrates recent awards while gearing up for the March Passport Program

The Wine Trail event season is about to begin and we look forward to seeing a lot more of you (and a lot less of this snow) very soon!

The results from the 2014 PA Farm Show are in. Pinnacle Ridge wines placed very well this year. Our 2012 Chambourcin Rosé, 2012 Traminette, 2012 Cayuga and 2012 Vidal Blanc all were awarded Silver medals. Three of our reds were also recognized as award winners: 2012 Chambourcin, 2012 Merlot and 2012 Cabernet Franc also came home with some hardware. Thank you to all of those involved in the wonderful event and for all of your support.

March Passport Program
The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will present its annual March Passport Program during the first four weekends in March. There are still passports available for sale in our Tasting Room.

$35 gets you access to all eight of the member wineries. Enjoy signature food and wine pairings at each of the locations, as well as tasting flights. Here at Pinnacle Ridge, our theme will be "On a Stick" and we will be featuring a series of fondues as well as a delicious Coq au Vin. Below is the menu for each of the weekends:

• March 1 & 2: Chicken Club Fondue, made with our Dry Riesling paired with our new 2013 Dry Riesling OR our award-winning 2012 Cayuga.
• March 8 & 9: Goat Cheese Fondue, made with our award-winning Traminette paired with our award-winning 2012 Traminette OR our 2012 Syrah.
• March 15 & 16: Beef & Chicken Coqau Vin, made with award-winning Chambourcin and served with a Garden Herb Aioli Sauce paired with our award-winning 2012 Chambourcin OR 2012 Quaff.
• Marc 22 & 23: Bananas Foster Fondue paired with our 2012 Niagara OR the soon-to-be-released Blanc de Blanc.

Everyday Oenophile: A Winemaker Uncorked
In this edition of Everyday Oenophile: A Winemaker Uncorked, we will be discussing some of things we are currently working on here in the cellar with owner/winemaker, Brad Knapp. In the last newsletter, we got to learn about Brad and how his passion for wine became the dream that we all now share with him here at Pinnacle Ridge. This time, we are going to discuss some of the styles of wine that Brad is passionate about.

Brad's core philosophy for white winemaking is a very Germanic one; an approach to wine that both captures and highlights the fruit. These wines are done in stainless steel and bottled young, so as to provide a little "spritz & zing" on the tongue, as he likes to put it. Currently, we are taking care of the new wines in the cellar. Brad has spent the last few days and weeks topping off barrels, checking sulfites, racking, filtering and preparing to bottle.

Josh and Brad have also been spending much of their time working on the preparation of our soon-to-be-released Blanc de Blanc, a sparkling wine made from Cayuga and some more of our Brut Rosé for bottling. The process of making Sparkling Wine is a labor intensive one. Below are links to two videos that will explain some of the work that goes into the production of these bubbly treats:

This first video provides a general description and explains the process from start to finish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEJG45N-quU

This video is a brief overview of how each step in the process is done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRNy7BxSHe0

This last video briefly explains the process of riddling & dégorgement: http://vimeo.com/channels/269021

So I asked Brad, "Why sparkling wine? What made you want to do this for your business?" I wondered why he would utilize such a detail oriented process that required him to be out in a cold storage room in January picking up bottles out of an ice bath. "Well, I like to drink them," he replied with a laugh. "I learned from a father of one of my friends while I was at the University of Wisconsin and started practicing with them then."

Brad says that he likes to stick to the traditional methods and varieties when it comes to his sparkling wine, but that he prefers to express a softer side in his style of bubbly. "We have a warmer climate here than in Champagne," he explains. As a result, we generally have less acidity in our fruit and it ripens a little more, so we can harvest the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in early September. The Brut Rosé (pictured below) has just been released and is made with an old-world flair with aromas of bread dough from the yeast and strawberries from the fruit - 100% Pinot Noir. Soon to come, our way of paying homage to some of the new-world approaches, like the "New York bubblies" that were traditionally made from Lambrusca, our Blanc de Blanc is made from an American hybrid, Cayuga.