Live Advent Calendar, hashtag contest, extended holiday hours, and more from Franklin Hill

Downtown Bethlehem's Live Advent Calendar
A different Downtown Business is featured nightly in the Live Advent Calendar. The door of the 1810 Goundie House at 505 Main St. opens at 5:30 p.m. and guests are entertained in a unique and festive way.

Franklin Hill Vineyards will be opening the door TONIGHT, December 17. Warm up with some hot mulled wine while you enjoy the Lehigh Valley Harmonizers singing your favorite carols in the street.

TABLEWINE # COMP
Want to win a FREE CASE of wine? Include a bottle of our wine on your beautifully set holiday table, take a pic, and put it on a social media site with the hashtag #tablewine. We will be judging your pics on creativity, beauty, wine placement and maybe even on how good it all looks. Have fun and good luck.

We Need Your Vote!
It's that time of year again and Downtown Bethlehem's Doors and Windows of Bethlehem competition is in full force. Our Bethlehem crew has created a door worth your vote. Stop by, check it out and then submit your vote.

EXTENDED HOLIDAY HOURS
Short on time this holiday season? Let us help. Our retail stores will be opening earlier and closing later. So whether we're your first stop or your last, we'll be there for you.

Tannersville & Easton
Mondays - Saturdays: 10 am - 7 pm
Sundays: 11 am - 5 pm

Bethlehem
Mondays - Thursdays: 10 am - 8pm
Fridays & Saturdays: 10 am - 9 pm
Sundays: Noon - 6 pm

The Perfect Holiday Martini
We've got a tasty way to impress your holiday guests with this cocktail:

First chill your martini glass.
Then add 3 parts Passion to 1 part Vanilla Vodka.
Dip the rim of your favorite martini glass in green colored sugar and garnish with a strawberry.

Galen Glen offers food and wine pairing for Valentine's Weekend

Celebrate romance with someone special on February 16 from 10 am - 5 pm and February 17 from noon - 5 pm. Enjoy a wine and chocolate pairing compliments of the winery.

Our decadent pairing of Galen Glen's Barrel 29 and a bite of Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bar drizzled with Barrel 29 chocolate sauce. A full version of the pairing is also available to purchase.

Chocolate Strata Cake - a Chocolate Lover's Indulgence

Classic Italian chocolate Torta layered with creamy mousse and topped with chocolate ganache and chocolate curls. Share a slice and a glass of wine with your sweetheart. Limited amount available to purchase.


Just in time for your Valentine toast - BLUSH IS BACK!
Both of our blushes are back - Vin Gris, our dry rose and Galah, our sweet blush.

July events at Clover Hill Winery

Summer is in full swing and hopefully you are enjoying this gorgeous season with friends and family while sharing good wine and food! Our favorite summer sipping wines are the 2010 N~Chard, Clover Hill Rosé and Turtle Rock Red. They are perfect for the warm summer days with their fresh, light and clean flavors. Click here for great summertime wine and food recipes and start sipping!

The summer schedule at the winery is full of tours, music and tapas on the patio and even yoga in the vineyard! The vineyard in Robesonia is now open seven days a week: Monday-Saturday, 11 am - 5:30 pm and Sunday from noon to 5 pm. Both the Winery in Breinigsville and the Vineyard in Robesonia have beautiful patios where you can enjoy a glass of wine and local cheeses any day of the week! We look forward to your next visit.

Special thanks to the readers of Lehigh Valley Magazine, Clover Hill Winery was once again voted “Best of the Valley 2011 – Best Winery." We are honored!

Owner's Selection

Clover Hill Rosé is a soft, mild taste with floral and fruity flavors. The sweetness is rich and mouth coating. Enjoy a 10% discount on Clover Hill Rosé the entire month of July! Receive a 20% discount on the Owner's Selection when included with case purchases.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday is Senior Day at The Winery in Breinigsville and the Vineyard in Robesonia
Don't forget every Tuesday is Senior Day at the Winery in Breinigsville and the vineyard in Robesonia. Seniors save an additional 10% on wine purchases. Must have a valid ID. Vintage is always cool!

Public Tour  - Breinigsville
Tickets Required; $12 per person, free for under 21

• Saturday, July 16 at noon & 2 pm
• Monday, July 18 at 2 pm
• Saturday, August 13 at noon & 2 pm
• Monday, August 22 at 2 pm

Join Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery for an afternoon of wine tasting, vineyard and winery touring. Enjoy a 1 and a 1/2 hour journey as we explore how we make wine from the grape to the glass. Reservations are required; minors are free. Handicap accessible. For tickets and reservations, please call 610-395-2468.

Wine and Food Tasting
Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market
Saturday, July 9; 11am - 4 pm

Visit the wine shop at the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market for a special wine and food pairing treat. Stop in any time between 11am and 4pm to sample wine and food pairings from various market vendors.

Music & Tapas on the Patio
Breinigsville
Saturday, July 9; 1 - 4:30 pm

Sit back and relax with good wine, food and music. There is no charge to enjoy the music on the patio, but please no outside alcohol and no pets. Tapas style small plates are available for $6 per plate. Reservations for tapas are suggested; please call 610-395-2468. Lehigh Valley performer Craig Thatcher will be performing live.

Tapas Menu:
~ Skewered Chicken Meatballs over cucumber, carrot and chili slaw
~ Grilled Vegetable Napoleon prepared with zucchini, tomato, eggplant, beets, red pepper in a jalapeño basil pesto
~ Slow Roasted beef rolled with cucumber, marinated green onion and garlic served over cucumber, carrot and chili slaw
$6 per plate

Yoga in the Vineyard
Breinigsville
Sunday, July 10; 10 am

Join yoga instructor Jacque Porterfield (from Lehigh Valley Yoga ~ www.lvyoga.com) for a free intro to Ashtanga yoga class.  Beginners are welcome, but please bring a mat (if you have one) and water.  This class will be rain or shine.  Reserve your space on Clover Hill’s Facebook page.

Clover Hill Night at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center
Breinigsville
July 22; 5:30 pm the track opens; 7:30 pm the racing starts!

Clover Hill Winery is proud to be the official wine at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. On July 22, we will be at the Cycling Center doing a mini wine tasting all evening long. We will also have a raffle to enter and prizes to win if you stop by our table! Enjoy a night at the races with a glass of wine in your hand. For more information on the Valley Preferred Cycling Center please visit www.thevelodrome.com. Whenever you are there to watch the racing you can have a glass of Clover Hill wine!

Tapas Tuesday at Bear Creek Mountain
Macungie
Sunday, July 26 ; 6-8:30 pm: reservations required

Beat the heat and stay out of the kitchen by joining Clover Hill Winery at Bear Creek Mountain Resort for an evening of tapas and wine in their Grille Restaurant. The menu will include 5 different tapas, small plates of food, paired with 5 Clover Hill wines. Clover Hill Winery owner, Kari Skrip will be on hand to explain the paired wines with each tapas offered.

The tapas menu includes:

• Sliced Serrano Ham & Fresh Fig Drizzled with Truffle Honey
• Chilled Shrimp in a Smoked Paprika Mayonnaise
• Grilled Calamari with Tomatoes, Leeks and Garlic over Black Pasta
• Veal & Sheep’s Milk Cheese Meatballs with Wild Mushrooms
• Roasted Mussels with Chorizo Oil and Fresh Corn

Reservations are required at $25 per person (inclusive of tax and tip) and limited to 50 guests, so don’t wait to reserve your night out of your kitchen. For more information or to place your reservation go to: www.Bcmountainresort.com.

Lehigh Valley Wine Trail launches a new web site!

The web portal for the Lehigh Valley’s eight wineries that make up the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail has been revamped with a fresh look and improved features.

The new web site, designed by Liz Buck of EB Designs in Reading, highlights the group’s six annual wine-themed events and its social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Taste of the Trail blog. There’s also an e-newsletter signup box on the homepage for the organization’s free monthly emailed information.

Each of the eight member wineries also has its own detailed information page with address, telephone number, web site link, directions, hours, and description. Retail outlet locations and tasting polices are also featured.

Other pages include:
•    Events – overviews of March Madness, Wine in Bloom, Wine on the Mountain at Penn’s Peak, Harvest Weekend, Chambourcin Weekend, and Nouveau Weekend along with dates.
•    Just Pressed – announcements regarding awards, honor and other accolades for the member wineries and the wines they produce.
•    Trail Friends – a list of local restaurants that sell Wine Trail wines, and hotels, inns and B&Bs for overnight accommodations.
•    Media – a section is for the press which includes recent press release announcements.
•    Directions – features a Google map with each winery’s location pin pointed on it. One click on a pin launches the Google Maps application with driving directions from one winery to another.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is a 501c6 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.

Members include:
•    Amoré Vineyards & Winery, Nazareth
•    Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville
•    Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli
•    Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville
•    Franklin Hills Vineyards, Bangor
•    Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas
•    Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown
•    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 75% 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.

Nearly Famous Drink Recipes from Franklin Hill Winery

Ever think of using wine in a cocktail? Elaine Pivinski, owner of Franklin Hill Vineyards in Bangor, offers the following "Nearly Famous Recipes" on her web site using her wines. Try a few and let us know how they turn out!

Mango Tango Martini

3 parts Franklin Hill Vineyards Desire
1 part Vodka (Kettle One, Grey Goose or Ciroc)
Triple sec Liqueur (splash)
1/4 lime
Tang brand drink mix

Rim martini glass with Tang. Pour Desire, vodka, and a splash of Triple Sec liqueur into glass with ice. Squeeze lime into glass. Stir and strain into rimmed martini glass then garnish with an orange slice.

Blueberry Pie Martini

3 parts Franklin Hill Vineyards Bliss
1 part Stoli Vanilla Vodka
Crushed graham crackers

Rim martini glass with graham cracker crumbs. Pour Bliss and vodka into glass with ice. Stir and strain into rimmed martini glass. Top with whipped cream and fresh blueberries.

White Sangria Punch

1 Bottle Franklin Hill Vineyards White Sangria
1 - 2 liter bottle of Sprite soda
1 - 64 oz container orange pineapple juice
1 can of frozen orange juice concentrate
oranges and cherries for garnish
Pour all ingredients into a large punch bowl, add ice. Add sliced oranges and maraschino cherries. Float frozen orange juice concentrate in big scoops in bowl. Invite plenty of friends over and enjoy!

Kate’s Mango Sangria

1 Bottle FHV Desire Wine
24oz. Lemon/lime soda
12oz. Mango sparkling beverage
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
1/3 cup Triple Sec Liquor
1 mango
1/2 papaya
1/2 pineapple
1 apple
1 cup frozen strawberries
3-4 tablespoons fresh mint

Cut fruit in 1” cubes. Mix all ingredients in large punch bowl. Adjust our fruit or try other fruit combinations to create “your” signature sangria. We use Santa Cruz Organic Orange Mango Beverage and lemon lime soda.

Jell-o Shots

4 small boxes (or 2 big boxes) Jell-o brand gelatin
1 cup boiling water
2 cups Franklin Hill Vineyards Wine
48 -1 oz paper cups (available at restaurant supply stores)

Dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. Add Franklin Hill Vineyards Wine (Passion, Desire, Bliss, or Goat). Cool slightly and pour into paper cups. Chill.

Use Franklin Hill wines for great Jell-O shots. Passion with strawberry Jell-O. Desire with apricot or peach Jell-O. Fiesta with Grape or Orange Jell-O. Or invent your own flavor.