Pinnacle Ridge offers wine pairing recommendations for Thanksgiving

We are excited to release these new vintages on November 14:

2014 Pinot Noir
2014 Cabernet Franc

Sadly, these vintages have sold out:

2014 Riesling
2013 Pinot Noir
2013 Cabernet Franc

Nouveau Weekend
November 21, 10 am - 5 pm
November 22, noon - 5 pm

Or as we say at Pinnacle Ridge, NuVo! This is a free Lehigh Valley Wine Trail event, in which each vineyard will be debuting a Nouveau (young) wine. Ours is made from 2015 Chambourcin - and as quantities are limited, it'll only be available for a few weeks.

All weekend long, our chef Dominick will be serving a hearty fennel/cranberry sausage stuffing, to pair with the Nouveau wine. (Or for a semi-sweet option, our red blend Quaff is also available.) We hope this selection will inspire everyone with thoughts of Thanksgiving dinner.

The Nouveau tradition originates in the Beaujolais region of France, where vintners are known to debut a young wine, aged only a few months, on the third Thursday of November. This is to celebrate the end of harvest - as well as provide a foretaste of the vintages soon to come.

Thanksgiving Recommendations

It's that time of year again when families gather around the table and give thanks for good food (and good drinks!).

If you are looking for a wine to pair with your Thanksgiving meal, we would recommend our 2013 Chardonnay.

If your palate leans more toward reds, however, you may find our 2013 Chambourcin or 2014 Pinot Noir livening up your feast.

Come and pick up your wines early. The weekend before Thanksgiving, we will be quite busy hosting our NuVo weekend, so it may be worth your while to stop in before then. (We are closed on Thanksgiving day, November 26.)

Saying thanks while getting ready to shop!

At Thanksgiving we are reminded of how appreciative all of our eight member winery owners are for our loyal customers who not only purchase our wines but also advocate for our wineries and for buying local. It is thanks to your continued support that our wine trial continues to be successful. Thank you for coming back time after time and helping us spread the word!

Many of our wineries have begun extended holiday hours at their wine tasting rooms and wine shoppe locations. Be sure to call ahead or visit their web sites before heading out.

Here are a few highlights of what some of the wineries have planned for this coming weekend:

Galen Glen - Black Friday Sale
November 29 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Once a year, we put the winery on sale. 15% off case sales only. Custom label orders and shipped orders are not included. All wine must be purchased at the winery day of sale.
ONE DAY ONLY. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Blue Mountain - Black Friday specials
at the winery and all locations

$2 off  all rhinestone shirts
$2 off all rhinestone aprons
$1 off all T-shirts

Clover Hill - Shop Small Saturday

Saturday, November 30

All Clover Hill locations and at www.cloverhillwinery.com

Eat, Drink and Buy Local! Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery would like to thank you for choosing to "Shop Small’ and supporting our family owned and operated winery. Please enjoy 10% off any 6 or more bottles and 20% off 12 or more bottles on Shop Small Saturday only. Go ahead, stock up for the holiday and thank you for Shopping Small. 

Blue Mountain Christmas Open House
December 7
5 - 9 pm

Please join us for some Christmas Cheer! This event is our way of saying thank you to our customers. Enjoy our delicious wines accompanied by hors d'oeuvres while listening to live entertainment in our beautiful glass-enclosed deck kept warm and cozy by our fireplaces.

Galen Glen - Santa Visits

Saturday, December 7

We will again be collecting for Toys-for-Tots, so please bring an unwrapped toy or a monetary donation to help those less fortunate.  Bring your camera for a photo with Santa too.

Clover Hill recommends wines to pair with Thanksgiving dinner

We completed our 36th grape harvest at Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery in mid-October and what a dramatic vintage it was! Overall, we are quite pleased with the harvest; in particular the late ripening varieties such as Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chambourcin. Your first opportunity to taste any of this year’s wines will be spring 2014. In the meantime, winemaker John Skrip III is busy working in the winery transforming grapes into wine.

Now, let’s talk turkey. Choosing the right wine to serve for Thanksgiving should be an easy task. Let’s start with what NOT to serve. We suggest staying away from the full body, big oak wines and also the very sweet and grapey wines. Too much oak or too much grape flavor will overpower the food. In order to enhance the food flavors, opt for a lighter, more delicate white or red wine. 

Some of our favorite Clover Hill wine suggestions would include:

• Riesling ~ we make two styles of Riesling: a dry and a semi-sweet white. Both wines are rich in peach, apricot and honey characteristics and make a perfect Turkey pairing.
• 2009 Sangiovese ~ this is a lighter body, dry red wine with soft hints of oak. Light enough to pair with turkey, but has enough body to go well with all the side dishes.
• Turtle Rock Red ~ 100% Chambourcin, stainless steel fermented and just a hint of sweetness. The perfect red wine for turkey.
• Vignoles ~ exudes sweet, luscious and rich flavors of honey and orange blossoms. This is our favorite choice to serve with pumpkin pie after dinner.

We would like to wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with good food, good company and great wine. Thank you for choosing to drink local and for serving a Clover Hill wine this Thanksgiving.

Owner's Selection

Save 10% on your purchase of Spiced Apple during the month of November. Spiced with just the right blend of cinnamon and cloves - reminiscent of mom's apple pie. Excellent for braising pork or poultry. Can be served warm as a mulled wine; or serve cold as is or with soda and a squeeze of lime. Now only $9.45.

Find Spiced Apple Recipes Here. 

Allentown Fairgrounds Farmer's Market

Saturday November 9 from 11 am - 4 pm

Visit the Clover Hill Wine Shop at the  Allentown Fairgrounds Farmer's Market for a special wine and food pairing featuring General Tso's Chicken Meatballs from Culinary Experts paired with the Clover Hill Riesling.

Buck A Bottle Shipping Special

shop.cloverhillwinery.com

November 14-17

Let us help you share Clover Hill wines this Thanksgiving with friends and family across the USA. We will ship your favorite Clover Hill wines for just A BUCK A BOTTLE shipping. Purchase 12 or more bottles and you will also receive a 10% discount on your wine. Use the coupon code $1SHIP at checkout. 

Generations Wine Tasting

November 28-December 1

All Clover Hill locations

Visit any Clover Hill location to sample our limited release Generations wines. Sampling will include:

• 2012 Generations Riesling – a dry Riesling
• 2012 Generations N-Chard – a dry, unoaked Chardonnay
• 2012 Generations Three – a dry, red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot

Shop Small Saturday

Saturday, November 30

All Clover Hill locations and at www.cloverhillwinery.com

Eat, Drink and Buy Local! Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery would like to thank you for choosing to "Shop Small’ and supporting our family owned and operated winery. Please enjoy 10% off any 6 or more bottles and 20% off 12 or more bottles on Shop Small Saturday only. Go ahead, stock up for the holiday and thank you for Shopping Small. 

Receive an additional 10% discount when included in a case purchase! 

It's Muller Time this weekend at Galen Glen Winery

It's Muller Time! (Our wine slang for warm, spiced wine.)
November 3 and 4

Wishing you a safe return to everyday life after the storm. Visit us for a taste of mulled Claret wine, which has been transformed into a warm, spicy and sweet delight, and you'll leave warm and smiling!

Upcoming Events:

Love Hot Dog
November 11
Lobster rolls, sausages & dogs

Thanksgiving Weekend
November 17 and 18
Amazing corn chowder with Riesling

Black Friday Sale
November 23 from 10 am - 5 pm
Once a year, we put the winery on sale. 15% off case sales only. Custom label orders and shipped orders are not included. All wine must be purchased at the Winery day of sale. ONE DAY ONLY. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Regular winery hours:
Friday: Noon - 5 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday: Noon - 5 pm

Winery hours for the holiday season:
Open every day from Friday, November 16 through Monday, December 31
Sunday through Friday: Noon - 5 pm  and Saturday: 10 am - 5 pm
Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day (Special exceptions: Christmas Eve and New Years Eve - 10 am - 3 pm)

Thanksgiving food and wine pairing recommendations

Thanksgiving is a great time to buy local by serving Lehigh Valley wines with your family's meal. Here are some food and wine pairing suggestions from our wineries, as well as their Wednesday business hours for last minute wine sales. All wineries are closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Vynecrest - Young and fruity Vynecrest Nouveau Beaujolais is a great wine to serve with turkey. Vynecrest is open from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Galen Glen - Try their semi-dry Riesling, dry Vidal Blanc or - if you’re looking for the WOW – the 2010 Gewurztraminer, which is the Best White Wine by a woman winemaker. They are open on Wednesday from noon - 5 p.m.

Clover Hill -

• Riesling ~ whether you choose the dry Generations Riesling or the semi-sweet Riesling the bright peach and apricot flavors with strong acidity is a classic white wine to pair with your Thanksgiving foods.
• Pinot Noir ~ The Generations Sparkling Pinot Noir will be sure to make your holiday table sparkle. The dry, red Pinot Noir is the classic red wine pairing with the turkey, stuffing and more.
• Vignoles ~ Serving this sweet, late harvest wine is the perfect accompaniment to your pumpkin pies and other desserts. 

They are open Wednesday from 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Amore - For pairing with white meat go with Gregg's Gregio and Vidal Blanc. With dark meat, try Blushing Beauty or Rose Amore.

Franklin Hill - Try the 2011 Seyval Blanc, White Jade (which is slightly dryer with a hint of oak) or their Kiss wine to pair with your Thanksgiving turkey. Serve their Pomegranate Peach wine as a martini with appetizers. It was just awarded a Gold medal at the 5th Annual International Women's Competition.
The winery is open until 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, and the Easton and Tannersville locations until 7 p.m.

Pinnacle Ridge - Traminette is a great pairing for the traditional holiday meal since it has enough structure and "stuffing" to hold up to the bold flavors of stuffing and cranberry relish.  Alternatively, a light red like their 2009 Chambourcin would work perfectly well. They will be open from noon - 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Blue Mountain - Their 2011 Nouveau is very soft on the pallet with hints of strawberry and cherry and will be a great compliment to Thanksgiving meals. Mountain Spice (an apple wine) is wonderful this time of year. Heat it up slowly in a crock pot or on the stove and add half cup of brown sugar per bottle. They are open 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Big Creek Winery - will be open on Wednesday from noon - 5 p.m.

Thanksgiving wine offerings from Clover Hill Vineyards

The Skrip family, owners of Clover Hill Vineyards in Breinigsville, recently shared their wine pairings for Thanksgiving Day in their November e-newsletter. What local wines will be on your holiday table?

The air has turned cold, the leaves have fallen, and our grapevines are beginning their deep sleep through the winter months, but the same is not true for the winery side. John, our winemaker, is busy in the winery working on the beautiful 2010 wines. The rest of the Clover Hill family is preparing for the holidays. Below are the Skrip Family wine suggestions in preperation for Thanksgiving.

Pat Skrip will be drinking Sparkling Pinot Noir this Thanksgiving. Why, because it is now back in stock. Also because Pat drinks bubbles with just about everything. She loves to celebrate life with a glass of sparkling wine.

John Skrip Jr. will be sipping Turtle Rock Red with his turkey. You can’t select a better wine to pair with your turkey, cranberry relish and stuffing. Serve your Turtle Rock slightly chilled and it is certain to please everyone in the crowd.

John Skrip III has a sweet tooth and no doubt he will be heading to the pumpkin pie served with a glass of Vignoles. This luscious dessert wine is a match made in heaven with pumpkin pie, apple pie and other delicious desserts.

Kari Skrip will have her glass filled with the Generations Riesling which is also recently released. This dry, zesty Riesling is powerful enough in flavor to stand up to all the different foods served.

All of us at Clover Hill wish you a joyous Thanksgiving. We are honored to have a Clover Hill wine grace your table full of friends, family and love.

Owner's Selection for November:
Enjoy a 10% discount on Cabernet Sauvignon.
Big, flavorful and ready to knock your socks off! Rich oak flavors of vanilla and spice mingle with ripe fruit flavors of raspberry, blackberry, and cherry. Pairs well with grilled steak topped with sauted mushrooms. Receive a 20% discount on the Owner's Selection when included with case purchases.

What's going on this holiday season at Galen Glen

Here's the latest from Sarah and Galen at Galen Glen Winery in Andreas. 

Thanksgiving Greetings!
This weekend, try our Riesling with authentic Pennsylvania German Potato Filling and Gravy.
Hours: Saturday, November 20 from 10 am -5 pm and Sunday, November 21 from noon - 5 pm.

Let our winery family help you select the perfect wine for your Thanksgiving Meal!

Black Friday Sale!
November 26 from 10 am - 5 pm.
Once a year, we put the winery on sale. 15% off case sales only. Custom label orders and shipped orders are not included. All wine must be purchased at the Winery day of sale. ONE DAY ONLY. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Winery hours for the Holiday Season:

• Open every day beginning Friday, November 19 through January 2, 2011
• Sunday through Friday noon - 5 pm and Saturday 10 am -5 pm
• Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day
• Special Exceptions: Christmas Eve and New Years Eve - 10 am -3 pm