Clover Hill plans wine and food inspiration, and vineyard and winery tours for June

First we had bud burst, now flowering in the vineyard and just like that Clover Hill is in full swing of our 38th year of growing grapes. The sun-soaked days make the endless work feel worthwhile. The worry of too much rain or not enough rain make the nights sleepless, but the joy of growing grapes and farming the land is a labor of love for Clover Hill Winery. This is the perfect time of year to visit the winery in Breinigsville and plan a little extra time to enjoy a glass of wine on the patio and toast our 38th growing season.

We would like to thank you for voting us Best of the Valley for 2014. We look forward to your next Clover Hill visit and thank you for enjoying and sharing our wines.

Please note: If you are traveling to the winery in Breinigsville, Schantz Road will be partially closed until July 2015. Please click here to find our available detours.

Owners Selection for June - Vignoles
$10.34 per bottle - Receive an additional 10% discount when included in a case purchase.

Intense and delicate flavors of honey, rose and orange blossom will mingle in your wine glass. The sweet, dessert wine is balanced with rich flavors and striking acidity. Try pairing this wine with a cheese plate after dinner or a rich cheesecake. Find recipes here.

Wine & Food Inspiration at the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmer's Market
Saturday, June 14 from 11 am - 4 pm

Visit the wine shop at the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market for a special wine and food pairing featuring baby back ribs from Billy's Seafood and Rib Shack paired with 2008 Merlot. It is a perfect way to treat Dad for Father's Day.

1st Day of Summer at The Winery in Breinigsville
June 21 & 22

Celebrate the arrival of summer with a glass of Clover Hill wine. Visit the winery in Breinigsville or the vineyard in Robesonia on June 21 or 22 for $4 wine by the glass specials all day. Sip a glass of wine on our patio and welcome summer!

2014 Vineyard & Winery Tour Series at The Winery in Breinigsville
June 21 at 1 and 2 pm

Join Clover Hill Winery for an inside look at our vineyards and production facility. Let us show you our winemaking process from the grape to the glass. The tour is approximately 1 ½ hours long and includes wine tasting along the way. Reservations are required and space is limited. Under 21 is free and we are handicap accessible. For reservations please call 610-395-2468. Tour tickets are $12 per person, under 21 is free.

Spiced Winter Red is back at Vynecrest just in time for fall

The 2012 Harvest at Vynecrest should wrap up this week barring any unforeseen events. It's going to be another great vintage. It is now time to set our sights on the holidays. Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem opens in just a few weeks on November 15. Be sure to visit our wine booth there!

October Specials

• Wine of the Month - Spiced Winter Red, additional 10% off
• 3 Pack of the Month - 3 Vignoles for $25**

**at winery only, 3 pack can't be combined with other discounts

Upcoming Events

• October 13 - Live Music in the Vyneskeller, Arianne , 1:30 - 4:30 pm
• October 20 & 21 - Chambourcin Weekend - We will be pairing our 2011 Chambourcin with a Wild Rice & Chick Pea Salad with dried cranberries. Its a perfect Autumn side dish, recipes will be available. Art's Acoustic Oldies performing in the Vyneskeller on Saturday from 1:30-4:30 pm. Public is welcome, free of charge.
• October 27 - Live Music in the Vyneskeller, Valerie Borman , 1:30 - 4:30 pm
• October 28 - Jazz Sunday, Live jazz in the Vyneskeller, Body & Soul, 1-4 pm
• November 3 - Live Music in the Vyneskeller, Connie Edinger , 1:30 - 4:30 pm

Glass Half Empty by Malachi Duffy

As we near the end of the 2012 harvest season, I thought some of our readers might like an inside look at what harvesting grapes is REALLY like.

Gone are the days of grape stomping a la "I Love Lucy." Our harvest days typically start at 7 a.m. Our vineyard crew immediately begins picking the grapes, placing them into the yellow lugs (bins) that we placed out in the vineyard the night before. John, Sam and I prep the equipment for the day which includes a press, crusher/destemmer, pumps, hoses, etc.

By 8 a.m. the first round of lugs are ready for pick up. After a quick round of rock, paper, scissors between Sam and I, one of us hops up onto the tractor (winner) while the other climbs onto the attached wagon eager to pick up the 30 pound lugs (loser). The wagon holds 72 lugs, so each trip nets us about one ton of grapes.

From there it's back to the crush pad, the concrete slab outside the wine cellar (it just sounds cooler to call it a crush pad) where we unload the grapes into the crusher/destemmer. This machine takes the grapes off the stems and uses rollers to lightly crush the grapes. The result of this process is a combination of juice and crushed skins known as must that gets pumped into the press.

Next comes round two of grape pick up (Sam does the heavy lifting this time) to again fill the wagon and take another one ton load back for processing. Once these grapes are crushed, the must is combined with the first batch to fill the press and we begin the hour-long process of pressing the must to extract as much pure juice as we can. (Notice, there are no bare feet involved in this process).

By the time the day is done, the above-mentioned tasks have been repeated over and over until all the lugs for the day have been collected and processed. On average, each day of harvest brings in about 500 lugs which yields about 1,000 gallons of wine once the juice has been fermented. Our day finishes with a marathon cleaning session to hose down all of the equipment and lugs in preparation for the next day of harvest. When all is said and done, Vynecrest will harvest just over 5,000 lugs of grapes during the 2012 season. That's a lot of rock, paper, scissors.

Vynecrest announces new satellite location in Kutztown

We are excited to announce the grand opening of our new satellite store in Kutztown. We will be opening our doors Friday, March 30 at noon. Located on Main St, directly across from the Kutztown Tavern, our normal hours will be Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. We will offer our full selection of wines and wine accessories, as well as a place to sit and enjoy a glass of wine. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail's March Madness is in full swing at Vynecrest. While it is going on there will not be live music until March 31, but the Vyneskeller is still open. Have you enjoyed a visit to our Vyneskeller yet? The folks in this photo sure are having a good time there!




New Releases:

• 2011 Vignoles
• 2011 First Blush

March Specials:

• Wine of the Month - Traminette*
• 3 Pack of the Month - 3 Summertime Red for $25.00*

*at winery only, 3 pack specials cannot be combined with other discount offers

Upcoming Events:

• March 31 - Live Music in the Vyneseller, Chuck Schubert, 1:30 - 4:30 pm
• April 7 - Live Music in the Vyneskeller, Alison and the Rotten Apples, 1:30 - 4:30 pm
• April 8 - Closed for Easter
• April 14 - Live Music in the Vyneseller, Jake Kaligis, 1:30 - 4:30 pm
• April 14 & 15 - Bear Creek Spring Wine Festival, 1 pm - 5 pm both days
• April 21 - Live Music in the Vyneseller, Connie Edinger, 1:30 - 4:30 pm
• April 28 - Live Music in the Vyneseller, Mike Pilgermayer, 1:30 - 4:30 pm
• April 29 - Jazz Sunday, Live Music with Andy & Dan, 1:30 - 4:30pm