This weekend's winery events - live jazz, cupcakes and wine, and dinner in a vineyard!

This Sunday, May 31 at Vynecrest - Jazz Sunday: live music in the Vyneskeller from 1-4 pm. FREE.

May 30 at Blue Mountain Vineyards
Run The Vineyards 5K

Run the beautiful and scenic trail course through the vines of Blue Mountain Vineyards. The 5K is a course with chip timing and online results. There are awards for Top 3 Overall and Age Group winners. There is a tech shirt and wine glass for all participants. We'll also have food vendors on site. Enjoy post run live music and a tasting at the wine bar. Register online at www.GoodDayforaRun.com.

Wine and Cupcake event this weekend at Galen Glen

Saturday, May 30 - 11 am - 5 pm
Sunday, May 31 - noon - 5 pm

Happiness Cakes from Las Vegas Chef, Natalie Morgan.  Natalie grew up locally in Palmerton and is now the Executive Pastry Chef at Portafino and Tom Colicchio’s Heritagesteak.  She will be in the tasting room for a meet & greet from 11am to 1pm on Saturday, May 30th.  Both days we will be selling her “Happiness Cake Pops” made from our award-winning Riesling wine paired with 3 ounces of Late Harvest (formerly Erin’s Auslese) for $3.  You may also purchase full-sized versions of the Happiness Cupcake and Natalie’s favorite, Lemon-Blueberry Cupcake for $2.50 while supplies last.

Dinner in the Vines event
Saturday, May 30 at Tolino Vineyards

Like to dine alfresco? How about in a vineyard? Tolino is partnering with DeFranco and Daughters Catering for a family-style Italian meal in the vineyard. Bring your friends and family and dine like you are in Tuscany. $49.95 per person includes two glasses of wine, appetizers, dinner and dessert. Purchase tickets over the phone, in person, or online.

Pinnacle Ridge's Second Annual Case Club Member Barrel Tasting
Sunday, May 31 starting at 3 pm

The case club barrel tasting event will feature a look at our new wines from the 2014 vintage prior to blending and finishing as well as the finished 2013 Veritas. You will also get a chance to taste the Petit Verdot prior to blending.

The 2013 Veritas is a Bordeaux blend that consists of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and for the first time ever Petit Verdot.

Owner/winemaker Brad Knapp will be leading the event to answer any questions you might have about the 2014 vintage. Case Club members will get a chance to purchase the 2013 Veritas before the general public at the end of this event.

VINEYARD TOURS, WINE TASTINGS, AND PA PREFERRED PARTNERS COMBINE FOR ANNUAL HARVEST WEEKEND EVENT

Harvest season is when all of the spring and summer’s hard work pays off for a winery. The grapes they have grown this spring and summer are removed from the vine and their juices extracted for fermenting into the 2014 vintage to be unveiled later this fall.

On Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14, the nine winery members of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will celebrate the grape harvest with its annual Harvest Weekend event during which they will welcome wine lovers for tastings, vineyard and winery tours, food and wine pairings, and live entertainment.

The wineries will also proudly promote the state’s “Pennsylvania Preferred” program by partnering with manufacturers of other Pennsylvania products to showcase their high level of quality. Event hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon - 5 p.m.  Harvest Weekend is a free event, however each winery sets its own wine tasting fee policy. Please refer to each winery’s web site for details.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is a non-profit organization of wineries whose mission is to promote agri-tourism and to create a premier wine destination and grape growing region while promoting Pennsylvania wines from the region. For more information on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, visit www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com.



HARVEST WEEKEND 2014 HIGHLIGHTS

Amoré Vineyards & Winery, Nazareth - The winery will pair Cabaret Amore with eggplant Parmesan.

Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville - Big Creek will showcase fresh fruit from its neighbors at Heckman Orchard along with a sampling of its owner’s favorite cheeses.

Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli – Blue Mountain will partner on Saturday and Sunday with Sweet Finesse, which will offer samples of their unique and artistic handmade chocolate treats and baked goods, as well as items for purchase. Also on Saturday, they will have complimentary live entertainment by Adam Motto from 1 - 4 pm. For Sunday Blues, the acoustic duo Cheek 2 Cheek will perform from 2 - 5 pm ($5 admission). During their visit, guests may take a self-guided walking tour of the vineyard.

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville – The winery is proud to celebrate 29 years in business. As a thank you for your continued support the owners will extend a 29 percent discount on all wines for 29 years of business at all Clover Hill locations.

Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor – Franklin Hill Vineyards will feature a Sangria Bar with a variety of their favorite sangrias from their Friday night Happy Hours. They will also have light snacks and cheese plates for sale as well as tours at noon and 2 pm.

Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas – Celebrate the beauty and bounty of the season. On Saturday the Happy Pita food truck will stop by. On Sunday the Love Hot Dog Co. team will offer their gourmet sausages and dogs, fantastic toppings and lemonade. Plan to purchase a snack to enjoy with a glass of wine while drinking in the spectacular autumn views.

September Vineyard Tours: join the winery’s owners for a complimentary, enlightening walking tour of the vineyard and wine cellar. Tours depart from the tasting room at noon. Please wear sturdy footwear. No reservations required. Tours are held weather permitting.

Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown - The winery will be featuring its 2013 Traminette paired with a local bratwurst with apple cranberry chutney. They will also feature the popular 2013 Quaff with a toasted baguette, local cheese and tomato herb bruschetta topping.

Tolino Vineyards, Bangor - The winery will have live music by Tom Vicario on Saturday from 1 - 4 pm and live music by Joe Benkovic on Sunday from 1 – 4 pm. They will offer vineyard tours at 2 and 4 pm both days. Food pairing will feature local produce from the Easton Farmers Market. They will also pair ginger gold apples with Chardonnay and various soft cheeses from Iron Stone Creamery will be paired with Pinot Grigio and Chambourcin.

Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville - Vynecrest Winery will pair their newly released estate wine, Late Harvest Vidal, with slices of banana roll with cream cheese icing from Hereford Country Store, a fellow Macungie Farmers Market vendor - a Buy Fresh Buy Local market. There will be winemaker tours of the vineyard and wine cellars both Saturday and Sunday at noon, which are open to the public and free of charge.

Vynecrest plans for Mother's Day, Wine in Bloom and Jazz Sunday in May

The vineyard is starting to come back to life after the harsh winter. The vines are pruned and buds are starting to open up. We planted an additional 500 vines last week (Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon). Hopefully the cold weather didn't claim too many vines.

The Vyneskeller is now open seven days a week from 1 - 5 pm. Monday through Friday it is self serve - you can buy everything you need upstairs in the tasting room (wine, cheese, crackers) and take it with you downstairs, on  the patio or out to the picnic tables. Saturday and Sunday it is business as usual with our full staff.





May Specials 


* Wine of the Month - Naked Chardonnay, 10% off 

* 3 Pack of the Month - 3 Vynecrest White for $25.

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

Upcoming Events

May 10 - Mother's Day
We will have live guitar music in our Vyneskeller Wine Bar from 1 - 4pm, and will feature our Blueberry Pomegranate cocktail, made with Vynecrest Pinot Noir and Blueberry wines. We will also offer samples of Sugar 'n Spice Black Raspberry Dip with bite-size graham cookies. A great day out for Mom.

May 17 & 18 - Wine in Bloom along the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail
In addition to the beautiful potted petunias from Amore Greenhouses for the first 25 customers each day, Vynecrest will be doing Winemaker Tours of the vineyard and wine cellar free of charge for the public at noon both Saturday and Sunday.

We have a new PA Preferred Partner - September Farm Cheese from Honey Brook, PA - and we'll be offering samples of many of their delicious cheese in our tasting room along with complimentary wine tastings.

May 25 - Jazz Sunday and Vineyard Tours
In conjunction with Jazz Sunday, featuring live jazz music the last Sunday of every month in our Vyneskeller wine bar, our Winemaker Vineyard & Wine Cellar Tours will be held May 25, June 29, July 27, August 31, and September 28 at noon for $5 per person. Come tour the backlot of Vynecrest where the wine is grown and made, and then taste the finished product.

Glass Half Empty
by Sam Landis

Well we had quite a day yesterday as we christened our new screw cap bottling line. After a thorough five hour tutorial on Tuesday, Malachi and I were confident and primed to dominate 1,000 gallons of Blueberry Wine.

Ten minutes in I was holding five bottles of uncapped wine while the machine was spitting out capsules like a machine gun all over the floor. Suffice to say, we eventually figured it out and like most things around here, three months from now it will feel like it's always been there.

But it got me thinking how far this business has come. Growing up we used to bottle where the current Vyneskellar is. I used to have to recruit friends of mine to help alongside my parents and their friends. I believe we had two bottle washers, three manual hand corkers, two people using hair dryers to melt the caps, three hand labelers with glue, and two people putting away final cases. All told, it took 12 people all day to bottle 100 gallons of wine that looked like it was produced by a third grader.

So there we were yesterday, just Malachi and I, bottling 100 gallons every 25 minutes and it got me thinking: you can upgrade all you want but you can never replace the good old days.

Two big announcements from Galen Glen

Galen Glen Winery in Andreas recently shared two big announcements:

Galen Glen Winery's Stone Cellar Riesling wine was featured in a lecture with Stuart Piggot, famed wine critic, during the Riesling Rendezvous at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington on Monday, July 15. This was a three-day conference that featured wines from all over the world.

Stuart Piggot is a British wine critic and author who has resided in Berlin, Germany since 1993.  He is an expert in the area of German wines. Chateau Ste. Michelle is the largest American producer of Riesling wine. The three-day event celebrates the Riesling grape and Riesling wines from around the country and world. In the program for the event Piggot stated; "2011 Stone Cellar Riesling - Galen Glen/Lehigh Valley/Pennsylvania Eastern Kingdom: I am a great admirer of this small Eastern Pennsylvania winery that (just a two hour drive due west of NYC) is one of the United States' best interpreters of Austrian style Riesling & Grüner Veltliner."

Galen Glen's winemaker, Sarah Troxell stated, "The greatest Riesling winemakers of the world gather every few years to discuss, drink and dream about the future of this magnificent variety. Having our Riesling poured to attendees during Stuart's 'Riesling from Unexpected Places' was a humbling honor."

Galen Glen Winery has been invited to participate in the Six Nations Wine Challenge for the title of the New World Champions. This is the only wine show in the world where the wines are exclusively invited by the judges. A mere 100 wines from the US have been selected to compete and will be judged with wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and Argentina totaling 600 wines.

Galen Glen will be entering the 2012 vintage Stone Cellar Grüner Veltliner. This wine most recently took a bronze medal in the Riverside International Wine Competition, where several other Galen Glen wines took silver, gold and double-gold. It is truly an honor to be invited to participate in a competition of this level.

Dan Berger, author, wine critic, and judge at Riverside stated of the Stone Cellar Grüner Veltliner, "Mineral/slate notes, hints of dried wildflowers and star anise, and a succulent but totally dry entry. This is one of America's most dramatic wines, one that will never be discovered by the number scorers. And it's from a place you would never guess could make a wine this superb. But Sarah Troxell has a deft touch with this Austrian grape and the result is worth ordering from the winery."

This award-winning wine is currently available for tasting at the Galen Glen winery.

Lehigh Valley wineries in the news

A few of our Lehigh Valley Wine Trail wineries have been in the news this month, so we thought we'd share with you a few of the stories:

• Franklin Hill Winery was featured as the Business of the Week by Patch.com for its recently redesigned wine shoppe in the Nazareth area. Click here to read the online article.
• Pinnacle Ridge Winery received a nice write up on their Blues in the Barn event in Berks-Mont Newspapers. The last Blues in the Barn of the season is coming up on Sunday, October 9. Click here to read the article.
• Big Creek Winery and its owner Dominic Strohlein were the focus on this article by food and wine writer Marc d'Entremont for Culinary Travel. Click here to read the story.
• Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery was featured in an article in the The Morning Call on this year's winner of the Clover Hill Cooking with Wine Competition. Click here for the details.
• And while not technically "news," Vynecrest Winery recently unveiled its newest commercial on YouTube. Be sure to watch the spot all the way through to its humorous end!

Wine slushies, awards and special events at Galen Glen Winery

Sale!
Winter Mountain Red -375mL bottles
Two 375mL - $8.50
One 375mL - $5
We are discontinuing our half bottles. Sale applies only to bottles labeled with Galen Glen Winter Mountain Red Label. No custom label orders accepted. While supplies last! 

Forecast this Weekend at Galen Glen: Slushies & Sunshine
Sat., Aug 20 - 10 am - 5 pm
Sun., Aug 21 - Noon - 5 pm

We're making our favorite wine slushies. One taste and you'll know why they are so popular! Purchase a slushy for $3 to sip on our vineyard patio and watch the grapes ripen.

Awards!
GOLD 2010 Claret (our naughty blend of Pinot Noir & Chambourcin)
SILVER 2010 Zweigelt
at the Indy International Wine Comp

New on the Wine List!
2010 Zweigelt
2010 Claret
2010 Gewurztraminer

Upcoming Events:   

September 3, 4 & 5 at the winery
Labor Day Weekend - Walking tour of the vineyard September 3, 4 & 5 at noon. One tour per day. Please wear sturdy foot gear. No reservations required and weather permitting. Monday, Sept. 5 Labor Day hours - 10 am - 4 pm.

September 4 at Hegins Park
3rd Annual Schuylkill County Wine Festival - 1 - 6 pm. Featuring local wines, a delicious variety of local food and entertainment.

September 10 & 11 at Winery
Harvest Weekend - Tractor & Wagon Tours departing at 1, 2, 3 & 4 p.m.