Taste the Grape, Taste the Wine this weekend at Galen Glen

It's harvest time. Have you ever thought about the grapes that make your favorite wines? Join us this weekend for a unique opportunity to taste a grape varietal being harvested this week along with the last vintage of the wine made from that grape.

Weekends during the harvest season, Galen Glen Winery is offering a unique tasting experience for their visitors.  On Saturdays and Sundays in late-September and early-October, the winery is inviting customers to "Taste the Grape, Taste the Wine" by sharing the fruits of their harvest with winery visitors.

Tasting Room Manager Kathy Matson notes, "often when drinking wine one does not think about the actual grape varietal that makes the wine. Not only are we giving our visitors the opportunity to think about the grapes, but we are offering the grape as part of the tasting."

Each weekend during harvest, the winery will offer a sample grape of the varietals being harvested that week along with a complimentary taste of the wine that is produced from that varietal.  

Tour Time

Join us Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm for a guided walking tour of the vineyard. Walking tours are about one hour and one mile in length. You will meander through the vines, to our crush pad and wine cellar and then return to the tasting room. Tours are complimentary and reservations are not required.  We do suggest sturdy footwear.  Tours are given weather permitting. Tours are complimentary, and no reservations are required.

Future tour dates -  October 3 & 4 and 10 & 11

Galen Glen Winery
255 Winter Mountain Drive, Andreas, PA 18211

Are you following on Facebook? Enter our "Fan Friday" contest by Saturday, September 26 to win a new Evolution of Wine T-shirt.  Winner and some big news to be announced on Sunday, September 27.

Vynecrest September wine specials, new wine releases, and harvest update

Harvest update - Traminette has been picked and is in the winery fermenting, and we’ve also finished picking the Pinot Gris and Cayuga. We picked Pinot Noir and crushed it to become a Pinot Noir Dry Rose.

What's new - We have recently released the 2014 Lemberger, Vynecrest White, Vynecrest Red and Riesling.

September Specials 

* Wine of the Month - Summertime Red, additional 10% off 

* Three pack of the month - 3 First Blush for $25

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

September 27 - Vineyard & Winery Tour and Jazz Sunday

Vineyard and Winery tour begins at noon. $5 per person. Tour should wrap up just in time to enjoy some live Jazz music in the Vyneskeller from 1 - 4 pm.

Glass Half Empty by Sam Landis

We started our 39th harvest here at Vynecrest this week and let me tell you there is nothing so romantic, poetic and inspiring as picking, pressing and fermenting the first grapes from a new year's vintage....booooooring.....let's take a quick peak into what "harvest" really is.

Yes, of course there is some inner beauty of growing and producing a future wine right from your own soil. There is the change of seasons and the maturation of the vines from spring through fall. There is the reward of all the hours spent in trying to fine tune 25 acres of grapes each plot of vineyard needing its own specific blueprint. There is the marrying of minds between the Vineyard Manager John and the Winemaker Malachi. There are notes, numbers, graphs and data to ensure the when that stem is clipped and that bunch of grapes falls into our press we have done the best we can for that future wine.

Then there is the other 90 percent of harvest which entails doing the same thing over and over and over. Once all of the intellectual capital is expended harvest really is all about shutting your mind off and becoming a robot. Set up, pick up, lift up, stack up, clean up, repeat. Mind you, this is not that terrible a thing in the least. You would be amazed at how quickly 10-12 hours disappears when you are not tethered to your iPhone, iPad or laptop (which I am as guilty of as anyone). It's actually incredibly liberating and lends itself to the best eight weeks of every year.

When a telemarketer calls to try and set up a meeting I tell them "Sorry, it's harvest season." 

Trash night at my house... "Sorry, it's harvest season." 

Can you do a special free tasting for our club, you will get such great exposure... "Sorry, it's harvest season." 

Sam, you are up on this month's newsletter write up... "Sorry, it's harvest season."

60 percent of the time it works every time.

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.

Clover Hill offers "Buck a Bottle" shipping special May 15-18

We are going to take one last look at this past winter, only because it brought us a rare jem of a wine. We are proud to introduce our Generations Late Harvest Vidal. The grapes were hand harvested on a snowy Saturday in January from "The Point" vineyard, located at the point of Schantz Road and Rt. 863. We gently extracted the juice using an old fashion basket press and began the fermentation process. Fast forward four months and the end result is like sipping liquid gold.

The Generations Late Harvest Vidal has a rich lingering mouth feel with complex and intense flavors of dried oranges and peaches. There is a strong acidic backbone that gives this wine a zesty finish.  Only 40 cases of this wine was produced so hurry, before it is all gone!

We look forward to you visiting a Clover Hill location in the near future. We have a number of fun events planned for the month of May, but if you can’t make a trip to Clover Hill, we are offering a shipping special May 15-18.

Please note: If you are traveling to the Winery in Breinigsville, Schantz Road will be partially closed until July 2015. Follow these directions around the road closure.

Owner's Selection
Save 10% on your purchase of Brut or Cuveé.

Brut : A dry sparkling wine; Brut is produced using the traditional method of making a champagne - Methode Champenoise. Brut showcases an elegant combination of yeasty and fruity flavors and is an excellent paired with smoked salmon or mussels.

Cuveé: Cuveé is a French word that translates to ‘vat full’ or ‘blend’. This Cuveé is effervescent, light and semi-sweet. Try this bubbly with sushi or Sunday brunch quiche.

Buck A Bottle Shipping Special
May 15-18
shop.cloverhillwinery.com

Stock up on Clover Hill wines for the summer and have them shipped right to your door. Purchase 6 or more bottles and you pay only $1 per bottle shipping. Purchase 12 or more bottles and you will also receive a 10% case discount along with $1 per bottle shipping charge.

Spring Fling
The Winery in Breinigsville
June 7 from noon - 5 pm

Join your favorite Breinigsville wineries, Clover Hill and Vynecrest for the Spring Fling. Your ticket includes sampling of 3 new releases at each winery. Visit Vynecrest to taste 3 new wines each paired with a locally made cheese. At Clover Hill you will be sampling 3 wines from the 2013 harvest each paired with a dessert. Tickets are $10 per person. Limited availability. Tickets are now available for purchase at both participating wineries.

2014 Vineyard & Winery Tour Series
The Winery in Breinigsville

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 1½ hours 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. Click here for dates.

Blue Mountain Vineyards featured in next Taste of the Trail video

Joe Greff, owner of Blue Mountain Vineyards in New Tripoli, is interviewed in the next Taste of the Trail video in our new series on our YouTube channel.

Find out about the types of grapes they grow and wines he and his wife Vickie make. And join them for Sunday Blues on the deck this summer!

Warm weather = better grapes at Clover Hill

Grape growing weather

This type of summer is made for growing grapes. The days are warm and dry, evenings have been a little cooler and overall the weather has been relatively dry. During these types of growing conditions, wine grapes will yield less fruit, but the quality will be greater with intense, rich flavors. We are eager to see what this harvest will bring, but right now the vineyards look fantastic.

Owner's Selection - Catawba

A great summertime sipper! Savor the sweet, grapey, and candied flavors of this wine. Don't forget to sniff first to best enjoy the sweet aromas of grapes in the glass. Try it in our wine cake recipe. 

Enjoy a 10% discount on Catawba the entire month of July. Receive a 20% discount on the Owner's Selection when included with case purchases.

2012 Vineyard & Winery Tour Series
Call now to get your tickets

Spend the afternoon sipping and touring Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery. We will share with you our grape growing and winemaking process from start to finish. Please expect to spend 1 ½ hours at the winery for the tour.  Weather permitting we will go into the vineyard. Casual attire is recommended. $12 per person and advance tickets are required. Free for anyone under 21. The tour is handicap accessible.

Tour Dates:

• Monday, July 23 at 2 pm
• Saturday, August 11 at noon & 2 pm
• Monday, August 20 at 2 pm

Music & Tapas on the Patio

Chef Nathan Grube and musician Craig Thatcher will return to Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery on Sunday, August 12 from 1-4 pm. Tapas are available for $6 per plate.