Clover Hill introduces Ruby Port and plans Love Flights for Valentine's Day Weekend

We are excited to share with you our newest wine release: Ruby. This little gem is our first ever port wine modeled after the Ruby Port style. There are numerous different styles of port, but Ruby Port is one of the more common styles. A Ruby Port is produced as a young style port with more fruit forward and vibrant flavors. It tends to have a bright ruby color. Ruby Ports are only fermented in stainless steel tanks and are never sent to barrels for aging.

Ruby is Clover Hill’s first port ever released. Ruby is crafted from 100% Chambourcin grapes. We selected the Chambourcin grape to use for this wine mainly for its brilliant color and intense berry flavors. The grapes were fermented down to a point where approximately half of the sugar was consumed by the yeast and then we added back the high proof alcohol to stop the fermentation.

Clover Hill’s Ruby is a very fruit forward dessert wine, showing rich, ripe berry and jammy flavors and ends with a sweet, warm and soothing finish. Ruby is a perfect after dinner wine or best sipped on a cold winter’s night. We suggest serving this wine in a smaller cordial style glass at room temperature or with a slight chill. Only 574 bottles of Ruby were produced. Due to the limited availability of this wine there is a tasting fee of $3 per 1 ounce sample.

Wine of the Month - Catawba
For the month of February, Catawba is discounted 10% at all Clover Hill locations. Receive a 20% discount on Catawba when included in a case purchase.

Savor the sweet, grapey, and candied flavors of this wine.  Don't forget to sniff first to best enjoy the sweet grapey aroma. Now only $8.54.

Love Flights
February 13, 14, 15 & 16; noon - 5 pm all days
Tickets required: $10 per person; $8 per flight for seniors

The Winery in Breinigsville will host our annual Love Flights as a Valentine's Day celebration. Each flight will include for wines each paired with a sampling of food. There will be a dry wine flight and a sweet wine flight.

Beginner Wine Tasting Class
The Winery in Breinigsville
Saturday, February 20; 2pm
Tickets required: $25 per person

Join us in a beginner wine tasting class. This 1 ½ hour long class will teach you the basics of wine tasting, give you tips on wine and food pairing, and help to answer any wine questions you may have. This class is limited in seats. You must be 21+ years old to attend. Call 610-395-2468 or visit the winery to reserve your ticket. Classes typically sell out in advance so make your reservation now.

Clover Hill Beginner Wine Tasting Class coming up later this month

Owner’s Selection Wine of the Month

For the month of January, Pinot Grigio is discounted 10% at all Clover Hill locations. Receive a 20% discount on Pinot Grigio when included in a case purchase.

Made in the Italian style, this wine expresses crisp fruit flavors and fresh acidity. The aroma is bright with citrus fruits; such as pink grapefruit and lemon. Pairs exceptionally well with steamed clams and mussels. Now only $12.14.

Recipe of the Month

Mint and Citrus White Wine Sangria

Ingredients:
~1 bottle Clover Hill Pinot Grigio
~1 lemon, thinly sliced
~1 lime, thinly sliced
~8-10 mint leaves
~2 Tbsp sugar

Prepare simple syrup by mixing 2 Tablespoons of sugar and 2 Tablespoons of water in a small dish and microwaving for 30-second increments until sugar is dissolved. Alternatively, prepare a large batch on the stovetop using a 1:1 sugar-water ratio and reserve for later use.

Once simple syrup is ready, add 1 Tablespoon to each wine glass. Then add mint leaves and stir/lightly muddle. Next add several slices each of lemon and lime.

Top off with wine and let set for a few minutes so the flavors can meld together. Top off with more wine and citrus as needed.

Upcoming Events

Beginner Wine Tasting Class
The Winery in Breinigsville
Saturday, January 23, 2016; 2pm
Tickets Required; $25 per person
Join us in a beginner wine tasting class. This 1 ½ hour long class will teach you the basics of wine tasting, give you tips on wine and food pairing, and help to answer any wine questions you may have! This class is limited in seats. Tickets are required: $25 per person and you must be 21+ years old. Call 610-395-2468 or visit the winery in Breinigsville to reserve your ticket.

Vino in the Valley Passport Program 
with the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail
The Winery in Breinigsville
March 5 and 6, 12 and 13, 19 and 20, 26, 2016*
(*Please note: Our wineries will be closed on Sunday, March 27 for the Easter holiday.)
Tickets required: $35 per passport – on sale now!

The wine enthusiast knows that March means being out and about touring the 9 wineries along the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail for food and wine pairings, and a month of fun.

The Vino in the Valley Passport Program along the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail involves purchasing a passport for $35 and then planning a strategy to visit each of the wineries during the four weekends in March.

As you visit our nine member wineries you will be offered delicious wine and food pairings (tasting sized) to sample. Your passport will be stamped during each visit and entered into a Grand Prize Drawing for additional prizes once it is completed with stamps from eight of our nine wineries. Each passport holder also receives an event gift.

Tickets can be purchased at all participating wineries and online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vino-in-the-valley-2016-tickets-19335524073.

Since our wineries are all family-owned and operated, we each have our own set of house rules. So please check with individual wineries if you have any questions. We look forward to meeting you on the trail! (Sorry, but we do not offer refunds on already-purchased passports.)

Food trucks come to Galen Glen this spring and summer

Wine Education - Wine Myths and Misconceptions
Sunday, May 3 at 1 pm

$10 per person - Make your reservations now
                                     
Join us on Sunday, May 3rd at 1pm for a wine education event. Wine broker, Mike Schiffman, has designed this class to help you approach wine with a spirit of adventure, rather than fear of the unfamiliar. Mike has found that wine appreciation is much more than knowing geography, grape varietals, appellations, and thinking that the more expensive the bottle, the better the wine. As he says, "without the tasting experience, all the information or knowledge in the world is simply useless." This is sure to be an entertaining and educational tasting experience as you will taste wines from Pennsylvania and Austria.

Seating is limited. Reservations are required. Payment of $10 per person requested at time of reservation.

Call the tasting room at (570) 386-3682 during normal business hours to secure your place for this event. Our last wine education class was a sell-out.

Sarah on stage at The Sands Casino Resort

Get your tickets for the Lehigh Valley Food and Wine Festival online through Ticketmaster or at the Sands box office: Monday - Friday 10 am - 4 pm, Saturday 10 am - 2 pm. Sarah will be speaking on exquisite white wines Saturday, May 30 and Sunday May 31 at 3 pm.

Mark your calendar

This summer, on the fourth Friday of May, June, July and August we will host different Lehigh Valley Food Trucks from 5-8 pm so you may purchase a great dinner and a glass of wine and enjoy the evening in our peaceful vineyard setting.

Friday, May 22 from 5 - 8 pm, we will welcome Tim and Hala and the TAZA Truck--a full-service, mobile, gourmet kitchen that serves fresh Egyptian cuisine that include beef, chicken and turkey options as well as vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. Don't miss this fun evening in the vineyard.
Get more info on the TAZA Truck.

NOTE: These are rain or shine events.  There will be indoor seating if necessary.

Planning ahead? Check out these vendors too:

• Friday, June 26 from 5-8 pm - The Full of Crepe Green Machine
• Friday, July 24 from 5-8 pm - Bob-B-Q Sliders & Sides
• Friday, August 28 from 5-8 pm - Vince's Cheesesteaks

Save on Clover Hill's Holiday wine in January

January 1, 2015, marks the start of another new year. January 1 is special to me in that it is the 17th birthday of my oldest grandson, John Skrip IV (aka J.B.) son of John Skrip III, my “BEST” son and my only son, who is the winemaker at Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery.

January 1 is also the third birthday of my Rottweiler dog, DeCha. OK ~ she is half mine and half my wife’s! DeCha was named after one of the grape varieties that we successfully grow and the popular wine we make bearing its name - DeChaunac. Since our kids left the nest, DeCha fills the void nicely. She likes to lick a little wine off my wife, Pat’s, finger, but moments later has to sneeze. We only give her this treat on special occasions like New Year’s Eve. She likes to go where I go whether it be riding shotgun in my golf buggy or accompanying me in my car. She is man’s best friend, and if you pet her you will have a friend for life!

New Year’s Eve is a time for our traditional New Year's Eve roof raising, town painting celebration… senior style. My wife and I, along with my 90-year young mother, Olga, for the past six years have been enjoying a stay-at-home lobster dinner complete with homemade French fries, cranberry sauce, a Spanish hand-dressed salad made by me, and  bubbles… lots of bubbles (that's champagne for all you BEER drinkers!).

But wait it gets better. The final act is the result of too many bubbles. There is a tendency to doze off before the big ball in Times Square touches down at midnight. After giving Pat a big New Year's kiss, toasting with a glass of Clover Hill Sparkling Pinot Noir, and making our new year’s resolution about losing weight for 2015, we retire for the balance of the evening.

Daughters, Kari and Lori, and son, John III, may call us to wish us a Happy New Year if they remember… the youngin's like to party more than us seniors. That is New Year's...Skrip Family/ Clover Hill style - life in the fast lane!

A NEW 2015 resolution for me will be that I spend less time with the grapes and wine business and more time at our second home, appropriately named by Kari as Grape Escape, at Cape Cod. Don’t worry - I’ll be watching Clover Hill but I’ll be watching more of Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Clover Hill will be in good hands with Pat, John III and Kari. As always, I will be available to cut the grass, take the garbage out, and all the other important chores they will ask me to do. Spending more time with my grandkids is also in the equation.

Bottom line is, I wish the BEST to you and yours in 2015. And remember to drink Clover Hill wine in moderation as your key to longevity! - John Skrip Jr.

Owner’s Selection for January 

The holidays may be over, but it is never too late to sip a warmed glass of Holiday wine on a cold night. This is a sweet rose that is jazzed up with cinnamon, cloves and citrus. Now only $9.45.

Try this: mix equal parts of Holiday and brown sugar for a sweet and spicy ham glaze.

Beginner Wine Tasting Class
Saturday, January 10 and 25 at 2 p.m. (almost sold out!)
Tickets required - $25 per person

Join us in a beginner wine tasting class. This 1.5 hour long class will teach you the basics of wine tasting, give you tips on wine and food pairing and help to answer any wine questions you may have. This class is limited in seats and tickets are required: $25 per person and you must be 21+ years old. Call 610-395-2468 or visit the winery in Breinigsville to reserve your ticket.

Winter Warmers 
The Winery in Breinigsville
January 17 and 18

Take a wintertime country drive to Lehigh County and sip something special. At Clover Hill Winery in Breinigsville we will be offering a trio of warmed wines for you to sample. Recipes will be available.

Pinnacle Ridge to host inaugural Wine Basics class January 24

Wine Basics: From Grape to Glass

On Saturday, January 24 we will host our inaugural class "Wine Basics: How to go from Grape to Glass," an evening of wine tasting and discussion, in our new Wine Loft.

In this class, we will be tasting several different wines and discussing some wine tastings basics like: how to taste wines and identify the different aromas and flavors; their correct storage and service; as well as debunking some of our favorite wine myths and answering some of the most Frequently Asked Questions in the Tasting Room.

Our winemaker, Brad, will lead a casual but educational tasting, pairing and wine discussion. $25 per seat. Space is limited. For reservations and details, call (610) 756-4481. Submit your own questions and Ask the Winemaker - pinridge@aol.com.

Valentine's Day Weekend Wine Lover's Wine Dinner at Pinnacle Ridge

Join us for our candle-lit Wine Lover's Evening at Pinnacle Ridge. This four-course food and wine pairing will be prepared by local chef and culinary instructor, Mary Grube. Mary has been instructing culinary students and food lovers alike. Her approach to cooking is, "If I see it, I can do it." This philosophy is on display each time she cooks, always incorporating techniques and flavors that she has picked up during her travels.

She teaches at both Northampton Community College campuses and has been a recurring guest on WFMZ in their Sunrise Chef segment. Each of the courses will be designed and paired with a Pinnacle Ridge favorite. The menu for this evening will be announced soon.

$140 per couple; $130 for Case Club Members. Call (610) 756-4481 for reservations and details.

Vino in the Valley Passports are available
Join us for a weekly trip around the culinary world complete with signature Pinnacle Ridge pairings.
$35 gets your access to all of the LVWT wineries each weekend, throughout the month of March.

Each of the participating Lehigh Valley Wine Trail wineries will be putting out some food to be paired with their wines, as well as complimentary wine tastings as a part of your ticket purchase. Get your passport stamped at the wineries to enter to win prizes, too.

Annual Clover Hill Coat Drive happening this week; Ugly Sweater Party coming up next Friday

The holidays are upon us and we can’t think of a better time to pull the cork on a bottle of Clover Hill wine, pour a few glasses and enjoy the spirit of the season with good company.

One of my favorite holiday traditions is getting together with my mom and my sisters to bake cookies. We bake, we laugh, we occasionally fight, and the whole time we sip Sparkling Pinot Noir. The hurried pace of the holidays quickly slows down as we enjoy the simple moments of time together as a family. Of course the glass of bubbles helps to make everything more enjoyable!

I would like to wish you a joyous holiday season and many happy, simple moments enjoyed with a glass of wine.

- Kari Skrip

P.S. Schantz Road is officially opened! No more detours trying to visit the winery in Breinigsville. Cheers to that!

Owner’s Selection for December

Save 10% on your purchase of Niagara. Take a deep whiff of this wine and you will experience an unmistakably fresh, grapey aroma. This sweet white wine tastes like you are eating the grapes right off the vine. Serve well chilled and enjoy with good company.

Now only $8.55. Receive an additional 10% discount when included in a case purchase.

Coat Drive at all Clover Hill locations
December 8-14

Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery is hosting our annual coat drive. Give us your coat and we will give you a 10% discount on your purchase. We are collecting all size coats to be donated to The Caring Place in Allentown and Berks Women in Crisis in Reading. Coats can be donated at any Clover Hill location and as a thank you, we will give you a 10% discount on your purchase.

Ugly Sweater Party
December 19
The Winery In Breinigsville

Join us in wearing your favorite ugly Christmas sweater to the Winery in Breinigsville and you will be entered to win a $30 Clover Hill gift card. To help us celebrate, all wines by the glass will be only $4 (even if you are not wearing your ugly sweater).

Sparkling Wine Tasting at all Clover Hill locations
December 26-31

Stop in any Clover Hill location to sample any in stock sparkling wines. Why not pop the cork on a bottle of local bubbly for New Years Eve this year?

Beginner Wine Tasting Class
Saturday, January 10 and 25 at 2 pm
Tickets are required - $25 per person

Join us in a beginner wine tasting class. This 1.5 hour-long class will teach you the basics of wine tasting, give you tips on wine and food pairing and help to answer any wine questions you may have. This class is limited in seats and tickets are required. Tickets are $25 per person and attendees must be 21 years or age or older. Call 610-395-2468 or visit the winery in Breinigsville to reserve your ticket. Tickets make a great holiday gift idea.

Holiday wines at Clover Hill Vineyards

The holidays are upon us and there is no better time of year to enjoy a glass of Clover Hill wine with friends and family.  Here are a few suggestions to put you in the Holiday spirit.

2010 Pinot Noir
This new vintage is just released and we think it is an amazing wine! 2010 was the best growing season Clover Hill ever experienced and as a result this Pinot Noir is full of the classic flavors of strawberry, leather and berry. Pairs perfectly with your holiday ham or turkey.

Holiday
Of course this is our favorite wine to help you spread holiday cheer. "Holiday" is a spin off of German Glühwein with its sweet flavor. It is spiced with cinnamon, clove and citrus. Pull the cork, set the bottle in a crockpot on low heat and celebrate the holidays! 

Boysenberry
This is the newest limited addition to the Clover Hill line up. Boysenberry is a sweet dessert wine made from both boysenberries and grapes. Decadently delicious served chilled after dinner or add a splash of Boysenberry to a glass of sparkling wine for a festive champagne drink. 

December Owner's Selection
With Clover Hill's 2009 Chardonnay you will initially notice strong aromas of toasty oak. On the palate there is a tickle of pear and apple. The finish is lingering with a persistent butter flavor. Enjoy a 10% discount on Chardonnay the entire month of December. When included in a case purchase, we will take an additional 10% off.

Beginners Wine Tasting Class
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 2 p.m.
At the winery in Breinigsville

TICKETS REQUIRED- $25 per person
Learn how to taste and talk wine. Join Clover Hill Winery for a fun 1 & 1/2 hour tasting class. We will teach you the basics of how to taste wine, learn what style you like, how to describe what you taste, and learn to talk like a wine pro. Tickets make great holiday gifts for any wine lover or wine enthusiast. For tickets call 610.395.2468.