Inaugural 'Taste of Pa.' is in the books

This e-mail came in this morning from Brian Dudley, the spokesman for The Taste of Pennsylvania Wine and Music Festival that was held at the York Fairgrounds this past weekend:

"As a whole the event was fun and great. The Sons of the American Legion lost about $4,000 but everyone wants to do it again, so we plan to do it again next year. On Saturday it was basically a wash; we only got the last band on stage when the sun came out at 3 p.m. We did still get over 200 people to come out.

"Sunday was a much better day. The sun was shining and we had a breeze that at times was too much but kept it from getting too hot. On the whole, the wineries did well and most if not all of them have said they plan to come back next year. As people were leaving we of course we asking them how they enjoyed the event and everyone said they hope we do it again and they think it has great potential. So I am happy. Everything ran smooth on our end on Sunday and we look forward to another event next year."

A textBrook career change for Price

Shots from around the winery,
including winemaker Jason Price in one of the spots
you're likely to find him if you pay a visit.


Jason Price looks much more at home in a winery than at a nuclear power plant in Wilmington, Del., where he spent six years of his career. Clad in a T-shirt, buzzing around the cellar at Twin Brook Winery in Gap, Pa., he’s relaxed, smiling. Maybe pinching himself a bit; he’s a long way from punching a clock in a place where the only wine was the whine from the monitors.

“I enjoyed wines as a consumer,” Twin B rook's assistant winemaker says late Monday morning, the distinctive echo of the cellar evident throughout the 11-minute conversation that touches on different aspects of a job he’s now held full time for a year. “It’s the ultimate food science. It’s microbiology, it’s chemistry, it’s engineering when you r pump breaks. It’s so romantic. You know it just brings people together. I’ve always loved wines socially, and having the science background, I was just attracted to it.”

He talks about having had the opportunity to go into agricultural chemistry when he was in college 13 years ago. Now, “I have a chance to live that desire. It just took me a little while to get there. It was an easy transition for me. I had to wrap my head around it a little bit. There was a big difference in lifestyle. I worked shift work for a nuclear power plant for six years living in Wilmington to now living in a barn in Amish country, to where there really are no set hours. You work when the work needs to be done, and when it’s finished, you’re done.”

His tastes in wine seem to run similar to the winemakers I’ve had the chance to meet so far. Similar to mine: thumbs-up on red and thumbs-up on dry. As is his sense of humor. “This is on tape?” he asks, peering at the recorder and breaking into laughter. “I love those big bold fruity California reds, the zinfandels, the stuff we really can’t grow here yet . . .but we’re learning.” As for those fruit wines that are part of the regimen at any winery that’s anywhere near the Route 30 corridor? “I’ve gotten used to them,” he says, “but I still don’t prefer them.”

The day to day could send Price in a number of different directions. The size of the full-time staff at Twin Brook – three – dictates an all-hands-on-deck mindset. “We’re assisting a lot with inventory in the warehouse and getting the wine here and taxes, that’s the drudgery, that’s not the fun stuff,” he says in response to a question about the non-glamorous part of his routine. The best part? You can guess the answer. “It’s the winemaking, being down here and making the wine, absolutely, and even the vineyard. The vineyard is fun, picking grapes is fun for about 45 minutes,” he says, and then there's that grin again. "And then it gets a little old.”

Allegro's Chef series takes a break

From Allegro's Carl Helrich on the reason the ultrapopular Chef series, where dinner was prepared by a local chef and paired up with wines, was dropped from the schedule this year:

"We dropped the Chef series initially because of space constraints [too much wine taking up space where the chefs used to work] and the fact that my wife would be gone the month we usually have them [July]. This is only the second year out of the last 18 or so that we haven't done it. The demand for the series has always been great, sometimes bordering on crazy. Where else can you get amazing food cooked by the best local chefs and four large glasses of wine to match for $45 [tax and gratuity included]? Hanging out on our deck from 6-11 PM with friends was a way to bring a little bit of Europe to Brogue.

"Dropping the series has allowed me to free my mind a but and focus more on the growth in quality and quantity of our winery. We'll have to see if we bring it back next year."