FEATURED EVENT
Music in the Vineyards 2008
Nissley Vineyards & Winery Estate, Bainbridge, Pa.
Saturday, 7:30 to 10 p.m.
The Jazzberries, Big Band Swing
http://www.nissleywine.com/lawn_concerts.htm
Judy Nissley of Nissley Vineyards & Winery Estate covered a lot of the present and the past of her Music in the Vineyards series, which is breezing through its 26th season with the third of eight Saturday night concerts tonight.
This is a special year for the winery, reaching the big 3-0. Nissley spent a few minutes explaining how several venues she used to visit long before the winery came to fruition led to this highly successful concert series, which has drawn as many as 2,800 people on a single night.
“One of the inspirations for the concert series,” she said last week in an phone interview, “we started out with dancing, because years ago in Hershey they used to have something called the Starlight Ballroom, and when I was in college we would go there for a Saturday night date. They would get big bands that would come in and so that was my introduction to big bands, and it was always very nice. They didn’t serve anything alcoholic though, which is why we could go in underage. We were not 21, we were still in college.
“Years later, when I worked in Chicago, there is a place north of Chicago that has a music venue which is called Ravinia, and it’s big stage, that has a roof on it and is partially enclosed, and you could pay two different admission prices, one would be to sit in a seat inside and the other you could put a blanket on the ground outside. So friends of mine and I would get together and we would take a picnic . . . these elaborate things. In fact, one of my friends would write up a menu, really elaborate things, and she always put cardamom in the coffee. So every time I have cardamom now I think of this event.
“In any event when we started the winery, it wasn’t long before I looked at the situation and said that I would really like to do something similar to that in this area. We started just with the dancing concept, but it’s amazing that not that many people related to the dancing, they really related though to the concert concept, with dancing on the side. So if we don’t have dancing -- say we take away all the patios -- that would affect the way in which people would enjoy the event. But if we strictly built it as a dance, we would not get nearly as many people.”
PENNSYLVANIA WINERIES
Adams County Farm Winery, Ortanna: Free summer concert, Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m., bring a blanket, lawn chair or go early to get a seat at one of the picnic tables; http://www.adamscountywinery.com/events.htm
Blue Mountain Vineyards & Cellars, Lehigh Valley: Sangria Sunday wine tasting ($$), 2 to 5 p.m., http://www.bluemountainwine.com/
Chaddsford Winery, Chaddsford: Sangria Sunday ($$), noon to 5 p.m.; concert, Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m.; July Barrel Tastings and Sale of 2007 Futures ($$), Saturday, 7 p.m., with light supper to follow, http://www.chaddsford.com
Crossing Vineyards & Winery, Washington Crossing: “Summer Under the Stars” Outdoor Concert Series ($$), Friday, 7 p.m.; Wine Tasting for Singles ($$), Friday, 7 p.m., wine, cheese and music; Summerfest: Caribbean Jam ($$), Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.; How Sweet It Is: Pairing Wine and Chocolate ($$), Sunday, 2 p.m., http://www.crossingvineyards.com/
Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas: Sixth annual Winter Mountain Red Snow Cone Tour, Saturday and Sunday; the tractor and wagon tours leave at 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m., http://www.galenglen.com/
Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery, Wrightsville: Music Friday night and Saturday and Sunday afternoons; Summer Concert series Saturday night ($$); Paddle Dine Music & Wine ($$), co-sponsored by Moon Dancer and Shank’s Mare, includes kayak tour, light fare dinner and concert, http://www.moondancerwinery.com
Naylor Wine Cellars, Stewartstown: “Summer Sounds” outdoor concert series ($$), Saturday, 7 to 10 p.m., http://www.naylorwine.com
Paradocz Vineyards, Landenberg: Free concert, 5 to 9 p.m., http://www.paradocx.com/
Twin Brook Winery, Gap: Gazebo Concert series ($$), Saturday, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., http://www.twinbrookwinery.com/
MARYLAND WINERIES
You can find events for this weekend at this link.
VIRGINIA WINERIES
You can find all the events for this weekend at this link.
($$) – Admission charge
