Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Five wine videos, one vote, one winner


Wanna spend 15 minutes you don't mind never getting back. Take a look at these five videos that readers sent in to Wine Spectator magazine. You can vote for the winner among these finalists through Sunday; second and third place winners will be announced Monday and the top prizewinner will be revealed on Tuesday. What will they get?

1. The creator of the winning video will receive two complimentary registrations to the Wine Experience in New York City on Oct. 16-18, 2008. The winning video may be shown as part of the official program.
2. The finalists, as chosen by our editors, will each receive two tickets to the Grand Tastings at the Wine Experience in New York City on Oct. 16 or 17, 2008. If they are unable to make that date, finalists may attend any one of the 2009 Grand Tour Tastings (dates and locations TBD). Finalists’ videos will be posted at WineSpectator.com.


What will you get? Some truly creative work to assess and enjoy and one tough choice.

The Event Grapevine: Sept. 12-14


Featured Event

Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker
Lehigh Valley Wine Trail
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.


Need to fill up your kitchen cabinet with wine glasses? That would be one reason to hit the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail for “Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker,” where the nine participating wineries will be selling their promotional glasses for $1 apiece. Each one will have a logo of the wine trail on one side and the winery logo on the other. And it’s your job to fill them up with a sampling of what will be offered during this two-day event, running all day Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and then wrapping up from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Stopping by at any of these wineries in Eastern and Northeastern Pennsylvania won’t cost you a thing. All will be offering wine and a Pennsylvania food partner, so going home hungry isn’t an option. Some wineries are filling out the schedule with entertainment, education and/or tours; you can find the schedule at
this link.
Vickie Greff, of Blue Mountain Vineyards and the president of the wine trail, said that while this doesn’t match the numbers that the monthlong March Madness draws, she expects a good crowd will make its way along the trail. “You can’t expect to see everyone who goes around the trail because they split it up among the trail members, between going to different wineries” she said last night. “We’re doing a lot of different things here, so hopefully they’ll come out for them. We’re doing a tank room tour on Sunday and on Saturday, if weather permits, we’re going to do a vineyard walk. Everybody is doing different things, but that’s what we’re doing, so hopefully people will be interested in that and come out. We all do our thing and see how it all goes, and we wish each other luck. We work well together as a trail and everybody gets along and is happy to give people a reason to come out and taste wine.”

And if Harvest Weekend in the Lehigh Valley doesn’t quite fit into your plans, here’s what else is going on this weekend and in a couple of cases into the latter part of next week:

PENNSYLVANIA WINERIES

Adams County Winery, Orrtanna: Parrots on the Patio ($$), Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., http://www.adamscountywinery.com/

Amore Vineyards & Winery, Bath: Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.),
http://www.amore-4u.com/

Big Creek Vineyard & Winery, Kresgeville: Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.),
http://www.bigcreekvineyard.com/

Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli: Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.); Fall Foliage Tasting ($$), Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m., http://www.bluemountainwine.com

Chaddsford Winery, Chaddsford: Reserve tastings ($$), Saturday, sittings at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 17, the Chaddsford Challenge ($$), see how Chaddsford’s best wines stack up against wines of similar type & style from the world’s great wine regions, 7 to 9:30 p.m., reservations at 215.794.9655; Thursday, Sept. 18, Wine in Roman Times ($$), wine educator Frank Patterson gives a program and tasting on how wine making and wine drinking arrived (originally from Greece) and prospered in ancient Rome, http://www.chaddsford.com

Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg: Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.), http://www.bigcreekvineyard.com/

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville: 23rd anniversary sale, 23 percent discount on all 750 ml of wine, Thursday, the 11th through Sunday, the 14th; Live Music on the Patio, Saturday and Sunday, 1:30 to 5 p.m.; Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Bakers, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.); Fall Foliage Tasting ($$), Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m.,
http://www.cloverhillwinery.com

Country Creek Winery, Telford: Concert, Christine & Company, an acoustic act from the Philadelphia suburbs, Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m.,
http://www.countrycreekwinery.com/

Crossing Vineyards & Winery, Washington Crossing: Summer Under the Stars concert series ($$), Friday, 7 p.m., Fairmount Chamber Ensemble; How Sweet It Is: Pairing Wine and Chocolate ($$), sommelier Eric Cavatore and Stacey Glynn-Brady from Lindt of Switzerland, Sunday, 2 p.m.; Wine Tasting for Dummies ($$), East Falls location, Sunday, 2 p.m.; second class in Wine 101 series ($$), Monday, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Types of Wine,
http://www.crossingvineyards.com

Franklin Hill, Bangor: Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.),
http://franklinhillvineyards.com

Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas: Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.),
http://www.galenglen.com/

Hauser Estate Winery, Biglerville: Official grand opening, Monday through next Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. next Saturday,
http://www.hauserestate.com/

Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery, Wrightsville: Music Friday (6 to 9 p.m.), Saturday (2 to 5 p.m.) and Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m., Blue Light Special concert ($$), 7 to 10 p.m., http://www.moondancerwinery.com

Naylor Wine Cellars, Stewartstown: “Summer Sounds” outdoor concert series ($$), Saturday, 7 to 10 p.m., music by Sound of Roses, http://www.naylorwine.com

Pinnacle Ridge Winery, Kutztown: Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.); Blues in the Barn, Saturday (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.), http://www.pinridge.com/

Sand Castle Winery, Erwinna: First Crush Festival, open house and picking, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.,
http://www.sandcastlewinery.com/

Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville: Summer Tours With the Winemaker ($$), Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m., about 1 ½ hours long, http://www.vynecrest.com/whatsnew.htm

Wycombe Vineyards, Furlong: Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.),
http://www.vynecrest.com/


MARYLAND WINERIES

Basignani Winery, Sparks: Harvest Saturday, second of a series of volunteer pickings that last into October; picking usually starts around 9 a.m. and finishes around 1 p.m., followed by a homemade spread (that is outstanding) and wine tasting, RSVP at 410.472.0703,
http://www.basignani.com/

Other MARYLAND winery events can be found at this link, VIRGINIA events at this link and New York events at this link


FESTIVALS

12th annual Neptune Wine Festival ($$), Virginia Beach, Va., Saturday and Sunday,
more information at this link


($$) – Admission charge