Afternoon spent tasting Manatawny's best

-

-

-

-

-
-

-

-

-

Saturday afternoon with Mary and Wayne at Manatawny Creek.
-
We headed northeast to Boyertown, Pa., on Saturday to see our friends Mary and Wayne, figuring after lunch we'd depart and -- since we wanted to head to Lancaster -- then make a stop at Tamanend Winery off rotues 72 and 741 en route to the Park City Center. Only we never quite got to that winery in time, all because we noticed on the map that Manatawny Creek Winery was only about 5 miles away.

I don't think I had even heard of the winery until a couple of weeks ago, when I found the list of excellence winners from the Pennsylvania Wine Society and it included Manatawny Creek's Meritage, a blend of 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot grapes. Manatawny, a little more than 10 years old, is one of eight members of the Berks County Wine Trail, all of which have something in common besides the fact that they're located on either side of I-78: They don't charge for tastings.

From my experience, that's the exception rather than the rule among wineries in the eastern half of the state. Generally, wineries charge from a couple bucks up to $7 per person to taste around six to eight wines. Some send you home with a glass; some don't. In Maryland, wineries are permitted to serve six, one-ounce samples of wine free of charge. Any other iteration requires a charge.

Anyway, Manatawny goes a step further than most. Not only aren't you charged for the tastings, but you can try everything in the winery's line; that's almost 25 wines that span that wide bridge from dry to sweet to fruit and white to red. Crackers also are out on the 30-some foot Corian bar, along with sharp cheese from Redner's Markets and chocolates from Reppert's that accompany the port. Talk about spoiling our friends, who hadn't been to a winery to taste before. This is all they know. It was an afternoon of fun, amid a crowd of people that kept the family behind the bar hopping our entire time there. We were lucky enough to draw the wit and hospitality (and full attention) of Mary, the mom of winermaker and owner Joanne Levengood. She was part educational and part comedienne and part historian, answering all questions about the wines and anything related to them. We all gave a thumbs up to the Blanc de Blancs, essentially their champagne, the "naked" Chardonnay (thy call it C.O.W. Chardonnay Off Wood), the Chambourcin and port, made with Cabernet Franc grapes. A dry red fan, I couldn't get enough of the Pinor Noir, Cab Franc, Merlot and Meritage. And did you know you have to pay to call your wine Meritage (pronounced like heritage)? It's a registered trademark that requires joining The Meritage Association.

By the time we and our friends had purchased four bottles apiece and headed out the door, more than an hour and a half had passed. By the time we hit Lancaster, it was after 5. No Tamanend this week. Hey, one to try another weekend en route to Philly or to the Lancaster outlets.