Berks County trail's eight wineries serving up cheeses and wine as part of weekend festival

Gotten away from those long weekly list of wine-related activities, but still want to steer you toward specific events that you might want to consider as a weekend destination. One this coming Saturday and Sunday will be the Berks County Wine Trail's Artisian Cheese and Wine Weekend. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

That trail includes eight wineries, with four running north to south along a western flank from north of I-78 to around Rt. 422, and then east to Blair Vineyards near Rt. 100 in Mertztown and south to Kog Hill Winery in Morgantown.

You can click on the wine trail Web site and then on each winery's link to see what they're planning for food and events in addition to having wine available for tasting. But you can start right here with three wineries that I want to mention:

Blair Vineyards in Mertztown is offering two cheese from Hendricks Farm and Dairy in Telford. One is an aged Gouda that will pair with a 2005 Merlot, and the other is their Keystone Classic that will match with Blair's 2005 Chardonnay.

Breakaway Farms of Manheim will cart its organic cheeses and meats into Clover Hill Vineyards' Robesonia location, open noon to 5 p.m. both days.

Finally, Manatawny Creek Winery in Douglassville will offer cheeses from three local producers: a fresh goat cheese from Woodchoppertown Chevre will be paired with its Riesling wine; a cheddar cheese from Wholesome Dairy Farms will be paired with its Cabernet Sauvignon, and Fat Cat cheese from Birchrun Hills Farm will be paired with its Chardonnay.

Asian pears will be available to sample at all the wineries.

Best part of the Berks County trail, at least at last check, is the absence of a tasting fee to sample their wines. That won't last forever, but it makes this trail unique among all the others in the region.