No Nouveau, but the old standbys should make visitors plenty happy at Pinnacle Ridge

Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will be among several in the state that will hold Nouveau Weekend NEXT weekend, a day or two after the Beaujolais from France is released in the state stores. You probably recognize the term even if you pay little attention to wine. Nouveau is, obviously, new wine that only a month or two ago was hanging out in clusters on the vine. All nine wineries will be participating in the promotion, which will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 21st and noon to 5 p.m. on the 22nd.

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Pinnacle Ridge Winery will be one of those wineries, indeed open until 6 both days, only you won't be getting the Nouveau when you exit the Krumsville exit of I-78 and drive the half-mile or so to the tasting room. Had a chance to bust on winemaker and owner Brad Knapp on Thursday about Nouveau Weekend without the Nouveau, since he decided not to make it this year after producing it since 1995. The reason? Simple. Lots of effort for minimal reward.

"I had made a few from Chambourcin," Knapp said by phone, talking about the grapes he incorporated into his previous Nouveaus. "Which is troublesome because it's so late [to harvest]. It's hard to get the wine made in time. And then I was purchasing some Dornfelter, which is an early ripening German red variety, which works reasonably well. But I was not real happy frankly with the sales of that style."

Knapp said that he and wife Christy were touring wineries on Long Island when they entered Macari Winery, which "put out a wine called early Chardonnay, I think it was called. And it was an oaked wine, released very early. I think it was November. And they did very well with it and we decided to try it. They pitched it as an Austrian pub wine. . . . the taverns around Vienna will serve this newly fermenting wine in the fall. So we pitched it that way, that this was an Austrian-style Nouveau. And that actually did well. Slightly sweet and very fruity."

But, he added, no matter what he made, it was a lot of work to produce a small quantity of wine that just didn't have much appeal. "The bang for the buck was low, let's put it that way," Knapp said.

So what you'll get instead will be a few of Pinnacle Ridge's award-winning line of wines paired up with Turkey Day foods. They'll match up their 2008 Chambourcin and slightly sweet, fruity 2008 Chambourcin Rose with smoked turkey breast piled on lightly toasted baguettes. Those will be topped with a variety of Robert Rothschild spreads: Caramelized Onion Balsamic Spread, Champagne GarliC Honey Mustard or Raspberry Cranberry Horseradish Sauce.

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Check out the Web site to see the wide array of food to be served at Customer Appreciation Weekend on Dec. 5-6 and the chocolate and red wine pairing event the following weekend. Knapp said there have been plenty of customers to appreciate this year.

"Our business is phenomenal," he said. "We're doing great. My take on it is that most of us, myself included, there's a strong element of entertainment. And we're inexpensive entertainment. And we're local entertainment. So folks are getting in their car and driving around the countryside and spending a few bucks on buying a few bottles of wine instead of hopping in a plane to go somewhere or doing something more expensive."

Grapes coming in, wines going out at Pinnacle

Passing along a couple of notes off the Pinnacle Ridge Winery's October newsletter. Like Eric Miller at Chaddsford and Carl Helrich at Allegro, among others, owner and winemaker Brad Knapp is as much about sharing what he does and why as producing the wine for consumption. Have mentioned before that the winery is a must-stop, right off the Krumsville exit of I-78 about 30 minutes or so west of Allentown.

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The final portion of the newsletter deals with the harvest. Have a read:

"It is early in the morning. There is a pleasant and comforting stillness in the air. One hears the faint murmur of voices; conversations held through the vines. There is the constant click, click, click sound of shears cutting clusters followed by the plopping sound of one grape luster after another falling into containers. Hand harvesting is hard work, but also satisfying. Sometimes, when harvesting an exceptionally gorgeous cluster, one has to pause for a moment to admire, holding the cluster in one's hand.

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The days can be glorious. Mornings are damp but by mid-morning the dew is gone and the sun warms the pickers. The view in the vineyard is 360 degrees of beauty. The leaves are starting to turn color. Friendships develop among the pickers. Some have known each other for years. It is a great time to connect again.
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The 2009 season has put growers and winemakers to task. The relationship between grape growers and wine makers has never been more important. In other years, fruit has been cleaner. Easier to pick. At our Estate Vineyard and at Round Ridge Farm the goal is the same. Pick the best fruit. Cut out any problems. Make great wines out of a difficult growing season. It makes this writer proud to get up early and head out in to the field with my co-pickers. Aching back, tired arms, and all.

It's a busy month at Pinnacle Ridge, a member of two wines trails. It will be open noon to 5 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday for the Berks County Wine Trail's Artisan Cheese and Wine Pairing, then 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, and noon to 5 p.m. on the 18th for the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail's Chambourcin Weekend. The newsletter also contained info on two new releases this month, a Chambourcin Reserve and a red blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon called Veritas. Here's the skinny on those.

We started making a CHAMBOURCIN RESERVE with the 2004 vintage, making this our fourth edition of the wine. The Reserve version of Chambourcin is sourced from either our Estate Vineyard or our vineyards at Round Ridge Farms in Kempton . We evaluate the fruit in the field to determine what we believe will result in the most intense wine. This usually is defined by low yields and a good canopy on the vine towards the end of October.

Another defining feature of our Chambourcin Reserve is the barrel-aging program is carried out in Hungarian Oak Barrels. 2007 was a FABULOUS VINTAGE and has resulted in an intense 2007 Chambourcin Reserve. The color is an intense ruby while aromas of sandalwood, vanilla, and blackberries jump from the glass. On the palate our reserve is medium bodied, with soft tannins and acid. The flavors follow the nose with black fruits and wood influences being dominate. This is a beautifully balance red wine that will reward aging for several to eight years.

The 2007 represents our seventh release of the VERITAS. We consider VERITAS to be on of our FINEST WINES and we only will produce it in the best vintages. This vintage is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the traditional blend of grapes in the making of fine Bordeaux. The wine was grown primarily at Round Ridge Farms in Kempton. Our Veritas was aged for 16 months in Pennsylvania Oak barrels. The color is a medium ruby with aromas of cassis, tobacco, forest floor, and vanilla. The mouth displays soft tannins and flavors that follow the nose. This is the wine for roasts and rich, savory dishes. Our customers are welcome to come to our winery to sample and purchase these two beautiful dry reds. Our release date for our CHAMBOURCIN RESERVE is October 17th 2009 (Chambourcin Weekend). Our release date for VERITAS is October 24th 2009.

The Chambourcin Reserve, according to the Web site, will sell for $16, with the Veritas going for 20 bucks.

Pinnacle/Jeffries pairing draws Sunday crowd

One regional restaurant that includes local wineries as part of its Buy Fresh, Buy Local theme is John J. Jeffries, located in the Lancaster Arts Hotel. So the recent wine and food pairing held in conjunction with winemaker Brad Knapp and Pinnacle Ridge Winery was not an aberration; they hold these generally once a month (on the last Sunday of the month) with regional wineries and breweries from the spring into the late fall. The winemaker or brewmaster, as you'd figure, is an integral part of the program.

Bartender Michael Grove said by phone yesterday that around 40 people attended the Sunday evening, Jan. 25, event at the restaurant. There was a one-hour Happy Hour, then guests headed to their tables for a four-course wine and food pairing that included Knapp’s commentary. In all, the combo cost only $52 per person, including tax and gratuity.

“It probably lasted about two hours,” Grove said. “The food was paired up very well with the wine, and the wine went very well with the food obviously. And a few people hung around at the bar later on and they were talking about it. And from what I heard they enjoyed it.”

The restaurant is named for a local tobacco inspector of the late 19th century. It seats approximately 60 in its main dining area and smoke-free bar. Dinners only are served there, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Half-price local beer, wine by the glass, and Organic Martinis are offered daily from 4 to 6 p.m.

The next one will be the last Sunday in March, the 25th, and will features foods paired with Swashbuckler beer. Troegs, Victory and Stoudts are other beers that have been featured in that all-expenses-included pairing. Generally, the restaurant rotates between featuring a beer and a wine, and also includes some or all of those products on their regular beer and wine list. Grove said that Chaddsford Winery has joined Pinnacle Ridge not only on those Sunday night events, but also as regular “house” wines.

“We always have at least one by the glass of both red and white,” he said, "and normally more than that. Right now we’re carrying a Chambourcin from Pinnacle, a Chardonnary from Pinnacle and a Pinot Grigio from Chaddsford.” They also carry Manatawny Creek's honey wine and a late harvest Vidal Blanc from Pinnacle.

That they drew 40 people is a testament to the power of the Buy Local network, which sends out e-mail blasts promoting this and other events around the region. Grove said the restaurant also will place a slip of paper into the folder containing the check advertising the next wine/beer and food pairing.

Told it’s refreshing to see a local restaurant carry local wines, Grove said a lot of it is a matter of realizing just what's out there.

“I think mainly because people don't know there are very drinkable local wines out there,” he said, “and, you know, it's just a perception of local wines that they have. Before I worked here, I sort of had the same philosophy on local wines. But I've actually had a chance to try quite a few of them now since I've ccme here and am definitely impressed with them.”