Crossing celebrating birthday, awards

There's a party atmosphere at Crossing Vineyards in Washington Crossing, Pa., these days, and only part of its has to do with this weekend's sixth anniversary party. The Bucks County winery, founded by the Carroll family, will lure a who's who of local and state government officials and folks from the wine industry for a ribbon-cutting on a new energy-efficient warehouse. Meanwhile, there will be tastings, live music and a chance to enter a drawing for tickets to a Nov. 14 wine and food pairing sit-down as the birthday party runs today and tomorrow from noon to 6 p.m.

Actually, the toasting began a few weeks ago when word came back on the results from the Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition that took place in San Diego on the last weekend in September. Of all the wines entered, 49 made it to the final round of voting for best of show in five broad categories -- sparkling, red, white, rose and fortified. All wines put forward by the judges for the best-of-show vote were elevated from gold to platinum. And when the final assessment was made, Crossing Vineyards' Merlot 2006 earned a platinum medal, Cabernet Franc 2006 scored a gold and the Viognier 2007 took a silver. That's half of the total number that Crossing entered.

Christine Carroll, who directs PR and marketing for the winery, said there was a particular appeal to entering that competition. "It was sommeliers from the country's top restaurants," she said. "And we thought, this would be fun. This is not really a wine judge, per se, but this is someone who's on the front line, selling wine, knowing what people are liking, and they're not with their head in the clouds so much. So we thought, this might be good, and this might be a real taste test of where we stand because it's not an academic who's cutting us slack but it's the guy who's selling it who's judging it."

Crossing's Cab Franc has won the lion's share of awards since the winery opened in 2003, so the gold medal simply added another trinket to the winery's trophy case. But the showings of the Merlot ("a sleeper") and Viognier ("a very elegant wine") did catch them a bit by surprise.
A nice pleasant surprise. "The platinum means that it won a gold medal and that any wine that was being considered for best of show was granted a platinum medal," Carroll said. "There were five best of show medals . . . so we would have been running with [California's] Cakebread [Cellars] for the best red in this competition."

I haven't tasted the wines yet, but hoping to tomorrow. Still, what I have seen is their list of events, from workshops and seminars to wine and food pairings to other events done in conjunction with the Bucks County Wine Trail. Carroll said there's a reason that Crossing ranks among the top two or three in the region, along with Chaddsford, in activities. "Here's the reason we do it," she said. "And it's not always about Pennsylvania wines. We're doing a new class this fall called Italian Wines. That is because people hold the Pennsylvania thing against us, they don't know what they're talking about, they've never tasted Pennsylvania wines. So they'll say, 'I don't like Pennsylvania wine.' Oh, well, whose wine have your tried? 'Well, I've never really tried it, but i don't like it.' Or 'I like California Cabernet.' Well, that's good, that's a start. Have you ever tried a Cabernet from Pennsylvania? 'Oh, no, I don't like a Cabernet from Pennsylvania.' Would you try. 'No, no, no, I don't need to try it because I already know what I like.' So this is what we're faced with. So I think with more . . . I think it's like when a person goes to college, her mind opens up. Educaton opens people's minds. And it's the same with wine as it is with anyone else. So we're trying to get people off the defensive. We're trying to get them on to the open-minded. And we'll always throw one of our wines in and we'll identify it. We're not sneaky. We don't even do a blind tasting. We'll say, 'Here's a Crossing Vineyards Viognier' if we're doing Rhone varietals. Try it. Tell us what you think about it in comparison.

"It's pretty ballsy, I'll give you that. But, again, we're a young winery and we want to get better. And if they hate us, we're going to get better next year, because we're going to figure it out next year."

Ribbon-cutting at new building to kick off 6th anniversary celebration at Crossing Vineyards

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This is one where I'll post the release and then connect with the folks over at Crossing Vineyards & Winery in Washington Crossing, Pa., sometime over the next couple of days. This is a winery with as busy a calendar as any in the region, and while Christine Carroll always has been helpful to me whenever I have called, it's far enough away from where I live that I've yet to try any of their wines. On my list, for sure.

Anyway, happy sixth birthday, Crossing Vineyards. Here's the release, thanks to Rebecca Felton.
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A native American proverb says, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” The owners of Crossing Vineyards and Winery in Washington Crossing, Pa. not only believe this maxim, they’ve made it part of their business plan.

Crossing Vineyards will launch a weekend celebration of its 6^th birthday at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 17 with a VIP ribbon-cutting and dedication of a new energy efficient building on the grounds of the winery, 1853 Wrightstown Road.

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State and local lawmakers, as well as representatives from Pennsylvania’s departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection, and Community and Economic Development have been invited to help unveil the latest of Crossing’s “green” initiatives.

From the beginning, Crossing’s owners - Tom and Christine Carroll and their son, Tom. Jr. – sought to preserve as open space a 20-acre parcel in Upper Makefield Township surrounded by development. The vineyards and winery are located on a property listed on the Bucks County registry of historic places. Since the first vines were planted, the Carrolls have employed sustainable agricultural methods and, in 2007, they installed a solar system on the roof of the winery.

The new, 3,000-foot utility building features a high-efficiency geothermal heating and cooling system and is designed to accommodate the future installation of solar panels. It also includes a water recharging well that collects and recycles groundwater instead of allowing erosive runoff.

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In addition to the geothermal heating system, Crossing also has installed energy efficient lighting, including timers and sensors. The lights are working only when the building is in use, therefore avoiding waste, said Christine Carroll.

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“The new building will allow Crossing to better serve its custormers, while conserving natural resources, protecting the environment and reducing the company’s carbon footprint,” she said.

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With the help of State Rep. Steve Santarsiero’s office, Crossing has applied for a $25,000 energy efficiency grant through the commonwealth’s Office of Energy Technology Deployment. “The initial cost to install a geothermal HVAC system is extremely high,” said Carroll. “The grant will help to defray the cost.”

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Carroll reports that due to the building’s design, with no windows and super-insulated doors and walls, the first electric bill was only $49. The public is invited to the official opening of the building, and to the weekend birthday celebration from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18 at the winery. The Eric Mintel Quartet will perform jazz from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 17 and the Upper Princeton Swing Collective will offer its version of jazz and swing from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 18.

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Guests will get a free gift with the purchase of a case of wine and can enter a drawing for two tickets to a Food & Wine Pairing Nov. 14.

Crossing has a lot to celebrate. Aside from the successful launch of its “green” initiatives this past year, the winery was featured in an article in the on-line magazine “Keystone Edge” as one of the state’s leading wineries, and one that is helping to create the perception of Pennsylvania as a serious wine region. It got national attention when Tom Stevenson's 2009 Annual Wine Report, a well-respected international guide to the wines of the world, ranked it number three in a Top 10 list of up and coming East Coast producers. It was ranked number five in ’08.

In 2009, Crossing added 14 more medals to its trophy case, bringing the total in six years to 82.

The most recent wins came at the debut of the Sommelier Challenge International Wine Competition Sept. 26-27 in San Diego. Crossing’s Merlot ’06 earned a platinum medal; its Cabernet Franc ’06, a gold; and its Viognier ’07, a silver.

For additional information about Crossing Vineyards and Winery, its events and activities, visit www.crossingvineyards.com or call 215-493-6500.