Birthday weekend becoming a gift for others

Anniversary weekend for the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail generally has leaned more toward the wine than the food, different from the March Madness tradition that’s laden with good things to eat and the proper pairings. But this is the second year that the anniversary has benefited someone besides those selling and drinking the many wines produced by the nine members of the trail.

What is called “Drink Pink Weekend” donates $1 to the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC) for every bottle of pink purchased. Vickie Greff, of Blue Mountain Vineyards & Cellars, said earlier tonight that members of the trail got together before the 10th anniversary and decided they’d like to use the event to support a cause. The debut was a hit. “Now it’s a good thing, a very good thing,” she said, noting that this time of the year “the pink stuff is your popular stuff anyway. So it kind of goes hand and hand. Like blushes, thing like that go over well. I mean we have a range of wines; our other wines sell, too. But sometimes people will buy that wine just because they are supporting something. Or even if they don’t like blush they might buy it for their daughter or their brother or whoever they know likes blush.”

The wineries, Greff said, agreed this year to do “different kinds of fun stuff as far as wines.” With that in mind, Blue Mountain will be offering a Riesling punch. You can see what five other wineries are planning at this link to the trail’s Web site. Wine trail glasses are $1 a glass at all nine of the wineries, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Blue Mountain is one of the charter members of the wine trail, which was formed in 1997. Greff said the winery grows 13 varieties of grapes on 50 acres, producing about 30,000 gallons or 15,000 cases.

Asked what’s new there, Greff noted that it just released its ice wine and put its sangria back out on the shelf. But they’re not just sweet. “We’ve very known for our red wines,” she said. “Our Merlot in particular has taken a lot of international medals, and that’s kind of our [signature]. You have to have everything in the area we live in. You have to have the sweet wines, you have to have the dry wines, you have to have a little bit of everything; but I would say we like to feel that we go toward the red palate.”

Basignani touting its Chard, Lorenzino

The phone conversations yield plenty of story ideas and are a great way to break the ice, but the amount of information I want to pull into this blog will come only from the kind of exchange that I had in the last 24 hours with Griffen Taylor, the marketing director for Basignani Winery. Asked for tasting notes on a couple of wines they are pleased with this year, Taylor sent the following:

First the 2006 Chardonnay is one of the best Chards from us in years. A blend of two vineyards with complimenting characteristics, this wine manages to be both delicate and restrained (12.5% abv), while giving rich tropical fruit and a full mouth feel. French oak is used exclusively but only a few new barrels in the mix. This is a fantastic compliment to Maryland seafood.

Our blockbuster 2005 Lorenzino Reserve recently won a silver medal in the Los Angeles County Fair. It is a "Bordeaux blend" of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Merlot. We barrel select the very best of each of our vineyard lots to create this "Maryland First Growth." Although aged for two years in oak, first sip reveals youthful tannins and tar. Mid-palate yields tremendous fruit of plum and boysenberry. In the extremely long finish you'll find the oak, pencil lead, and more tannins that show its structure from beginning to end. Great with your sirloin or with aged cheese.

Take a look at the Vynecrest icons

My apology for slowing down on the postings. Directing an Urban Journalism Workshop for aspiring high school journalists at the Philly Daily News, so my available time has gone kaput for a couple of weeks. But left over from my recent conversation with John Landis of Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery was his answer to my observation about his Web site, which is characterized by icons identifying their wines as dry, semi-sweet and sweet.

“From waiting on our many customers in our tasting room, one of the things I observed is that most people, the first thing that distinguishes what they like and don’t like is the sweetness,” he said. “So we tried to give some guidelines to people who are trying to buy wines. We make 20 wines and we try and do it in such a way . . .we have complimentary tastings and we limit it to six . And so we try and focus on six that are within the range of what they like.”

Some know what they like, he said. But not everyone.

“The more sophisticated do, but most who come in don’t. So through the process of the tastings they learn what they like. That’s one of our jobs is to educate people in wines, particularly in Pennsylvania, where we have a state store system that fails on that part of the process very badly.”

This list is Prime territory for regional wines

You don’t find too many restaurants that even put Pennsylvania wines on their menu. An exception is Brandywine Prime in Chaddsford, where general manager Michael Majewski says there are seven regional wines among a list that includes about 100.

“I probably do a little bit more in trying to promote the wines from the area than most places do,” he says, talking by phone late last week. The restaurant, he says, has been open around 18 months. “I have Paradocx, Chaddsford and Va La, right now and at some point I’ll put some Penns Woods wines on the list, too. You know, I feel like we’re kind of located in the middle of Pennsylvania wine-growing area and if restaurants don’t take the time and effort to acknowledge it, at least a little bit, then I think we’re doing the area a disservice. The wine-growing area is becoming enough to drive people to the area.”

Not only do they carry the wines but they’ve also become active with the wineries of the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail. Several weeks ago they hosted a dinner for the trail’s first wine camp; that paired the food with wine from one of the wineries the campers had visited during their three-day “drink-over.”

Majewski says that price isn’t generally a problem in pushing the wine. They are on par, he said, with those from outside the region in the same class. But the recognition factor is another story, especially as diners peer at the list and other more familiar names jump out at them. So what tips them toward the regional wineries?

“We sell most of the local wine to people who have been to the wineries at some point or another and have enjoyed the wines,” he says, “and then they come into the restaurant and see if we have them and get one. Or the person that asks, ‘Hey, I’m not from around here, I see you have some wines from the area, what do you think?' And then we just kind of go from there.”

They don’t go from there blindly, for sure. Majewski says some members of the staff already have taken a trip to Chaddsford Winery. “Not everybody went,” he says, “but, I don’t know, there were eight or nine of us that went over. [Owner and winemaker] Eric [Miller] did a little tour, the whole dog and pony show for the staff . It was good. Va La’s a little far for us to do a staff trip, and Paradocx just opened their winery. We’re doing an event at Paradocx this weekend, so we’ll actually get some staff out there.”

Once you get to know Lemberger ...

You would be accurate in referring to the Lemberger wine that Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery in Breiningsville, produces as unique. John Landis and his wife Jan, who bought the five-acre lot back in 1973 and planted their first vines a year later, said he first tried the wine out West and it made enough of an impression to make room for it on his Eastern Pennsylvania plot.

“I liked the finish on it,” he said recently. “It was a cool climate red that we thought would grow well here in our climate. We tried it out and its done well for us. The hardest part of that was name recognition. A lot of people have never heard of it. They wonder, ‘What am I buying?’ So that’s why you need to have the people on site to try it, and then if they like it, they like it.”

On the Vynecrest site, Lemberger is listed as the winery’s flagship red, with its “big, bold flavors and rich tannis finish.” Growing it, he said, isn’t a big problem. The late-bloomer is susceptible to powdery mildew, but Landis said no more so than other vinifera. He produces about 300 gallons, which converts to more than 100 cases. The 750 ml. bottles sell for $13.99. Vynecrest is a member of the Wine Trail of the Lehigh Valley, which will be celebrating its 11th anniversary with a fete on the weekend of July 12-13 at all the wineries.

A wine with its roots in the Danube River Valley, which originates in the Black Forest of Germany, Landis notes that it goes by two names: the Germans call it Lemberger and the Austrians call it Blaufrankisch. “So you’ll see different wine lists with the two different name," he said. "On the East Coast, there are maybe four of us [that grow it]. There’s one up in Pennsylvania, Presque Isle Wine Cellars. We’re the only ones that grow it in our region. And there’s a couple wineries in the Finger Lakes [of New York] that are grow it, but the majority of it is grown in Washington state. That’s where I first had it.”

The event grapevine: July 4-6

FEATURED EVENT



Reds Whites & BLUES Festival
Saturday, 2 to 10 p.m.
Moon Dancer Vineyard & Winery, Wrightsville, Pa.
http://www.moondancerwinery.com/id35.html
Tickets, $20

If memory serves from my recent conversation with winemaker and owner Jim Miller, this is the fourth annual early summer salute to the blues, part of a full weekend of events at the winery with one of the more spectacular views of any in the region.

There will be almost a continuous cercert, beginning with Blue Voodoo 2 and wrapping up with The Chaz DePaolo Blues Band starting at 8 p.m. Food and wine will be available throughout, that menu including pig roast/pork sandwiches, beans and pasta salad available for purchase. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnic baskets.

Activities at the winery will begin tonight from 6 to 9, rain or shine, with A.D. Chandler providing the music and a 4 on the 4th wine promotion that provides you the fourth bottle for free after you purchase three bottles.



The Reese Project will wrap the weekend up with a concert from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Moon Dancer’s summer concert series continues on most Saturday through the rest of the summer.

OTHER SCHEDULED EVENTS

Adams County Winery, Ortanna: Free summer concert, Saturday. 1 to 5 p.m., food and wine available, bring along a lawn chair and blanket, http://www.adamscountywinery.com/

Chaddsford Winery, Chaddsford: Fourth of July Big Bang BBQ Weekend, concerts today (2 to 5 p.m.), tonight ($$) (6:30 to 9:30 p.m.), Saturday (2 to 5 p.m.), Saturday night ($$) (6:30 to 9:30 p.m.), and Sunday (2 to 5 p.m.); Reserve Tasting ($$), Saturday, sittings at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m., http://www.chaddsford.com

Kreutz Creek Vineyards, West Grove: Big Bang BBQ, jazz Saturday and Sunday ($$) (2 to 5 p.m.), concert Saturday night ($$) (6 to 9 p.m.), http://www.kreutzcreekvineyards.com/

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

Nissley Vineyard & Winery Estate, Bainbridge: first night of Music in the Vineyards 2008 ($$), Saturday, 7:30 to 10 p.m., http://www.nissleywine.com/lawn_concerts.htm

Paradocz Vineyards, Landenberg: Big Bang BBQ, Friday through Sunday,
noon to 5 p.m., http://www.paradocx.com/

Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown: last few days of debut of Pa German Folklife Festival, Kutztown, Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., http://www.pinridge.com/html/events.html

Twin Brook Winery, Gap: Big Band BBQ Series, Friday through Sunday, BBQ available Saturday and Sunday, concerts Saturday evening ($$) and Sunday
afternoon (1 to 4 p.m.), http://www.twinbrookwinery.com/



MARYLAND winery events can be found at this link and
VIRGINIA events at this link.

($$) – Admission charge

A wine promotion 30,000 miles up

Saw this item on the New York Wine & Grape Foundation's weekly e-newsletter that I wanted to share. I will add to this post later if I can get a response from the director of the foundation. Talk about a great way to promote a state's wines.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC, one of the world’s finest airlines, is offering its international travelers a taste of New York wines, thanks to a special partnership with the I Love NY program and support from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. This week I’ll be training the Virgin Atlantic staff on the many virtues of New York wine country and wines, which they’ll then be serving to their customers in the Clubhouse at Heathrow Airport in London through August 31. This is one of several initiatives the I Love NY program has launched to expand that program’s reach beyond New York City to other regions and attractions of the State. The intent is to raise awareness that New York is much more than a great city, and to encourage tourists to explore all that the state has to offer—including great wines. Several months ago, we invited any interested New York winery to submit wines for consideration, and ultimately Virgin Atlantic selected six wines from four different regions: Peconic Bay 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon and Wolffer Estate Vineyards 2005 La Ferme Martin Chardonnay from Long Island; Millbrook Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Franc from the Hudson River Region; Dr. Frank 2006 Semi-Dry Riesling and Heron Hill Winery 2006 Cabernet Franc Rosé from the Finger Lakes; and Warm Lake Estate 2006 Pinot Noir from the Niagara Escarpment. The two-month series of daily tastings for Clubhouse visitors is being supplemented by a 30-second TV spot that will run during in-flight announcements, as well as “I Love NY” print ads in “Seatback”, the airline’s in-flight publication. The I Love NY program, part of Empire State Development, has also run a New York wine country ad in Food & Wine magazine, and is helping promote our industry in other ways as well. We’re very grateful for the support. For more information, visit www.iloveny.com/wine.