The Event Grapevine: Feb. 19-22

We’re in tweener mode for a couple of weeks, between a hectic Valentine’s weekend where just about every winery was putting out chocolates and wine and the start of passport season on a couple of trails. As unique as anything this weekend is a Presidential Food and Wine Pairing at Galen Glen Winery on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, the winery will match up its wines with our new president’s favorite food: pizza. Only these pies will be tossed and baked in Pottsville, Pa., rather than Chicago.

As for what’s going on elsewhere, both this weekend and beyond, take a look:

PENNSYLVANIA WINERIES

Adams County Winery, Orrtanna: Wine Appreciation class ($$), Saturday, 6 to 8:30 p.m.; home wine-making ($$), Sunday, 1 to 3 p.m.; Tour de Tanks, starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Allegro Vineyards, Brogue: Fridays’ Weekly Winedown ($$), 4 to 7 p.m.; Sweet & Spicy Saturdays ($$), 2 to 5 p.m.; Sip & Savor Sundays ($$), 2 to 5 p.m., all require reservations at 741.3072, all events at the Wine Gallery in Olde Tollgate Village EXCEPT for Tour de Tanks ($$), which starts Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Black Walnut Winery, Sadsburyville: Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), starting March 1 and continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries, link to winery

Blue Mountain Vineyards & Cellars, New Tripoli: Sunday Blues Wine Tastings, music every Sunday ($$), 2 to 5 p.m., through April, link to winery

Chaddsford Winery, Chaddsford: Wine and Chocolate Reserve Tastings ($$), every weekend in February, sitting at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m.; Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), starting March 1 and continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries; reserve tastings ($$) begin in March, 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. every Saturday; winemaker dinner ($$) at Caffe Gelato, Newark, Del., Sunday, March 22, 6 p.m., link to winery

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville: Beginner tasting class ($$), Saturday, 3 p.m., annual wine rack sale ($$), all Clover Hill locations, Feb. 19 through March 8; March Madness ($$), passport required, a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail event, link to winery

Country Creek Winery, Salford Township: Mike Greer and Friends, Saturday, March 21, 6 to 9 p.m.; wine dinner at Brazzo Downtown ($$), Thursday, March 26, link to winery

Crossing Vineyards & Winery, Washington Crossing: Wine Tasting for Singles ($$), Friday, 7 p.m.; wine and food pairing ($$), Saturday, March 14, 7:30 p.m.; Wine Tasting for Dummies ($$), Sunday, March 15, 2 p.m.; St. Patrick’s Day celebration ($$), Tuesday, March 17, 7:30 p.m., link to winery

Cullari Vineyards & Winery, Hershey: Tour de Tanks ($$), starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Four Springs Winery, Seven Valleys: Tour de Tanks ($$), starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor: Free winery tour, Wednesdays at noon, link to winery

Galen Glen Winery, Andreas: President Day Weekend, Feb. 21-22, pizza and wine pairing, link to winery

Hauser Estate Winery, Biglerville: Candle Light Friday/Happy Hour, Friday, Feb.27, 5 to 8 p.m., warm food and live music Ray Owens will perform and Crossroads will cater; Tour de Tanks ($$), starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Kreutz Creek Vineyards, West Grove: Music at West Chester tasting room, 44 E. Gay St., Fridays and Saturdays, 6 to 9 p.m.; Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), starting March 1 and continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries, link to winery

Manatawny Creek Winery, Douglasville: Hours have changed to Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays, noon to 6 p.m., link to winery

Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery, Wrightsville: Music every Saturday (2 to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (2 to 5 p.m.); will close Fridays at 5 p.m. through February; vineyard hike and mulled wine ($$), Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Tour de Tanks ($$), starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Naylor Wine Cellars, Stewartstown: Tour de Tanks ($$), starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Nissley Vineyards & Winery Estate, Bainbridge: Tour de Tanks ($$), starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Paradocx Vineyard, Landenberg: Wine, chocolate and cheese tasting ($$), Saturday, 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m., extended from last weekend, e-mail kellie@paradocx.com or call 610.505.1511 to make your advance reservation; Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), starting March 1 and continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries, link to winery

Penns Woods Winery, Eddystone: Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), starting March 1 and continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries, link to winery

Pinnacle Ridge Winery, Kutztown: March Madness ($$), passport required, a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail event, link to winery

Reid’s Ochards & Winery, Ortanna: Opening March 7; Tour de Tanks ($$), at all Uncork York wineries, link to information

Rose Bank Winery, Newtown: Winter Wine Concert Series, Sundays through March 29, 1 to 4 p.m., at Shady Brook Farm; spring art fest, March 20-22, link to winery

Rushland Ridge, Rushland: Closed January and February; will reopen March 5, link to winery

Sand Castle Winery, Erwinna: Gourmet wine dinner ($$) at Villa Capri Ristorante, Doylestown, Thursday, featuring Sand Castle Johannisberg Dry Riesling, link to winery

Seven Valleys Vineyard & Winery, Glen Rock: Tour de Tanks ($$), starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Tamanend Winery, Lancaster: New winery open, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m., classically styled premium wines in their bottled wine group, and premium sweeter styled wines in their Bag in Box group of wines, link to winery

Twin Brook Winery, Gap: Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), starting March 1 and continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries, link to winery

Va La Vineyards, Avondale: New holiday hours starting Dec. 1, weekdays, 12:01 to 5:27 p.m., Saturday and Sundays, 12:02 to 5:48 p.m., http://www.valavineyards.com/

Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville: Album release party, Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m.; Mardi Gras Saturday, Feb. 28, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.; March Madness ($$), passport required, a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail event, link to winery

West Hanover Winery, Harrisburg: Tour de Tanks ($$), starting Feb. 28 at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery


MARYLAND WINERIES

Black Ankle Winery, Mt. Airy: Open for business, winner of Maryland Governor’s Cup in 2008; winter hours start Dec. 1, Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., other times by appointment; wine and cheese pairing class ($$), Sunday, March 1, 2 to 4 p.m., to book your spot, visit The Wine Coach or call Barb at 410-428-6693, link to winery

Boordy Vineyards, Hydes: Fond of You Fondue ($$), Saturdays in February, 1 to 5 p.m.; Stew in Our Juices ($$), homemade stews and wine pairing, with musical entertainment, every Sunday in March, 1 to 5 p.m., winery link

Frederick Cellars, Frederick: Happy Hour, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. every weekday, glasses are half-price; Mardi Grad party, Saturday, 7 p.m.; music in the Cellar, Saturday, March 7, 7 p.m., link to winery

Linganore Winecellars at Berrywine Plantations, Mt. Airy: Cask to Kisses ($$), wine and chocolates pairing, every day in February; Southern Rock performer Dean Crawford concert ($$), Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m., all natural soups from Chesapeake Gourmet available for sale, http://www.linganorewines.com

Sugarloaf Mountain, Dickerson: Barrel tasting ($$/nonmembers), Saturday, 1 p.m.; red wine sensory tasting seminar ($$), Saturday, March 7, 1 p.m.; soup will be served in the tasting room on Saturdays and Sundays throughout February; Friday Flights ($$) is every Friday from 2 to 4 p.m., which consist of 3 half glasses of SMV wine, each paired with an appropriate cheese, fruit or chocolate, reservations at 301.605.0130, link to winery

Woodhall Wine Cellars, Parkton: Annual barrel sale, futures sale and chocolate tasting ($$), extending every weekend through March 29, 2 to 4 p.m., call 410.357.8644 or send an e-mail to reserve your spots; Patricia Della Casual Fine Dining will be serving lunch and dinner from noon to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. each weekend by reservation (410.357.5078), link to winery

Other MARYLAND winery events can be found at this link, VIRGINIA events at this link and New York events at this link

PASSPORT WEEKENDS

Tour de Tanks, starting Feb. 28 and continuing every weekend in March, noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays, cost is $15 per person, pick up tickets at any participating winery or order online here, wineries include Adams County, Allegro, Cullari, Four Springs, Fox Ridge, Hauser Estate, Moondancer, Naylor, Nissley, Reid’s Orchard, Seven Valleys and West Hanover; information on Meet the Winemaker dinners here.

Barrels on the Brandywine, starting March 1 and continuing every weekend in March, noon to 5 p.m., cost is $25 per person, pick up tickets at any participating winery or order online here, wineries include Black Walnut, Chaddsford, Kreutz Creek, Paradocx, Penns Woods, Stargazers and Twin Brook.

$$ – Admission charge

Next Md. winery could open in Hampstead

The next winery to open in Maryland? Even wineries association executive director Kevin Atticks wasn't completely sure. Too many obstacles in the process can delay scheduled openings for months. That's not a Maryland phenomenon; obviously proprietors planning wineries across the border in Pennsylvania have found there's always another surprise waiting around the corner as they do all the things necessary to open a winery's doors.

Atticks would only conjecture that it could be Galloping Goose, perhaps about a 15-minute to 20-minute drive from Woodhall Wine Cellars, one of our favorite wineries located in Parkton, Md. Located in Hampstead, it will be run by Diane Hale. "She's a wonderful lady who had a horse name goose and is opening Galloping Goose Vineyards, and she is one of the state's largest grape growers and plans to still have that be her primary business," Atticks said. "But she's going to make two wines a year from her best grapes. So she's going to cherry-pick her fruit, whatever she thinks is best that year and the rest she's going to continue to sell. And even her quote-unquote not best fruit is still wonderful fruit. Woodhall buys some, a couple of wineries buy it. But she's going to cherry-pick very small amounts; she's looking at maybe 30, 40 cases of each wine. No more than two wines per year. She's literally going to be picking clusters and figuring out which ones are the best."

Atticks said Hale's business is fully licensed as a winery and there's wine in the barrel. "The game has been trying to figure out when she's opening," he said. Indeed, a story in the Community Times ways back in November 2005 suggested the the winery would be open by the following year. But that just shows how much time can pass sometimes before the plans become a reality. Atticks said that now might be just a matter of weeks or several months. "There's still work to be done," he said, "but she's pretty close."

3RD Idea gives Hauser Web site a fresh look

Received an e-mail yesterday from Mak McKeehan of 3RD idea, an agency in Gettysburg, Pa., that has become the primary marketing voice for Hauser Estate Winery. The winery opened late last July on a site that offers a sweeping panorama of the surrounding countryside and parts of the Gettysburg battlefield; it opened a shop in downtown Gettysburg a few months later. Run by the Hauser family (Jonathon Patrono is the company president), it features the winemaking skills of Seattle-bred and Cornell-educated Michelle Oakes. Looking forward to trying her wines next week when I'm out that way for a conference.

McKeehan and his staff have given the Hauser Estate Web site a new look, which launched last Friday, featuring multiple layers that include info and prices on the wines, a new photo gallery (of which I swiped one of the view from the tasting room to add to this post), a tasting room blog, company history and the chance for people to sign up for the newly created “Cork Club.” That's a monthly e-mail newsletter from the winery about events, wine news, tips and sneak previews.

In addition, Hauser Estate has started a Facebook page and are looking for fans. The page can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=35103779&ref=frmf#/pages/Biglerville-PA/Hauser-Estate-Winery/50884969935?sid=9e56123ebcc4259d83509d1299c03e20&ref=s

McKeenhan noted in his note that starting in June and due to the huge success of the Candlelight Fridays, Hauser Estate will be hosting Live Music and Food twice a month. You'll be able to find a complete schedule on the Web site and, of course, amid the weekly listings that are part of this blog under the heading The Event Grapevine.

Hauser Estate is part of what is for now a singular event wine trail. Tour de Tanks will take place starting Feb. 28 and every weekend in March at the 12 wineries that make up Uncork York. In addition to being able to sample wines at each of the participating wineries and share in whatever goodies they also put out, all for the cost of a $15 passport, the York County Convention & Tourism Bureau has announced a series of Friday night winemaker dinners at five York restaurants. Space is limited and advance reservations are required for these events. An all-inclusive ticket includes a full-course meal and selected wines, as well as tax and gratuity.

Wine writer and blogger Roger Morris tackled the Uncork York trail at some point last fall and wrote about his visit in a piece that appears in the Winter 2009 edition of the Wine & Spirits Quarterly. In that story Morris quotes Ralph Papalia, a state store employee in York who for my money provides more insight on his product than anyone else I've encountered in the biz. Want the lowdown on those dazzling bargains hidden on the shelves? Just track down Ralph.

Discussions start Wednesday on shipping bill

Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association, says he thinks legislation that would allow state wineries to ship their product within the state might be closer to passing than it ever has. How does he know? "The liquor interests are so upset about it," he said by phone the other day. "That can only tell me that it’s getting closer to passage. Usually, they don’t even respond to it but now they’re really upset about it, and it’s the same bill that has been in for 20 years."

The Maryland Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee will begin hearing the shipping bill at 1 p.m. Wednesday; five days later it will come before the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee for debate. It would create a direct shipper's license that a winery or retailer can obtain for $100, allowing the licensee (winery or retailer) to ship up to two cases of wine per month to a Maryland consumer. The licensee must label the box with the phrase “CONTAINS ALCOHOL; SIGNATURE OF PERSON AT LEAST AGE 21 YEARS OLD REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY” and pay sales and excise tax to the state annually.

Pushed by a consumer group, it's being opposed by members of the Maryland State License Beverage Association, which is headquartered in Westminster and, among other roles, initiates and supports laws that preserve and protect the rights of responsible alcohol beverage retailers to operate legitimate and lawful businesses. Atticks said his association supports it for a very simple reason. "Every year this comes in because consumers want to put it in and we support it because it’s a no-brainer," he said. "It allows wineries to ship wines to consumers and if customers want wine that way than we want to get it to them that way."

It's one of two pieces of legislation that, if passed, would no doubt have Atticks and his peers toasting for at least a week afterward. The other is a new license called a Class W that would, by county, change the regulations that wineries currently operate under. "It's to create a very clear, well-written piece of law regulating wineries in the local jurisdiction, which currently doesn't exist," Atticks said. Does it exist anywhere in the state, he was asked. "It doesn't," he said. "So wineries are treated as liquor stores currently."

The new license would allow for the sampling and selling of winery wines at the winery for on- or off-premise consumption, allow the business to hold events and allow the winery to operate seven days a week, among other things. Atticks points out that it won't remove the many obstacles that wineries have to cross before they get their license. "But it clears up conflicts like our county law that says you can't sample wine at the winery," he said. "OK, so, state law says you can, the county law says you can't, so we’re trying to create a county law that takes into account the fact that we’re a winery and we’re different than a liquor store. We can only sell what we make, which is different from the liquor store. We have tables and chairs, play music, which is different from a liquor store. It’s all kind of mundane stuff, but it’s become such a problem in some instances that we’re pushing it now."

Days perhaps numbered for tasting fee holdouts

I've mentioned tasting fees a lot since starting this blog. They vary significantly across the region, from $2 to $3 in the area around York, Pa., to as high as $7 in suburban Philly. Conversely, member wineries of the Berks County and Lehigh Valley trails, I'm told, don't charge. Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery is a member of both of those trails and one of just a couple of wineries that are members of more than one trail. Lehigh Valley event are held at the main winery in Breinigsville; Berks County events take place out of the Robesonia location.

At this point, they don't charge for tastings except for groups of 12 or more, where they assess a fee of $5 per person. But the days of free tasting for the others might soon be coming to a close, according to Kari Skrip, PR/marketing manager and someone who has her finger on the pulse of many things wine across the region.

"We are back and forth with changing our policy where we may start charging individually," she said by phone the other day. "We had plans to start charging but to be perfectly honest we backed off because of the economy and we just didn't feel it was right to start charging now. . . . I don't think it will be much longer because I hear a lot of feedback from all the wineries I know that they're waiting for us to make the first move," she said, starting to laugh. "You know. It's been a really difficult decision for us. What we've noticed, and this is really something just starting to happen, and it's probably moreso with the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail because they're more established than the Berks County Wine Trail. But I'm sure this happens in every wine trail. People come, they have a great time. They come and enjoy the wine tasting, they buy some wines and then they have friends coming the next week. And they bring their friends back. And that's fantastic, but everytime they're coming it's not necessarily to purchase wine, they're coming to have a good time.

"So it becomes, you know, a form of entertainment in some respects, and when you look at the numbers of how much wine we pour in a month. We track our wine monthly, and it's just crazy. . . . between all of our retail stores, and that's six retail stores, we pour about 50 cases a month. That's a LOT of wine for tastings. So at some point you have to at least cover your expenses.

"It's been difficult for us. We toss and turn over this all the time," she said. "Most of the wineries [along the Lehigh Valley trail] are now charging for groups because we're getting a lot of the limos and the mini party buses and stuff. They're not coming necessarily to buy wine, they're coming to have fun. And, so we said, by appointment only and we charge them $5, and I think most of the wineries are 2, 3, 4, 5 dollars, somewhere around there."

Lehi Valley passports on verge of sellout

Wanted to clear the notebook before we get too far into a new week. It appears that passports for the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail's March Madness are either all sold out or almost sold out as of this morning. Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery noted in an e-letter yesterday that tickets were all sold out, although the home page of the wine trail this morning suggested giving Cherry Valley Vineyards a call at 570.992.2255 and see if they have any left to sell.

March Madness runs every weekend in March, starting on the 7th. Not only do you get to sample the wines at each of the trail's nine wineries and receive a trail gift (which this year is a Prodyne Vino Gondola 2 bottle wine bucket), but all of them offer wine and food pairings that are distinctive and, in all cases, look like they would suffice for lunch or dinner as you make your way around the trail in March.

Here is a sampling of what you're get to drink and eat, this courtesy of Clover Hill:

Week 1
March 7-8: Pinot Grigio paired with RotisserieChicken served on French bread crostini with a lemon-caper sauc DeChaunac paired with a spicy meatball slider with cheddar cheese served on a butter roll. Please note, this is the last weekend forour annual wine rack sale. All wine racks are discounted 10-60%! Visit www.cloverhillwinery.com for more information.
Week 2
March 14-15: Pinot Grigio paired with Rotisserie Chicken served on French bread crostini with a lemon-caper sauce DeChaunac paired with a spicy meatball slider with cheddar cheese served on a butter roll.
Week 3
March 21-22: Riesling paired with shrimp and tasso (spicy Cajun pork) gravy served on a homemade buttermilk biscuit Sangoivese paired with warm, fresh mozzarella and tomato fresco served on a sliced baguette
Week 4
March 28-29: Riesling paired with shrimp and tasso (spicy Cajun pork) gravy served on a homemade buttermilk biscuit Sangoivese paired with warm, fresh mozzarella and tomato fresco served on a sliced baguette

Speaking of Clover Hill, I asked marketing manager Kari Skrip last week about a couple of her winery's favorite wines. The first she mentioned was the Merlot. "For years we made Clover Hill Red," she said. "which actually was a blended form of Merlot. And the past couple of eyars we've been making it at least 75 percent Merlot; actually, the past two vintages were about 95 percent merlot. So we decided to change the name and we released the 2006 as the 2006 Merlot. Basically it's the same style. We were confident we had a good source of Merlot. We don't grow it outselves. But we have a good source of Merlot that's coming from Oley, Pa., and we've contracted with them. So we were confident we had a good quality of fruit coming from them on a yearly basis coming form them. So it's a really beautiful wine; it's not too full-bodied, it's medium-bodied, just really nice strong, rich flavors."

Skrip also mentioned the Chambourcin and Cabernet Sauvignon as two more reds with delicious fruit that rank atop her list. "The Cab, I love to showcase it because we're really pleased with how far it has come. A few vintages ago it was green and we worked a lot in the vineyard to try and get things riper. I'm really impressed with how it's come. I'm not saying it's the end-all, be-all, but I'm proud of the changes we've made and the style we're achieving with it now.

"And we do an oaked Vidal. We do a dry version of it and we age it in French and Hungarian oak and I love that wine. It's . . . a really neat alternative to Chardonnay because it's got more acidity to it than most Chardonnays and just has really vibrant flavors. That's another one of my favorites."

Woodhall gets its barrel tasting weekends rolling

Wanted to give a public shout-out to the folks at Woodhall Wine Cellars in Parkton, Md., where we stopped Saturday on the first day of their barrel tasting. That's free for case club members, who also get a chance to walk back out of the cellar and enjoy a glass of wine with five chocolates from Kirchmayr Chocolates in Timonium, Md. The cost for noncase-club members is $15 per person.

Winemaker Chris Kent reported a couple of weeks ago that his yield from suppliers in 2008 was less than in previous years. That reduced the number of wines to sample by a few, to 12. But that didn't impinge on the quality, in our view. The Gunpowder Falls red and white both show a lot of promise, as did the Golden Run Reserve Vidal Blanc. And the two 2007s, the Copernica Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Parkton Prestige, will be wines worth cellaring for a few years, if you'd like. This is the sixth Copernica Reserve in the history of the winery, produced out of special vintages, and that vintage is as special as they get. In fact, wherever you go this spring and summer, grab those 2007s that you see are left over. It was a great year throughout the region that produced outstanding red and white wines. Indeed, we took with us a mixed case of 2007s that Woodhall still had in its inventory. As for the barrel tasting, we ordered two more cases and put 50 percent down; the rest is paid after the wine is bottled
and available for pickup. What we ordered likely will be ready to be taken by summer.

Woodhall's barrel tasting, by the way, will continue on weekends well into March.

There was one big group in the tasting room as we arrived, obviously what had spilled out of a stretch limo that was parked in the lot. Calls to a few wineries today revealed that business was bustling yesterday and today, especially at those places that were offering wine and chocolate as part of a Valentine's Weekend celebration. A perfect example was a response I received by e-mail from Brad Knapp of Pinnacle Ridge Winery in Kutztown, Pa.: "We just had our Berks County Wine Trail wine and chocolate event yesterday and it was huge. We probably had over 500 folks through the winery. It was nuts and more to come today."