'Yappy Hour' among Kreutz Creek events of note

Here's some news you can use.

Kreutz Creek Winery in West Grove noted today in its e-blast that co-owner Jim Kirkpatrick is planning a Vineyard Day for April 25. Weather permitting, he'll be planting the new vines. If you're interested in getting dirty and having a little fun while you're at it, call to schedule the day. It will be from 9 to 5 and lunch is included. They're limiting the number of people, so call early to reserve your spot. You can reach Carole Kirkpatrick at 610.869.4412 to schedule.

The e-blast continued: "We're also going to have our bottling work day on Memorial Day again this year. You won't get too dirty but it could be a little warm. If you're interested in learning more about the process this is a great way to learn. It will be May 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Carole will be cooking her famous Vineyard Burgers so you won't want to miss it. Numbers are limited so call Carole right now to reserve your spot at 610.869.4412."

They also noted that in their West Chester tasting room, 44 Gay St., they're planning to start having "Yappy Hour" in May. "Every Thursday from 6 to 8 in May bring your good mannered, house-broken pup to the shop. All bottles of wine will be $1 off and each pup will get a free dog treat! What a great way to spend a little extra time with your best friend."

Vines to own wines takes 'only' 12 years

Waltz Vineyards in Manheim, Pa., last Saturday became the newest winery to open officially. Jan and Kim Waltz planted their vineyard in 1997 and began producing wine out of the garage three years later. Now they're known regionally for their outstanding fruit and, while remaining a producer, have begun to sell their wine with the Waltz Vineyards label adorning the bottles.

Asked Kim via e-mail how last week's grand opening went and received this reply.

"Last Saturday went very well. We had nearly fifty people through our little Tuscan style tasting room. Everyone was quite impressed with the quality of the wines we are producing and many commented that they would be back 'with friends.' Most customers were completely amazed at how much work goes into the whole process from vine to wine.

"It is with great pride that our entire project was completed by local businesses. It was exciting for the people to realize that all of the fruit came right from our farm. A tobacco lathe that Jan's family used for many generations adorns the bars and walls of our tasting room. And , at this time, three local artists have displayed their work on our walls.

"We closed the doors last Saturday feeling very encouraged and looking forward to the next time we could open those doors to the public. Currently, we are open from 12-5 on Saturdays through the end of March. We plan to extend the hours in late Spring and Summer 2009."

The Event Grapevine: March 6-8

Here's what's going on, both this weekend and beyond:

PENNSYLVANIA WINERIES

Adams County Winery, Orrtanna: Wine Appreciation class ($$), Saturday, March 21, 6 to 8:30 p.m.; Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March 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 ($$), 2 to 5 p.m., all require reservations at 741.3072, all events at the Wine Gallery in Olde Tollgate Village EXCEPT for Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Black Walnut Winery, Sadsburyville: Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), 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

Boyd’s Cardinal Hollow Winery, North Wales: Nina singing live, Saturday, March 14, 5 to 8 p.m., link to winery

Buckingham Valley Vineyards, Buckingham: Spring Arts Sale, March 14-15, Bucks County Wine Trail event, link to winery

Chaddsford Winery, Chaddsford: Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), starting Sunday and continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries; reserve tastings ($$) begin in March, 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. every Saturday; winemaker dinner ($$) at Caffe Gelato, Newark, Del., Sunday, March 22, 6 p.m.; Wine 101 ($$), Thursday, April 9, 6 to 8 p.m. with Eric Miller, the first of a series of classes that run through May; Pierre Noir release party, Friday, April 3; Crazy Eric sale at the winery, Saturday, April 11, starting at 8 a.m.; technical tour program, free, starting April 1, on Fridays at 3 p.m. and Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., reservations accepted, link to winery

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville: Annual wine rack sale ($$), all Clover Hill locations, through Sunday; March Madness ($$), passport required, a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail event; beginner tasting class ($$), Saturday, April 25, 3 p.m.; A Taste of Spring, a Berks County Wine Trail event, April 25-26, link to winery

Country Creek Winery, Salford Township: Music, Mike Greer and Friends, Saturday, March 21, no cover charge, 6 to 9 p.m.; dinner at Brazzo Downtown ($$), Thursday, March 26; Liquid Fridge will perform, Saturday, March 28, 6 to 9 p.m., link to winery

Crossing Vineyards & Winery, Washington Crossing: 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 ($$), Tuesday, March 17, 7:30 p.m.; Wine 101, at the Wine Institute ($$), 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., topic on Friday, March 23, is An Introduction to Wine, link to winery

Cullari Vineyards & Winery, Hershey: Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Four Springs Winery, Seven Valleys: Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

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

Hauser Estate Winery, Biglerville: Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries; winamaker’s dinner ($$), March 27, Restaurant Sydney in East Berlin; Candlelight Friday, last Friday of every month, 5 to 8 p.m., wine tasting, music and warm food, 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 ($$), 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.; Saturday, March 21, wine and food pairing, link to winery

Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery, Wrightsville: Music every Friday (6 to 9 p.m.), Saturday (2 to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (2 to 5 p.m.); Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Naylor Wine Cellars, Stewartstown: Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries; Forget The Taxes and red Wine Dinner, Saturday, April 18, 3 to 6 p.m., and Sunday, April 19, 2 to 5 p.m., link to winery

New Hope Winery, New Hope: Spring Arts Festival, Bucks County Wine Trail event, link to winery

Nissley Vineyards & Winery Estate, Bainbridge: Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Paradocx Vineyard, Landenberg: Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries, link to winery

Penns Woods Winery, Eddystone: Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), 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: New winery opening Saturday; Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries, link to information

Rose Bank Winery, Newtown: Spring Art Fest, Friday, March 20, 5 to 8 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Winter Wine Concert Series, Sundays through March 29, 1 to 4 p.m., at Shady Brook Farm, link to winery

Rushland Ridge, Rushland: Reopened Thursday, link to winery

Seven Valleys Vineyard & Winery, Glen Rock: Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend through March at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery

Stargazers Vineyard & Winery, Coatesville: Barrels on the Brandywine ($$), starting Sunday and continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail 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 ($$), continuing every weekend in March at all Brandywine Valley Wine Trail wineries, link to winery

Va La Vineyards, Avondale: Open Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.; a proud participant this year in the 2009 Avondale League of Octogenarians Spring Swimsuit Festival, link to winery

Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville: March Madness ($$), passport required, a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail event, link to winery

Waltz Vineyards, Manheim: New winery, open Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. through the end of March, and by appointment, link to winery

West Hanover Winery, Harrisburg: Tour de Tanks ($$), continuing every weekend in March at all Uncork York wineries, link to winery


MARYLAND WINERIES

Basignani Winery, Sparks: Pizza and herbs ($$), April 18-19, noon to 5 p.m., link to winery

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; St. Paddy’s Day with the Bog Band, Sunday, March 15, noon to 5 p.m.; Crumbling Rock vs. the World ($$), Sunday, March 29, 2 to 5 p.m., link to winery
Boordy Vineyards, Hydes: Stew in Our Juices ($$), 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; Music in the Cellar, Saturdays, 6:30 or 7 p.m.; winery closed Sunday for volunteer party, link to winery

Fiore Winery, Pylesville: Wine tasting dinner at Liberatore’s in Bel Air ($$), Saturday, March 14, link to winery

Sugarloaf Mountain, Dickerson: Red wine sensory tasting seminar ($$), Saturday, 1 p.m.; soup will be served in the tasting room on Saturdays and Sundays throughout February; Friday Flights ($$) 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

WINE TRAIL EVENTS

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.

March Madness, Lehigh Valley Wine Trail passport event, continuing on weekends through the end of March; sold out, you can find information on the event here.

Trail of Spring, third annual Berks County Wine Trail event, April 25-26, with wine and food pairings.

$$ – Admission charge

Out in the vineyard, it's time to prune

So what is happening in your favorite vineyard long about now? More perhaps than you realized. Write sowner and winemaker Joanne Levengood in the latest e-blast from Manatawny Creek Winery in Douglassville, Pa.:

"What is happening in the vineyard during the winter? The grapevines go dormant in November and will remain in their dormant state until budbreak sometime in late April or early May. While the vines are dormant, pruning takes place. Pruning is a huge job where each of the approximately 25 shoots per vine are cut back to 2 buds. These 2 buds contain the 2 shoots for the next growing season and there are typically 2 grape clusters per shoot. Pruning is necessary in order to maintain the size and shape of the vine and to ensure consistent productivity. If a vine is left unpruned, it will become unruly and out of control, fruit production will decrease, and the quality of the fruit will severely decline due to too much vegetation. The best quality grapes are from a balanced grapevine and pruning is essential to achieve this balance."

Allegro: Tanks busier than last year this time

Checked in Thursday with winemaker and owner Carl Helrich of Allegro Vineyards on how they fared during the first weekend of Tour de Tanks. That event will continue on weekends through the end of this month. Here's what he had to say.

"Yeah, we had a busy weekend. Busier than last year this time. We're tasting Chardonnay, Merlot and Chambourcin in the cellar with the visitors. The first two are wine varieties that I think will speak for our region. I am offering the Chambourcin as a counterpoint.

"We always enjoy being on the Tour de Tanks trail. It let's folks experience all the wineries side-by-side. Our customer base has exploded because of this event because a lot of wine drinkers in this area never came out to the Brogue before. Our sales in this remote area grew significantly last year, even with the slowing economy and the $4/gallon gas prices."

Boordy's Cab Franc figures to be excellent stew

What I didn’t ask Rob Deford of Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, Md., was how long it takes to invent the names for some of their monthly events. One example is this month’s, a Stew in Our Juices promotion that features stews made with Boordy wine. This comes on the heels of its February promotion, called Fond of You Fondue.

“We just got the highest compliment,” Deford said by phone yesterday afternoon. “We just saw another winery has picked that name up in Virginia.”

Deford said business through this dark stretch since the holiday, both literally and economically, has been good. “People seem to recognize that coming here is an antidote to spending a lot of money on a cruise ship,” he deadpanned. “We seem to be in good shape.”

Waiting on the horizon are the annual events at the winery and festivals around Maryland. Also sitting around is Boordy’s ’07 Cab Franc, which Deford said has turned him into an overanxious parent.

“It looks to be just wonderful,” he said. “That was the vintage that was really quite perfect in every way. The franc has lots of wonderful qualities to it.”

There’s not a whole lot, only in the vicinity of 1,200 gallons that Deford said is out of a total production of 90,000. That small amount translates to about 500 cases. There are a couple of reasons for the limited supply.

“It s limited to basically what the acreage in our 1 acre vineyard produces, in Burkittsville, that’s out near Frederick, and there’s a guy over the hill, a very capable producer, who produces a little bit for us as well,” Deford said. “That’s what limits it. We’re doing extreme crop management levels with the consequence that it’s just not a lot of wine.”

Expect the release sometime in April and May. Deford said the lot will sell out, as it typically does, and not necessarily overnight. “We don’t put a big push on it just because it’s going to run out, it does every year,” he said. “We don’t take it around to a lot of places.”

Deford said a bottle of the Cab Franc typically sells for $14. “We’re trying to just hold the line,” he said. “I am constantly humbled by the wines that are out there at reasonable prices, and I guess you can play that game many ways. But I always feel like I’m building for the next hundred years, and I really want Maryland wines to be viewed, and regional, forget the political boundaries, to be viewed as real contenders in the value sector.”

This one, he said, should be one of those contenders. “So many things can happen to a wine that can either surprise you on the upside or downside,” he said. “But right now it’s looking like it will be a very nice bottle of wine.”

Blue Bear Ease blends blueberries, white grapes

Blue Bear Ease?

Could be the name of the horse running in the second race today at Penn National. Maybe something you'd find in the gadget section of Bass Pro Shop. It certainly could be the name of one of those zillion colors that Sherwin Williams includes in its line of paints.

In this case it's the name of a popular blend that winemaker and owner Joanne Levengood nurtures at her Manatawny Creek Winery in Douglassville, Pa., unique. The winery recently sent an e-mail out that bottles of Blue Bear East are back on the shelves. That prompted a note from me to Levengood asking about the wine and its following.

Her reply: "We've been making the Blue Bear Ease for 4 years and we typically make about 500 gallons per year. It is pretty popular. We used to make a straight blueberry sweet dessert wine which I loved but didn't sell all that well. We started blending white grapes with blueberries to make a lighter style of fruit wine that people could enjoy by itself - not just for dessert. The addition of the grapes lowers the acidity of the overall blend and resulted in less sugar needing to be added to bring the wine into balance."

And there you have it.