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Welcome
to Russel's Ramblings™! This is the fifth installment of my
addition to the website, which focuses on the various aspects of the
joy of the table- WINE! In this installment, I discuss the Lehigh
Valley Wine Trail in Pennsyvania. Read on and click
here to send me your comments and questions.
Perhaps
you are familiar with large wine trails in the Finger Lakes or
California regions, but in this installment I want to introduce you
to the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail. The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, along
with most other small wine trails, is different from the better known
and well traveled trails. In the Finger Lakes and California you can
go from winery to winery to winery in 30 seconds! In the Lehigh
Valley, however, you will need to drive between 15 minutes to 30
minutes between the wineries. Having a leisurely drive from winery to
winery adds to the charm and overall experience of trails like the
Lehigh Valley Wine Trail.
Tonya
and I made a trip to the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail a few years ago.
Pennsylvania has approximately one hundred wineries. Some grow grapes
around Lake Erie (one of the oldest areas in PA) and others are
located in the various mountain ranges and river valleys throughout
the state. The Lehigh Valley borders the Lehigh River and lies at the
foot of the Pocono Mountains in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Some of
you might be familiar with the two of the nationally known colleges
in that area, Lehigh University and Lafayette College. The wine trail
is located sort of between Allentown and Stroudsburg PA, two rust
belt towns. I find this to be some of the most beautiful land in the state.
The
Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is made up of eight wineries. Tonya and I
were able to visit six of the eight wineries. They were all enjoyable
with individual and distinctive wines. I think our favorite two
places were Vynecrest and Blue Mountain. The other four -Galen Glen,
Pinnacle Ridge, Franklin Hill and Clover Hill- all had wines and an
overall experience, which certainly made them worthy of a visit and a purchase.
We
stayed at an exceptional bed and breakfast, the Dockside Bed and
Breakfast (www.docksidebed.com) in New Tripoli, PA. The rooms are, as
Tonya would say, ridiculous! We stayed in the Safari Room, which was
beautiful and featured a great view of their small pond. We were able
to fish and paddle boat on the pond. It was a great catch and release
pond because we each caught a number of fish. We also got the paddle
boat stuck in the middle of the pond with a rainstorm approaching!
The inn keeper had to rescue us and to this day I am sure he still
tells the story of how we got stuck to every visitor, relative and
friend who will listen. Dockside is located five minutes from Blue
Mountain (for skiing and other winter sports) and Blue Mountain Winery.
Blue
Mountain Winery is located at the base of the mountain and is a
small family owned winery. They have a spacious tasting room with an
open deck and an enclosed deck. They also have music most weekends
and various events throughout the year. I think the wine that stands
out from the rest is the Blue Heron Meritage. This is a Bordeaux
style blend, which exhibits the talents of the winemaker. This blend
is a shining example of a great local wine that can rival those from
the more well known regions. They also have done good things with red
wines like Chambourcin, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition,
the Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay are very good. I think we might have
another weekend tasting over the holidays!
At
Vynecrest we were very impressed with their white wines. The
Traminette, Gewurtztraminer, Riesling were all awesome. This area has
a great history of German immigrants which explains why German grape
varietals seem to make the best wine in the region. They also offer
tours of the winery and have events most weekends.
At
Clover Hill, we bought their Turtle Rock Red, Chambourcin and
DeChaunac. These were three very drinkable and tasty wines. They also
do sparkling wines, which I believe are some of the best I have had.
At Franklin Hill we enjoyed their Simply Red and also their sparkling wine.
This
is just a brief summary of our trip to the Lehigh Valley. The area
is not far from Philadelphia, New York and all points in New Jersey.
I cannot believe we have not made a trip to this wine trail in over
two years! I think we need to make another trip to re-introduce
ourselves to the wines of our area and I encourage you to do the same.
Cheers!
Russel
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here to send me your comments and questions
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