A toast to our Pennsylvania Wine Stories winner!
First, we asked for your Pennsylvania wine stories. Then, we narrowed the submissions to one finalist in each of Pennsylvania's seven wine regions and asked you to vote for your favorite.
Now, the votes have been tallied and we’re proud to announce that Shawn E. of Lehighton, PA is the winner of our Pennsylvania Wine Stories contest. Congratulations, Shawn!
Shawn's story, along with the other regional finalists, can be read below. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to submit a story and/or vote!
A Beautiful Escape
Shawn E
Galen Glen Winery - Lehigh Valley & Berks County
My friends and I often go to Galen Glen on a Sunday afternoon to get away from life for a few hours. Over the past several years, my friends and I have shared many laughs, and stories, and have made many unforgettable memories over bottles of their wine. The thing we love the most about this location is sitting out back and looking over the winery grounds. It’s so relaxing, and makes us feel so far away from reality. We love the fact that we have such a beautiful escape only a few miles away.
Taste of Wine
Valerie M
Antler Ridge Winery - Upper Susquehanna
Over the summer, my husband and I went camping in Rome, PA. We had gone camping there a few years ago and were told about two local wineries near our campground. We visited one location and then visited Antler Ridge Winery. We were taken aback by the scenery and enjoyed the company of the people working at Antler Ridge. We tasted all of their wines, and ended up enjoying the wines later that night while sitting by the campfire under the stars. Tasting wines was a new thing for us, and now that we’ve grown to enjoy local wineries, Antler Ridge is always a favorite! Tasting their wines always takes us back to camping under the stars while sipping wine.
Southwest Passage
Jamie M
Thistlethwaite Vineyards - Pittsburgh Countryside
Earlier this year, we saw the advertisement for the Southwest Passage Wine tour - a day of arts and crafts, music and wine tasting. We thought it would be the perfect way to enjoy all that Pennsylvania has to offer. After stops at Christian W. Klay Winery, Glades Pike Winery, Greendance, and Stone Villa Wine Cellars, we realized we had only a little time left and had not made it as far along the trail as we'd hoped. We decided to head home and thought, how about one more? We called Thislethwaite Vineyards and they said they were still open and we had about an hour to get there. So we took off and made it with time to spare.
The artists for the day had already left, but the real treat was yet to come. We were familiar with their wine as we had been there a time or two. This time, we were enticed by the new sparkling wine. So we asked for a taste, and what a show we received. When the bottle was opened, wine went everywhere. No worries, we were told - it was nothing a towel couldn't handle. So with a lesson on how not to open a bottle of sparkling wine, a case of wine from our travels and several memories from along the Southwest Passage, we ventured home. Now every time we share one of those bottles, we tell the story of how we made it to five wineries in one day and did it all in Pennsylvania.
Missing Home
Kathleen S
Chaddsford Winery - Philadelphia Countryside
I have always loved visiting Chaddsford Winery. The first time I went, my mom and I came across it somewhat by accident when my car broke down on a trip to Brandywine Museum. We fell in love with Chaddsford Winery instantly. Over the years, I’ve attended numerous tastings and releases of new wines. When I met the man I would eventually marry, one of our first dates was at a tasting. The first time he proposed was at a spring wine release. When we wed in September of 2004, we served Chaddsford’s spring wine at our wedding brunch.
We eventually moved to Alabama and procuring Pennsylvania wine became a little trickier. Whenever someone came to visit, they’d sneak us a bottle or two of Chaddsford. When we moved to Chuuk in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, wine - let alone Pennsylvania wine - was very tough to find.
I lived vicariously through the Chaddsford newsletters and dreamed of trips back to the States.
In August 2011, my husband and I found ourselves in Guam and ran into a young man, Louis, who had just returned from visiting his father in Bucks County. He didn’t know I was originally from the area so we spent the night swapping stories. The last story was about a great winery he had visited in Peddler’s Village - after which he produced a bottle of spring wine for my husband and I to share on our upcoming 7th anniversary. Thanks, Chaddsford!
The Ladies in Pink
Maria B
Mason-Dixon Wine Trail - Lower Susquehanna
The night before my friend Suzanne and I attended our first wine trail, I picked up a pair of pink hoodies and embroidered our names on them with a quick logo stating ”Uncork York Tour de Tanks 2010” and a bunch of grapes underneath. As we started working our way from Gettysburg to Lancaster, everyone remarked on our jackets and asked us where we got them. We jokingly replied, ”Didn’t you get yours with your ticket?”
We had so much fun on the wine trail and gained so much notoriety by the second weekend, as our picture was taken by the different wineries and the York Visitors Bureau and posted on Facebook. Our picture was even featured in the brochure this past year. My niece in Baltimore called me in March and asked, “Aunt Maria, have you been drinking wine?”
Cautiously, I asked her why she wondered. Sure enough, our picture had landed on the cover of the travel section of the Baltimore Sun. That picture is worth 1,000 words. We truly had a blast visiting all the wineries and meeting all the people.
Corkscrew
John Z
Maiolatesi Wine Cellars - Upper Susquehanna
I needed a few bottles of wine, so I stopped at Maiolatesi Wine Cellars and gathered enough to last the weekend. I took a nice leisurely hour ride there. Later, I unpacked my car, built a fire, and decided to have a glass of wine. To my surprise, I had everything but a corkscrew! The nearest place to get one would have been a half-hour round trip. At this point I said to myself, ”Self, you’re a hillbilly and can overcome this.”
I managed to find a coarse thread drywall screw, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers. Before simply accessing the bottle, I thought this might make a great video for Maiolatesi Wine Cellars’ Facebook page. So I set up the camera on my cell phone, and created a documentary video on how to access a bottle of wine without a corkscrew.
After it was open, I was finally able to sit by my fireplace with my dog, my acoustic guitar, and most importantly, my favorite wine from Maiolatesi Wine Cellars. Weekends don’t get any better than that.
Fishing With a Side of Wine
Kevin G
Mazza Vineyards - Lake Erie
Every year for the last five years, my brother and I have made the three-and-a-half-hour trip from home to Erie to go steelhead fishing. The first year we went up, we didn’t know about the wineries in the Erie region. One day in late October when the fishing was really bad, we drove around and saw that Mazza Vineyards was having a tour and tasting event, so we decided to stop and check it out. We both enjoyed ourselves so much that we plan a trip at the same time every year to go up for some fishing with a side of wine.
Shower
Judith P
Foxburg Wine Cellars - Groundhog Region
My daughter is getting married and moving to Sacramento, CA. She has been working there for five years and her wedding shower here in Pennsylvania was a chance for us to spend time with her, which we may not be able to do again for many years. Her sisters and I spent the day visiting three wineries, but our favorite of the day was Foxburg Wine Cellars. We enjoyed a luncheon across the street, bought some chocolate from a nearby store, purchased a few bottles of wine, and then settled down under the pergola to listen to some music and spend some time laughing together. In California, my daughter may be able to visit Napa and Sonoma, but she will always have a special memory of Foxburg and singing on the way to the next stop on our winery tour shower.
A Beautiful Escape
Shawn E
Galen Glen Winery - Lehigh Valley & Berks County
My friends and I often go to Galen Glen on a Sunday afternoon to get away from life for a few hours. Over the past several years, my friends and I have shared many laughs, and stories, and have made many unforgettable memories over bottles of their wine. The thing we love the most about this location is sitting out back and looking over the winery grounds. It’s so relaxing, and makes us feel so far away from reality. We love the fact that we have such a beautiful escape only a few miles away.