Best Wine/Winery in Pennsylvania?

Not too long ago, the idea of a Pennsylvania fine wine seemed like an oxymoron - a contradiction in terms.  Over the years I'd tasted any number of locally produced wines, particularly from the Lehigh Valley, the Brandywine Valley and the Delaware watershed.  Although I liked the idea of supporting local wineries, I couldn't say that any of them were worth more than a passing tasting, and given the price points - well, let's say you're not paying for the quality, but rather the novelty of a local product.  Too often they came off as thin, vegetal, unbalanced, too acidic, too sweet (most sales of PA wines are for the sweet or fruit wines), and inevitably there was that distinct characteristic, especially among the reds,  I came to label as "Pennsylvania funk" which has nothing to do with R&B.  Something about the climate or terroir just did not lend itself to producing fine wines of character, complexity and depth.

Well, things have changed and continue to change.  A few years ago, I had the occasion to taste a number of wines produced at the Penns Woods Winery, off Route 202, near Chadds Ford.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that at least a few had real potential for a place in my wine cellar. (More on Penns Woods in a later blog post.)  Then in 2016 I finally got around to attending the annual Wine and Jazz Festival at Longwood Gardens that features only wines produced in Pennsylvania.  (Again, more about this festival in a future post.)  It took some time to scope out the really decent wines, but persistence paid off.  Finally, this past Labor Day, a wine-loving friend and I motored down to a small winery just below Avondale near the Delaware state line in "deep southern" Chester County, and alas! I hit the pay dirt.  Those of you in the know may already have guessed or have already visited the estate of which I speak: Va La Vineyards.  http://www.valavineyards.com/

For some time, I had been aware of this somewhat esoteric and maverick winery, and it continued to peak my curiosity.  Indeed, over a year ago, I had already made an attempt to find and tour the winery, but time was short and daylight was waning, and so I was obliged to put it off for another day.  When I saw on their website  that there would be live jazz over the Labor Day weekend, I immediately made plans for a leisurely visit, including wine tasting, picnicking and enjoying the music - a perfect combination!




To put it bluntly, the wines pretty much blew me away!  All of Va La wines are field blends, meaning that the different varietals are grown in the same vineyards, harvested, vinified and then blended to together in varying proportions according to the winemaker's taste and expertise. (See the end of this post for more background information on field blends as explained by Wine Spectator.)

Va La produces limited quantities of their field blends each year (typically 150- 200 cases each), and the precise blend will depend on the vintage year. Not all blends are produced each year.  So depending on when you go to visit, there may be different wines available.

Craig Laban, restaurant and wine critic of the Philadelphia Inquirer, had sung the praises of their Silk Rosé  ("a gorgeous oddity") in a piece earlier this summer,  http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/craig_laban/surprising-silk-is-a-pa-wine-true-to-its-name-20170721.html  but that was just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

Silk Rosato

"Silk has evolved into a gorgeous oddity - a wine with voluptuous fruit and what feels like
good structure, but one that also drinks seamlessly with virtually invisible edges."--- Craig LaBan Philadelphia Inquirer, July 21, 2017

Varietals: corvina veronese, barbera, carmine, petit verdot, nebbiolo,

Production Notes: slow, cold fermentation; free-run separation from skins (no pressing); barrel-aged 14 months.



For the tasting (at $20 per person, it includes at least 4 or 5 generous pours along with some excellent locally produced cheese pairings, and as such is a very good deal), we started off with their white wines, which, in fact, are more of the "orange" variety. That is, they are allowed to macerate with the skins for a substantial length of time as well rest on the lees for many months.

La Prima Donna 2013




Production Notes: Average vine age -18 years; each batch fermented sulle bucce (on the skins) for 16-47 days; 17 months aging sur lie; batches blended then aged in bottle for 10 months before release.

Varietals: Malvasia bianca; petit manseng; pinot grigio; tocai

Tasting Notes: lush, full-bodied with complex citrus and tropical fruit flavors; continues to develop as it breathes and opens up; intense minerality; long, persistent finish

Food pairings: fish, poultry, mushrooms


Zafferano 2015  (Vintage Number Nine)




This was a special cuvée with a limited release which we were fortunate to sample.

Varietals: four clones of pinot grigio, fiano, tocai, petit manseng

Production Notes: Fermented sulle bucce for 30 days, then aged 18 months sur lie.

Tasting Notes: Rich texture, full-bodied; notes of apple sauce, cinnamon, peaches; best enjoyed soon after purchase.

Food Pairings:  grilled poultry, pork, shellfish, mushrooms, chanterelles, veal



Now we move onto the reds:

Castana 2015 (Vintage Number Four)

Varietals: carmine, petit verdot, barbera, lagrein, sagrantino, teroldego

Production Notes: aged for 15 months in Pennsylvania and French oak barrels; vine age between 8 and 18 years.

Tasting Notes: Well-structured with dark fruit flavors; hints of smoke, coffee bean, black pepper, eucalyptus; best to decant 2 - 6 hours to allow flavors and tannins to be unleashed and open up to their full expression

Food Pairings: roasted meats; grilled vegetables and mushrooms; smoked and blackened dishes


And now, the piece de resistance, which I awarded 4 stars (out of 5) on my personal rating system:

Mahogany 2014 (Vintage Number 10)

Varietals: barbera, malvasia nera, charbono, petit verdot, carmine, teroldego, lagrein, sagrantino

Production Notes: Vine age 10-18 years; aged for 17 months in Burgundy and Pennsylvania barrels for 17 months, followed by 7 months in the bottle before release.



Tasting Notes: very dense, concentrated, opening up to reveal red and dark fruit flavors; velvety, lush texture with hints of bramble, earthiness, dark chocolate, blackberry, spice; powerful, full-bodied but not overbearing; well-balanced, harmonious.

Food Pairings: lamb, prime rib, wild game, red sauces, aged meats and cheeses.



So to sum up, if you're still in doubt about Pennsylvania wines, take a road trip down to Avondale and check it out. You will not be disappointed!


Field Blends:

"What makes a field blend: more than one grape variety planted together in the same vineyard. Field blends happen all over the world, though they're now rare. In the past, before folks fretted about varietals or clones, they just planted different grapes in their vineyard as an inexpensive (yet limiting) way to blend wines. All the grapes are harvested at the same time and fermented together—a true field blend doesn't separate by varietals at harvest; the "blend" is whatever Nature gives that vintage.

Modern winemakers generally prefer to plant and pick each variety separately, knowing that they don't always ripen evenly. Sometimes a winemaker will ferment multiple grapes together (a practice called co-fermentation), which invokes the spirit of field blends. But most winemakers blend different lots of wine together after the fermentation is finished to better control the process."

 - Wine Spectator