By the way, October happens to be Pennsylvania Wine Month. See the link below for further information:
https://pennsylvaniawine.com/wine-month/
On a recent weekend, I made an excursion out to Lewisburg, PA, home of Bucknell University as well as the Federal Penitentiary, but my primary destination was Fero Vineyards and Winery, which is just a few miles north of town off highway 15. http://www.ferovineyards.com/
I had first learned about Fero a few years ago at the Wine & Jazz Festival at Longwood Gardens where I sampled an ancient Old World grape originating in Georgia and which is rapidly becoming the varietal du jour in various US wine regions, including the Finger Lakes. I was immediately struck by this unusually dark and exotic red wine, not least because of its production in, of all places, a somewhat obscure and off-the-beaten track winery in Central Pennsylvania. Obviously, they knew something I didn't (but have now sampled and studied at length), and in fact, they were the first to plant the Saperavi grape in the Eastern US. (Apparently, some upstart in Oregon beat them to it by just a matter of months.)
Alas! The winery is currently out of stock of the Saperavi because of limited supply and high demand, but I made sure I got the waiting list for the 2017 vintage when it is released sometime in the not too distant future. In the meantime, there is plenty more to sample and enjoy at this small, but charming winery. On the wine list in the photo above, you will see their current selection of dry whites and reds, along with a rosé and a few bubblies. I especially liked the Gruner Veltliner, an Austrian white varietal which is rapidly gaining traction in Pennsylvania as almost a flagship grape, and the Lemberger, also an Austrian varietal, alternatively known as Blaufrankisch in the Old World. The other dry varietals they produce, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, are definitely worth a taste and reflect the overall fine quality coming out of this small, family-run winery. They also produce semi-sweet and sweet wines, which include fruit wines and flavorings as well as native grape varietals such as Niagara, for the less discriminating palate. During the warm spring and summer months, there is live music on the weekends, another incentive for the long drive out to Central PA.
The next day, I wound my way back across route 80 and down 309 past Tamaqua toward Allentown and made a turn-off towards the tiny hamlet of Andreas seeking out another winery I had heard very positive reports about. In fact, Galen Glen Winery (pronounced 'Gay-len') http://www.galenglen.com/main.html is perched high above the rolling hills on the western edges of the Lehigh Valley, a mile or two north of Andreas. It boasts an absolutely beautiful setting enhanced by virtual 360 degree views of the sloping vineyards, cornfields and forests surrounding the tasting rooms and wine shop.
Not only does the tasting room take advantage of the natural beauty of the surroundings with windows facing the vineyards below, but there is also an outside patio behind and below the visitor center where you may enjoy a glass or two while enjoying the view. (And they also offer a very nice cheese and charcuterie plate as you see below.)
But enough about the setting, let's talk about the wine!
Galen Glen, like Fero, produces a very fine Gruner Veltliner. In fact, I would rate this Austrian varietal as the best Pennsylvania has to offer, even a notch above Fero's. Beautifully well-balanced, and crisp with notes of white grapefruit and passion fruit, Galen's gruner is a delightful, refreshing white wine that perks up the taste buds and whets the appetite for shellfish or light seafood. It is perhaps just a tad more fruit-driven than most of its minerally Austrian counterparts, but in a blind tasting it might prove difficult to distinguish between the Old World and New World - certainly the quality of the Galen is on the order of the Austrian wine.
Following in the Austrian tradition, Galen also produces a Zweigelt Rosé. This may be the first rosé of the red Austrian varietal I've sampled as typically they are vinified into straight red wine. As I've noted in a previous blog post, Zweigelt is an hybrid of Saint-Laurent and Blaufrankisch, two of the most widely grown grapes in Austria.
As for other dry white wines, Galen also produces good quality Riesling and Gewurztraminer, similar in style to its compatriots to the north in the Finger Lakes.
The reds include Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Chambourcin, this last one being a very popular varietal in Pennsylvania, and Galen's version I found to be definitely one of the better ones I've tasted from the Keystone State. Years ago, when I first sampled a Pennsylvania Chambourcin, I found it to be rather thin, with little depth or complexity, and rather astringent to the point of being almost unpleasant. The Galen chambourcin was nicely balanced, round, with intense cherry and blackberry flavors accompanied by delicate herbal notes and fine tannins. This French-American hybrid, which is actually not found much anymore in France, has come a long way in the last few decades in Pennsylvania.
I should add that the price points for these wines are relatively easy on the wallet, all of them coming in under $20.
In addition to the tasting experience, Galen offers a walking tour of the vineyards - usually once a week during the warm months, and for all you wine geeks, it's definitely worth the time and extra charge. In fact, for the extra $5 you get a glass of wine to sip as you meander through the vineyards, and you even get to take a look at the Rube-Goldberg type bottling machine that was directly imported from France.
On our tour, we also got to witness the unloading of the grapes for destemming and crushing assisted by one of the winery's owners. And Russell, the dog, faithfully keeps away any undesirable moochers!
All in all, a visit to Galen Glen is the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of the big city, and offers a pleasant and peaceful respite from the busy-ness of the daily work routine. For wine lovers, there nothing like enjoying the fruit of the vine in its natural setting.
And just as a reminder, for a jaunt in the other direction from Philadelphia, 15-20 minutes past Longwood Gardens, be sure to visit the winery that got my vote for Pennsylania's best, Va La Vineyards, and which I reported on last year in this blog. http://www.valavineyards.com/
http://phillywineguy.blogspot.com/2017/10/best-winewinery-in-pennsylvania.html
For the true connoisseur of terroir-driven wines, Va La represents the epitome of quality and complexity in this corner of the state.
