August Newsletter Greetings Friends, August is a great time of year to come out, taste some wine, and enjoy the view of the vineyard. The grapes are
August Newsletter
Greetings Friends,
August is a great time of year to come out, taste some wine, and enjoy the view of the vineyard. The grapes are just about ready to go through veraison, where they stop growing and start ripening. The red grapes will turn from green to red and the sugar levels start to rise. This change in color is also a signal for the birds the grapes are about ready to eat.
Just a reminder, the Vyneskeller is open 7 days a week so after you are done tasting you can grab a glass of wine and relax downstairs.
August Specials
* Wine of the Month - Vynecrest Red - additional 10% off
* 3 Pack of the Month - 3 Bear Naked Chardonnay for $35.00
*available at winery only
Upcoming Events
Aug 21 - Wine glass painting, Vynecrest on Main
Friday Aug 21st from 6-8pm, join us at Vynecrest on Main in Kutztown for "Painting with Wine."The cost is $12 per person which includes a glass to paint, a glass to drink, and all painting supplies. Appetizers are available for a nominal charge. Please call our Kutztown location to make reservations. There are only 15 spots available so reservations are a must. For reservations 484-641-5149.
Aug 21 & 22 - Sorrelli Trunk Show
Join us Friday Aug 21 (11am - 5:30pm) & Sat Aug 22 (11am - 5pm) as we partner with Sorrelli for a trunk show at our Breinigsville location.
Sorrelli will be offering Buy one, get one 50% off their ESSENTIALS & SOFT SILHOUETTES Collections as well as 15% off fall colors Lemonade, Sangria and Riverstone. You can also register to win a Sorrelli branded wine glass with a $25 gift certificate. We will pick 2 winners from the registration to win.
Aug 30 - Vineyard & Winery Tour
Jazz Sunday
Vineyard & Winery tour begins at 12pm. $5 per person. Tour should wrap up just in time to enjoy some live Jazz music in the Vyneskeller from 1 - 4pm.
Oct 24 - Lehigh Valley Cider & Wine Festival, Coca-Cola Park
The Lehigh Valley Cider and Wine Festival – an on-field event featuring hard cider and wine tastings from local and regional cideries and wineries – makes its debut on Sat., Oct. 24 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Coca-Cola Park. Attendees each receive a collector’s stemless glass to enjoy their cider and wine tastings and can also purchase a variety of food and crafts from local food trucks, vendors and artisans. The festival – which takes place during Pennsylvania Wine Month -- also includes live entertainment, panel discussions describing the process of making both cider and wine, the ability to purchase wine by the glass, bottle or case and other fun activities such as an apple launch competition.
When I have a glass of Lemberger I think about what went into making the wine that is in that bottle. Arguments over what to plant 4,5,6 years or more earlier. Remembering in 2008 we seriously considered ripping all of it out and not making it any more (thank goodness we didn’t follow through with that idea). Wondering if the vines were going to make it through the sub zero temps of the winter. Watching bud break and deciding how many clusters to keep. The awesome crew of guys in the vineyard who handle pruning, hedging, picking and everything in between. Prior to harvest, putting together the order for what yeast to use, enzyme & tannin additions, whether to cold soak or not. Tasting Lemberger on the vine when it gets close to harvest time. Arguing (again) over when to pick each lot of Lemberger. Finally picking and fermenting it. Sam and I having sand wedge contests over who can chip a golf ball into the fermenting red wine (the loser had to punch the caps). Sam punching the caps. Pressing the almost dry wine and tasting the wine that runs out of the press as it is being crushed. Letting the wine sit for a few months before we put it on oak. Inevitably thinking that I have completely screwed up this vintage and I should have stuck with what I did last year. The following day retasting and not being so scared. Oak additions to the wine a couple of months later: Some went to oak barrels, some went to Flex Tanks with oak staves and some with oak chips. At the end of the day (sometimes in the middle of the day) pulling samples and making sure everything is “progressing as it should”. That wonderful day when we “have” to come up with the final blend for Lemberger. Hopefully bottling before the current year runs out so we don’t have empty shelves. Grabbing a bottle as I head out the door to enjoy during dinner with the family.
It’s awesome to have a story about the drink you have in front of you. I am lucky enough to be involved in the process of producing that bottle. But hopefully you also have a story about Vynecrest wine. Maybe you had a great time in the Vyneskeller with friends and family or you had Vynecrest wine at someone’s wedding. That’s the great thing about local wine, you don’t just go pick it up at the store, there is an experience associated with it. The wines are great by themselves (hopefully) but you can’t buy the moment’s off the shelf. The moments are what make that wine taste a little better.
So, Cheers to the moments!
Cheers!
Vynecrest Family
John, Jan, Sam Landis & Malachi Duffy
