Lehigh Valley Vineyards Celebrate “Wine in Bloom” This Weekend

The eight wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will present a new event called “Wine in Bloom” this weekend Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, May 22 from noon to 5 p.m. The event will celebrates bud break on the vines and the growing season. 

Wine in Bloom also highlights the importance that terroir (soil) plays in the development of the grapes, their flavor and the resulting taste of the wine, and stresses the importance of the A.V.A. designation (American Viticultural Area) in further legitimizing the Lehigh Valley for wine making. Each winery will offer its own variety of activities, from vineyard tours and food and wine pairings, to live entertainment and even a scavenger hunt.

* Amore Winery in Nazareth will celebrate Wine in Bloom with a Strawberry Festival featuring strawberry wine paired with a variety of mild cheese, mixed white chocolate treats and assorted strawberry desserts.

* Big Creek Winery in Kresgeville will be pairing its dry white Seyval with corn chowder a' la Seyve Villard.

* Blue Mountain Wine & Cellars in New Tripoli is sampling a selection of its wines paired with gourmet cheeses to complement them. Visitors can also show off  singing talents at a karaoke event Saturday from 1-4 p.m. The next day is Sangria Sunday from 2-5 p.m., with live entertainment by Leechboy. Admission is $5.

*  in Breinigsville will be hosting its annual scavenger hunt.  Participants can check in in the tasting room where they will find scavenger hunt details. Whoever finishes the hunt with the correct answers gets a prize. 

* Franklin Hill Vineyards of Bangor will offer tastings and tours of its facility, as well as music on the deck. Cheese plates from Klein's Farm will be available for purchase, and guests are welcome to walk around the vineyards to see how the vines have developed for the new vintage.

* Galen Glen Winery in Andreas will be showcasing the new Berry Pom-A-Rita Wine Slushy. It's all natural with the tart, sweet flavor of pomegranate and blueberry blended with wine and ice. See the vineyard in bloom on tractor and  wagon tours of the vineyard and wine cellar. Free tours depart on the hour 1-4 p.m.

* Pinnacle Ridge Winery in Kutztown celebrates with free tours of their estate vineyard. Tours will depart on the hour from 1-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Along with the regular wine tastings, there will be asparagus baked in phyllo dough and the 2010 Riesling using asparagus freshly harvested from the Pinnacle Ridge family garden. Sunday kicks off the summer 2011 season Sunday Jazz with Skip Moyer from 3 to 6 p.m. $5 cover charge.

* in Breinigsville will continue its 2011 Winemaker Tour series on Saturday at 1 p.m. for $5 per person. This tour is titled "Bud Break." Reservations are suggested. In addition, they will feature Art's Acoustic Oldies in the Vyneskeller from 1-4:30 p.m. No cover charge.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is a non-profit organization of wineries whose mission is to promote agri-tourism and to create a premiere wine destination and grape growing region while promoting Pennsylvania wines from the region. All of the member wineries have won numerous awards at state, national and international levels.   

The Lehigh Valley region is an official American Viticultural Area as designated by the Federal Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in April 2008. The Lehigh Valley AVA includes portions of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania. In order to receive the designation, at least 75 percent of the grapes used to make local wines must be grown within the region. Wineries in the region are permitted to list “Lehigh Valley” as the growing region on their labels.