Cheers from Vintage Connections  

We've tired of writing about two wines each week, so for the next few months we're going to write about nearby PA wineries and wine bars.  The weather is great and there are lots of fun activities, in addition to tasting wine, going on at PA wineries.  Take some time, take a drive, and enjoy! 

Dean and Lisa Foster
 Vintage Connections: Wine Educators and Consultants


Galen Glen Vineyard and Winery is a bit of a drive from our home and the Pottstown tri-county area, but well worth the time and gas.  The vineyard and winery is a short distance from the PA Turnpike (Northeast Extension) and Routes 309, 443 and 895.   The scenery during the drive and then from the patio and tasting room is spectacular.  Galen, Sarah, and their staff are friendly and knowledgeable.  We make the trip a couple of times each year and stock up on some excellent wines, especially their dry whites.


Reisling and Gruner Veltliner are Sarah's specialties.  The climate, soil, and weather is perfect for hardy, white wine grapes.  This year, she's introduced a dry Reisling to accompany her "half-dry" Reisling she's produced for years.  The dry Reisling just won a double gold medal at the Riverside (CA) International Wine Competition.  The Stone Cellar Grüner Veltliner and Riesling half-dry (semi-dry) both won silver medals.  All from a modest little winery on top of a mountain in Schuylkill County. 

We've tasted Reislings from Germany, France, the Finger Lakes, PA and elsewhere and we concur with the Riverside judges.  Galen Glen's Dry Reisling is excellent and compares to the best in the world, at a Schuylkill County price.  Dry Reislings are hard to find and since they are rather rare, we suspect very few of  our readers have sampled them.  They take some getting used to since you always expect at least a touch of sweetness in white wines, or a bit of oak in chardonnays.  Most Reislings are semi-dry or even sweeter.  But dry Reisling is a taste you want to acquire.  We love both dry Reisling and half-dry (off dry, semi-dry) and sometimes even sweeter versions, depending on the acid balance and the food we are pairing them with. 

We also doubt many of our readers have sampled Gruner Veltliner.  This wine grape is primarily found in Austria (not Austrailia) and is another cool weather grape that is made into a distinctive dry, white wine.  Our first experience with Gruner was at Galen Glen several years ago.  A few weeks after sampling it (and buying a few bottles), the New York Times wine section featured the varietal.  Since then, we've sampled a few from Austria (not easy to find in PA or elsewhere in the USA) and found that Sarah's is very representative of excellent Gruner Veltiner.  Again, it's a very dry white and therefore, an acquired taste. 

We hear so many people say "I don't  like white wine,"  especially dry red wine drinkers. Well, we suspect that they don't like sweet wine, don't like oak in their white wines, and just haven't tasted well-made, dry whites or semi-dry whites that achieve that excellent balance of acid and sweetness, with the distinctive taste of excellent white wine grapes.

Galen Glen offers tastings for a modest fee, waived with the purchase of a bottle of wine (one bottle per waiver).  During June, they are hosting several wonderful events.  Below is the June calendar from their website.

June Walking Tours - Walking tour of the vineyard June 4, 5, 11 & 12 at 12 noon. One tour per day. Please wear sturdy foot gear. No reservations required and weather permitting.

June 4 & 5 at Winery

Summer Slushy Season Starts! - Sample a sweet frozen wine treat. One taste and you'll be imagining pitchers of slushies at your next party.

June 18 & 19

Father's Day Weekend - Bring Dad for a Tour and our 8th Annual Winter Mountain Red Snow Cone Tour! - Beat the heat of Summer with an icy, wine drenched treat.

June 25 & 26 at Winery

Case Club Celebration - If you're on our case club list, we'll be inviting you to this exclusive event.

Fun Fact 

The stick featured on Galen Glen's website, in the floor of the tasting room, and (the original) on the wall of the tasting room was used to measure the distance between their very first rows of vines.  It has become a symbol of the winery.  

Up-coming Events

 Galen Glen
See details in article below. Click to website.

Blair
Saturday, June 11
Winemaker's Dinner
6:30 PM, $60 per person, reservations required.

Sunday, June 19, Father's Day Music, Games for the Family, Food, Fun.
Click to website.

Manatawny Creek
Saturday, June 25
Summer Solstice Festival
Click to website.

Pinnacle Ridge
Saturday, June 12, Father's Day

Saturday, June 19, Skip Moyer's Jazz Jam.
Click to website.

Vynecrest
Music in the Vyneskeller every Saturday.  Winemaker's Tour Saturday June 25, 1 PM, $5 per person.
Click to website.

See June events at several wineries on the Brandywine Wine Trail.

Contact us to arrange a customized wine tasting, wine and food pairing, or any kind of wine related event.