Regional Spotlight: More Winter? More Wine.
While most of us were still asleep this morning, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow and gave us his prediction as to when spring will arrive. Given how much snow has hit the Northeast in the past two weeks, however, we're not sure how much fun's to be found in following Phil's shadow sightings. A much more reliably good time in this part of Pennsylvania is the Groundhog Wine Trail.
The trail connects the nine wineries within a short distance of Punxsutawney. You can even visit for the Groundhog Trail Wine Festival, taking place this Saturday. While there are several hybrid varieties such as Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc grown in this area, you'll also find plenty of Cabernet, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Many of the Punxsutawney producers–and others throughout Pennsylvania–also make wines from other fruits, such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, apples, peaches and cranberries.
While we haven't tried Punxsutawney wines, we have tasted a few others from Pennsylvania; we were pleasantly surprised by a Chardonnay from Chaddsford, in the southeastern part of the state. In all, the Keystone State has more than 100 wineries collectively producing just under 1 million gallons of wine each year–so there's bound to be plenty of good ones.
Pennsylvania wineries are permitted to send bottles to consumers living in states where direct shipping is legal, so click here to find a winery that looks interesting and buy a few bottles. And if you've already tasted some Pennsylvania wines, tell us what you thought of them below.