No Sour Grapes: Wine Tour Recap

With my bus co-leader, Heather!

I love teaming up with friends for great causes! On Saturday Heather Masser and I led a winery bus tour to benefit Isaiah 61 homeless ministries. With a group of 20 friends, we traveled in a chartered bus to four Central PA wineries. Although the bus ride was a little toasty (our air-conditioning gave out after the first stop), the vineyards were breathtaking and the wine was delicious! Here's a recap of our day...

Hunters Valley Winery

HUNTERS VALLEY WINERY (Liverpool, PA) - They were our first stop of the day, and were so hospitable! They welcomed us with cheese and crackers, pretzels, and cookies. In a crock-pot they had warm samples of their COUNTRY SPICE wine waiting for us (I couldn't help but start thinking of the holidays)! My favorite wine was MIST IN THE VALLEY - a sparking red! They also generously donated 10% of our purchases to Isaiah 61.

Spyglass Ridge Winery

SPYGLASS RIDGE WINERY (Sunbury, PA) - I always love visiting Spyglass! The owner, Tom, spent a full hour telling us about the winery, the wines, and the fun events they have planned like the annual Celtic Festival and concert series. His passion for the winery is clear, and we learned so much from him. 2015 is going to be a big year for Spyglass as they plan to add a brick oven and begin distilling VODKA. We'll definitely be back to sample both next year!

SKEETER'S BBQ PIT (Shamokin Dam, PA) - Lunch time! We found a great spot overlooking the river that served pulled pork, pulled chicken, and homemade cornbread. A casual mid-day stop with a great view!

Benigna's Creek Winery

BENIGNA'S CREEK WINERY (Klingerstown, PA) - Even though she was sick that day, Jennifer (the events coordinator), was so nice! She took the time to give us a full tour of the winery and explained every step of their winemaking process. It truly made me appreciate the time and labor that it takes to produce a bottle of wine. From handpicking each bunch of grapes to bottling the wine for sale - the process is a lot of work (but the end results are certainly worth it)!

ARMSTRONG VALLEY WINERY (Halifax, PA) - Our final stop was right in my hometown! We started out in the tasting room where we all loved their CHA CHA (a carbonated white) mixed with their CRANBERRY wine. So good! I also picked up a few bottles of my favorite: their semi-dry RUTTER RED. Afterward we took a hayride through the vineyard! Midway through, they stopped the tractor and we were given the opportunity to taste grapes straight off the vine. So flavorful!

And at the end of the day, we had something even sweeter than wine to enjoy... our amazing group raised $275 for ISAIAH 61's homeless ministry. The money will help to provide warm and nutritious meals for many that are homeless in Dauphin County! Let's raise our glasses to that!

Our beautiful group! Thanks for a great day!