How Sweet it is!

     

     Tucked away at the end of a dead-end drive is the Adams County Winery, the 5^th oldest operating winery in PA, boasting sprawling vineyards, a large welcoming event center, with parking and covered seating for all.  Full and mature gardens greet the visitor to this magnificent space – the perfect place for your event, no matter how large or small.  And that is before we even tasted some beverages!  Make sure to check out the registered historic 1860’s “bank barn”, which offers a tasting room, store, and serves as the headquarters for tours and the winery operations.

    A full tasting menu, ranging from the very sweet to the dry appeals to a multitude of palettes – there is something for everyone here.  Our palettes are particular to bold, drier flavors, and so that is what we stuck with here, but we were very surprised to see some of their wines carrying as high as a 10.2 residual sugar rating (hint: it’s a blackberry wine!)  If we were to judge by the happy faces of customers, it would be fair to say that these folks know what they are doing at all levels.

      It was really unfortunate that they could not offer tasting flights at the moment – so we could only sample a couple flavors each: for her: the Riesling and the port-style 2016 Barrel Blend.  For him: the Turning Point and the 2016 Blaufrankisch (Also known as the Lemberger)

·         Riesling:  With notes of apricot and a long honeysuckle finish, this was a splendid dry white wine, suitable for just about any occasion.  It may come across as a little basic at first, but through the finish does reveal some lovely hidden qualities.  Perfect for that Sunday picnic with fruits and veggies, or just a quiet night at home, it was all-around pleasing. 

·         Turning Point: this bold red blend offers notes of American oak (we thought white oak) and a delicate plum nicely balanced for a very happy glass.  It’s not too sweet, but good for an everyday drinkable treat.  We thought it would pair well with a nice Italian dish, highlighting it, without stealing its thunder.

·         2016 Barrel Blend: aged two years in bourbon barrels, this one wasn’t precisely what we thought we were getting from the description, but did deliver a fine tasting.  Soft, smooth, and velvety, this wine offers a really big nose, and reminded us of a really nice holiday fruitcake at first.  Upon tasting, a very nice nutty flavor was surprising.  Perhaps a dessert to balance this wine is what’s needed!

·         2016 Blaufrankisch (Lemberger):  this is the only single-grape offering we got to taste at this winery, though they do have a few others.  Black cherry and almost chocolatey nose, the Blaufrankish is a grape fairly new to us.  Mild but present tanins, it almost possesses a walnutty soft feel on the tongue.  We imagine it up against a tiramisu, black forest cake, or a chocolate cherry cheesecake.  A very nice vintage!

 In all, a visit to the Adams County Winery’s porch is time well-spent.  If this is what 45 years of wine-making gets you, we can’t wait to see what the next 45 years brings!!!

Your Friendly Neighbors,

Krystal and Bill

A passion for Wine

      

The view is everything at the Halbrendt Winery (www.halbrendtwinery.com), so we just HAD to go for a visit and see what new views would inspire us.  From the long winding gravel lane, to the fields of vines and butterfly garden, we were already in for a treat, and that was before we really understood what motivates this young winery.  In a few words: it’s all about family.

     The wine itself is all made on site, from local raw and sustainably-grown fruit (no juice-buying here) and every aspect of the winery is managed as a family.  We were lucky enough to meet Nicole, who described with pride the hands-on passion of her family’s wines, from the crushing that occurs on the concrete patio to the fermenting room that looks like it was supposed to be the garage to their lovely home.  This micro-winery opened to the public in 2015, and their dedication and drive is pointing in the right direction.

     That same concrete patio was where we had our tasting, complete with a brick of some lovely local cheese (see photos) while watching the butterflies in the garden next to us.  So what if it was sprinkling?  There was passion, there was romance….and oh yes, there was wine!!!!

    

     With a clink of the glass, we sampled a wine from each of the grapes grown on site (tasting notes not in order):

·         Cabernet Franc – more mild than other Cab Francs, velvety texture with a jammy nose greets the tongue.  Fruit forward, long evolution, and low acidity really made this wine stand out.  It could be a table wine, if you like, but would also be comfortable with Thanksgiving dinner, or to make an impression.  It certainly made an impression on us!  We’ve been enjoying cab francs for a little while now, but this one really talked to us. (The bottle we bought….it didn’t last too long ;)

·         Traimanette – This white was fairly dry (for a white), but fruity, earthy with notes of citrus – perhaps starfruit?  It had a very lovely presence on the tongue, and very smooth finish.  A great rendition of the style, it would pair excellently with fish or vegetarian dishes, or a simple charcouterie board.  It can stand on its own as good as anything else.

·         Chambourcin – Big and bold, with a pronounced tanic presence, this red was extremely well balanced, with a smooth, full finish that made an already wonderful visit even more so.  This is a complex wine that is easily approachable for all different palates, even if you don’t like a dry red.  The first things we thought to pair this with were mushrooms, beef liver/onions, and cured meats, but it would be equally at home with a Philly cheese steak or a meat lover’s pizza.  Delicious.

·         Harvest Moon (Cayuga White Dry) – An excellent vintage for a hot day, this dry white gives a fruity nose, nice citrus flavor with a slightly tart but smooth finish.  Refreshing like a summer day, this wine would pair well with a seafood paella, citrus chicken, or even just some garden veggies.  Easily drinkable (kind of like everything else here!!)

     This is a vineyard that we can’t wait to revisit.  The passion and dedication to the craft of wine making is only surpassed by the pride of being family – and that’s how they treat you when you visit: like family.  The kind of family you’d want to have over, open a bottle, and sit with on the porch!  We liked them immediately!!

Your Friendly Neighbors,

Krystal and Bill

Farmers Get Thirsty, Too!

 Adams County, Pennsylvania, is a reminder of a time when America was still growing into its own.  With rolling hills covered in fields and orchards, and the occasional small village dotting the landscape, it could be mistaken for a Wyeth painting, seemingly plain at first, but on closer inspection, full of vibrant life.  A taste of this vibrancy can be found at the Thirsty Farmer Brew Works. (www.thirstyfarmer.com)

  

   

Opened in 2018 by the Knouse family who own and operate the Historic Round Barn Farm Market across the street, we were lucky enough to get to experience The Thirsty Farmer in 2019.  We thought we might return in 2020 to see what a difference a year can make in the growth of their industry, and we were not disappointed.  Boasting nine original beer recipes regularly on tap and a few seasonal experiments, this year, they have added ciders to the already-exciting menu. 

     Smiling faces greet you inside, and after ordering a couple flights, we ventured to the covered porch (we REALLY like porches) where our tasting backdrop was a view of sunflowers and hops, waving in the wind.  A haywagon-turned-bandstand offers a prime location for outdoor entertainment on a Saturday night – or, really, any day that ends in the letter “y.”   Our tasting commenced, we were once again impressed with the offerings (in order of our tasting):

·         Traditional Cider – Crisp and light, this cider was almost tart instead of sweet, this feels more like a European tradition of hard cider. Excellently done and very tasty.  We could see this going well with simple fish tacos, shrimp cocktail, an herbed chicken, or vegetarian dishes.

·         Semi-Sweet Cider – Noticeably sweeter than the Traditional, this had a long and complex finish to it that we had a tough time placing.  We found it enjoyable with chicken fingers and fries, and found it paired well with honey-mustard sauce or ketchup.  We tried it chilled, but perhaps letting it sit and acclimate to room temperature would be better for our palate?

·         Backweetened Cider – “Backsweetening” refers to adding sugars after the brewing process in order to make a beer/cider/mead/wine more palatable.  In this case, Thirsty Farmer proves that they can achieve that main-stream flavor, while still remaining true to their sustainable roots!   We liked the idea of this offering with a nice salad, crab boil, grilled pork, or even some simple sweet-onion rings.

·         IPA – A lovely example of this brew, it made us long for a smoky English pub.  Classic style, bold yet controlled flavor, bring on the fish and chips (don’t forget the malted vinegar), lamb pie – or any meat pie, really!

·         New England IPA – the American cousin of the standard IPA, versatile and lighter, while maintaining a coastal pub feel.  Would go great with lobstah, chowdah, and could be a great addition to your favorite beer-batter recipe, providing some extra pizzazz to it.

·         Hefeweizen – Heavy wheat taste (but not a heavy beer) with a lemony goodness on the finish, we would love to taste this with a lemongrass or Asian dish, or pair it with a fruit tart/custard for dessert!

·         Hazlenut Brown – A brown ale is always good, but when you add hazelnut, it gets better!  A round, full flavor, almost meaty in mouth feel, a low-sweet finish and aftertaste, this brew would probably be best for dessert (we were thinking creme brulee, homemade vanilla ice cream or bread pudding) it’s certainly enjoyable anytime.

·         Chocolate Porter – this was last on our tasting list, so it got a little warm before we got to it, probably affecting the flavorings. Like most porters, it has a big flavor – for us, it was a lot of coffee/chocolate notes, but more bitter than the standard porter.  It felt almost more like a stout to us, which could be entirely temperature-related.  We would enjoy it with beef, a dark chocolate ice cream, flan, or an egg custard.

     On the whole, the Thirsty Farmer offers extremely solid versions of a good many beer options.  In the year between visits, they’ve become even more solid as the recipes are honed to perfection.  We are very grateful for the opportunity to sit on their porch, and get the Thirsty Farmer’s point of view.  We can’t wait to see what future awaits this exciting young brewery.

Your Friendly Neighbors,

Krystal and Bill

Welcome, Neighbors!

 Welcome to "A View From the Porch."  What is this little endeavor all about?  We're glad you asked!  The porch has held an interesting place in American history: it was a place to gather with friends and neighbors, to bring us all a little closer to nature by bringing us at least outdoors, and to exchange ideas, share our lives and experiences with one another.  That is the heart of what we're looking to do.  In our travels, we all do "things."  Whether it's an excursion, or discovering something new about a city, a small little town, anything like that, this is a part of living our lives.  We are just like that, too.  And this is our chance to share  our experiences with you.

We call you our neighbors, because that's what we really are:  we're all in this world together, and we need one another.  Eventually, we hope to grow from a review blog into something more, where we can not only share the experiences we have, but we can also give a voice to those people out there who are making things and doing things, changing lives for the better, one small step at a time.  In sharing those different points of view, our goal is to expand OUR point of view, to grow and share in the American experience more fully, and to share that journey with the rest of you, our neighbors.

So, welcome, Neighbors, to our virtual porch.  We hope you will visit often.

Your friendly Neighbors, 
Krystal and Bill