Tucked away at the end of a dead-end drive is the Adams County Winery, the 5th 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!
Your Friendly Neighbors,
Krystal and Bill
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