Bucks County Wine Trail

Originally published in LifeStyle Magazine, October 2005

The Bucks County Wine Trail is a wonderful way to get to know our winemaking neighbors. In the summer of 2004, seven local winemakers formed the “Trail”, hoping the synergy they might create would benefit all of them as well as we consumers… and while still in its infancy, the Trail is definitely working.

Jerry Forest, owner and winemaker at Buckingham Valley Vineyards in Buckingham, PA and the group’s president, says the primary purpose of the coalition is to “Make the public more aware of Bucks County wineries and what we have to offer.” To follow the trail, simply go to any member winery and pick up the free “Wineries of Bucks County” brochure, which includes a map and brief description of the seven wineries. You can also visit www.BucksCountyWineTrail.com for more details.

Your travels will take you to Crossing Vineyards & Winery in Washington Crossing, New Hope Winery in New Hope, Peace Valley Winery in Chalfont, Rose Bank Winery in Newtown, Rushland Ridge Vineyards in Rushland, and Sand Castle Winery in Erwinna, as well as Buckingham Valley Vineyards.

Forest credits Tom and Chris Carroll, owners of Crossing Vineyards & Winery as “…the ones who really spearheaded the idea because they were brand new and off the beaten track. They needed some way to get people there.” The group has been meeting regularly, rotating among their various locations. In the works now are plans to repeat last year’s successful triple festival… to be held on the second weekends of October (the Harvest Festival), November (the Nouveau Festival) and December (the Holiday Festival). Special events regarding each festival will be held at all the wineries on these weekends, including of course, the opportunity to taste everyone’s wines made for the occasion. In addition to these three festivals, in 2006 there are plans to promote the Trail further by designing events that will augment existing local activities, such as the annual Strawberry Festival held in Peddler’s Village.

After having interviewed Forest and also attending their July meeting, it is pleasantly notable that these wineries are clearly partners, not competitors. Everyone is genuinely interested in each other’s success and is willing to share ideas, challenges and solutions regarding their mutual interests, whether it be about the Wine Trail specifically or the wine industry in general.

Just in case you’re a fan of only the world’s greatest wine regions and remain skeptical about the quality of our local wines, please know that I recently participated in a blind tasting that included two wines from the renown Sonoma wine region of California along with a Seyval Blanc made by Dave Fleming, owner of Rose Bank Winery. Our Bucks County wine won, and that was without my own vote as I felt it may be a little presumptuous to support my own entry. Of course, I’m not pretending that Bucks County is one of the world’s great wine regions (yet), but there may be more to appreciate than you think. Check out the Bucks County Wine Trail and decide for yourself!