Now's the time to hit the (wine) trail!
WARRINGTON, Pa. (WPVI) -- The fall season is the perfect time to take in the spectacular country views, and taste some really great wine.
Fortunately, you can do both right here in our area!
The Bucks County Wine Trail includes nine different vineyards just minutes apart.
"You can learn about how the wines are made, get a behind the scenes tour, and then really engage with the winemakers," said Paul Bencivengo, VP of Visit Bucks County.
"Each and every winery has its own, unique personality," said Tom Carroll Jr., of Crossing Vineyards, which he founded in 2000.
"Our first vintage we started out with about 4,000 gallons and we have now crested over 20,000 gallons annually," he said.
With 20 acres of land, Crossing Vineyards grows a variety of grapes to make everything from cabernets to chardonnays.
"We have 22 different varietals of wine that we're producing," Carroll said.
There's one in particular that seems to have hit the sweet spot.
"We can't keep chocolate cherry truffle in stock. I just flies out the door,"Carroll said.
The wine trail has the look, feel - and taste - of California's Napa Valley.
We got an up-close look at how wine is made at the Sand Castle Winery in Erwinna, Pa., founded in 1974.
"This is a European setting on a top of the hill," said owner Joseph Maxian. The castle is inspired by the castle in Joseph's hometown of Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.
It's a lot of work, and workers at this winery make every batch of wine by hand.
"I don't think people realize that you can get that quality of wine grown right here," said Maxian. "These wines can measure with anything, best in the world."
Don't expect a taste right away: the wine we worked on won't be ready until 2020. But, we did get a taste of some non-alcoholic grape juice. (It was amazing.)
Maxian says there is one unique feature that brings wine lovers from around the world to the Bucks County Wine Trail:
"You taste in very small portions all the wines, with an explanation."
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For more, visit BucksCountyWineTrail.com
