Hershey Medical Center Appreciation Night

     We are looking forward to next Friday night, June 6th.  Not only is school with the students over but we have a great band setting up to play at Cassel Vineyards.  Crossing Abbey Road will bring their Beatles tribute band to our stage.  Since several of the band members are employed at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, we have decided to make it a Medical Center customer appreciation night.  We will be giving the hospital employees a 10% discount off all purchases and a free tasting with their hospital ID. Hope everyone can make it for this amazing night.

Summer Sunsets in the Vineyard

     The Summer is here and the weather is beautiful.  We are kicking off our Summer concert series this Friday with our amazing house band The Finish Line Quartet.  After spending the last several evenings in the vineyard inspecting the vines and deciding what needs to happen next, I am really looking forward to showcasing our beautiful vineyard to our guests.  The weather forecast looks beautiful so you will be able to sit or walk in the vines and enjoy the beauty of a sunset.  The music will begin at 6:00 and end around 8:00 just in time to sit back and enjoy the sunset.  

     We continue the tradition of bringing the music each Friday free of charge.  Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to visit us this Friday, May 30th.  If you can't make it for the First Friday there is a full lineup of bands the first, second and third Friday of each month throughout the Summer.  One big event is the June 6 concert featuring Crossing Abbey Road, a Beatles Tribute Band.  That evening will also be special for Hershey Medical Center employees as we offer an employee appreciation night with free tastings and 10% off purchases.  The second weekend of each month will feature acoustic music. The complete Summer concert schedule can be found on our Cassel Vineyards web sit at casselvineyards.com.

    Stop by to enjoy a vineyard sunset one of these Fridays.

New French Oak

      What a beautiful sight with all our new Frech Oak barrels filled to the top with Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin.  We finished filling the last 12 tonight and it looks and smells amazing.  The French Oak imparts such a subtle, vanilla and oak finish to our wines after 8 months of aging and oxidizing.  Since these wines are from the most mature, concentrated vintage we have ever harvested, we wanted to get them on some really nice oak early in case they require a bit more aging than our wines in previous years.  It will be a nice surprise to see what these wines are going to transform into in a little less than one more year. Right now they look amazing resting in their new oak barrels.

Chardonnay Buds And Sunshine

     

     The weather has changed and we are finally into the warm weather.  The sunshine has made the buds on the Chardonnay explode.  Although the growth is nearly 3 weeks behind where it was last year, we are thankful for the last several weeks of consistent weather.  It allowed us to prune back all the vines and tie them down in place while they were still dormant.  Now, we look forward to abundant spring rains, just enough moisture to sustain the vines throughout the hot summer months and then cool dry fall weather leading up to harvest.  With weather being the way it is, we will just make do with what we get but we can at least dream, right?

      The weather has been cooperating and the crowds have been coming to the winery quite regularly.  If you have not had the opportunity to stop by, please make it a point to stop in and say hello in the next several weeks.  

Kentucky Derby Party @ Cassel Vineyards of Hershey

      The Kentucky Derby Party @casselvineyards last weekend was awesome.  It what has become a tradition for many (2nd year!), we pulled off another outstanding party complete with live music, excellent food, good friends, mint juleps and outrageous hats.  The party was all part of our annual Derby day celebration which we pulled off on the same day as the Spring Sensations Wine Tour for the Hershey/Harrisburg Wine Trail and A Relay for Life Party.  Everyone had a great time and the weather was great for the first half of our event.  During the morning from 12 - 3:00, the sun shone down as we ate chicken, pork and beef BBQ and listened to the music of The Ride.  The fun was dampened just a little by a 15 min. Rain Shower from 3:00 - 3:15.  Thankfully, we were able to move everyone into our new Event Tent where everyone got to know one another until the rain had passed and the sun came out again.  

    From 3:15 to 7:00 it was all about the Derby as we mixed our RFR (Run For the Roses) Mint Juleps and watched the Race.  pictured above are some of the contestants and winners of our Kentucky Derby Hat contest.  We had such a great time that we want to thank everyone for coming by and spending such a fun filled evening with us.  Mark your calendar for next year.  The tradition will continue!

Spring Sensations Wine Tour

   

      Welcome to Cassel Vineyards of Hershey.  Here is a picture of our welcome wagon complete with a tri of horses to add a perfect backdrop.  Our theme was one that incorporated Lavender from Hope Hill Lavender farm into our tasting room.  From the lavender wreaths on our barn doors to yhe lavender plants in our wagon display, we had these beautiful fragrant flowers everywhere.  The idea was to incorporate wine, flowers and picnic foods all into one tasting so we used the lavender to make a Lavender Lemonade Wine Cooler with Cassel Vineyards Vidal Semi-sweet.  We also gave samples of Mango/peach Fruit Salsa which combined nicely with the lemon and Lavender.  It was quite a success judging from the feedback from loyal customers and first time tasters alike.  

      The Spring Sensations Wine Trail lasts for Two more weekends so if you get a chance, there are still a lot of tickets left and we will continue to serve our lavender, salsa and wine.  Hope to see you soon.