Building for the Future

Paul Vigna conducted an interview yesterday over the phone and wrote a short but informative blog in yesterday's Patriot News PennLive Entertainment Column on-line
http://blog.pennlive.com/wine/2011/06/cassel_vineyards_of_hershey_readies_for_permanent_structure.html

End of School, Beginning of Summer

Well, the school year is just about over and it's time to begin work in the vineyard. The weather has finally improved and the sunshine is drying out the vines. As a result of all the rain the vines are growing at an amazing rate. The grapes began blooming last week and the final variety to bloom is the Cabernet Franc. Tonight as we were working to tuck the shoots up and under the catch wires and every time we moved the flowers clouds of pollen would fall on our arms, heads and backs. It looks like this year will be a good year for filling out the clusters with fruit.

Every evening treats us to a beautiful sunset as the sun's rays bathe the long rows of vines and the shadows lengthen. Becky took some very nice pictures but you don't get the full effect without the breeze and the sounds of the birds and insects. Trust me it's a beautiful experience. It makes the work so much more enjoyable than our day jobs. Hopefully, you can come out and visit and see what I mean.

Wine Pairing Dinner at Dafnos

Thanks to everyone who made last nights Wine Pairing Dinner at Dafnos such a fun and special time. The food was wonderful, the conversation was stimulating and the wine complimented everything well. We hope you enjoyed yourself as much as we did and we plan to do it again sooner rather than later. Look for a post on this Blogspot, our Facebook or at Casselvineyards.com for the next pairing dinner in July. thank you for a lovely evening.

Cassel Vineyards of Hershey at Pavones

Pavone’s Restaurant
&
Cassel Vineyards of Hershey
Present
A Neighborhood Wine Tasting
Thursday, May 26th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Come and enjoy samples of the year’s first white and fruit wines, meet your neighbors and drink a glass with your friends.
Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay, Blush, Niagara, Strawberry, &
Peaches and Honey
Fresh, Local Wine from our Farm to your door

Cassel Vineyards travels to Florida

Easter 2011 finds the family in Florida enjoying the sun and fun. We are having such a great time with Becky's family. The weather is beautiful and we brought a couple of bottles of wine to enjoy by the pool as the kids swim. Hopefully we will get some nice weather in PA when we return in May. We plan to have several special events including tastings of our 2010 vintages on the deck at the Warwick, Dinner at Dafnos and a tasting at Pavone's in Hummelstown. The fun will continue as we enjoy our wine and friendships throughout the Spring and Summer. Looking forward to seeing everyone and making new friends in the months to come.

Tasting on the Deck at the Warwick Hotel

Cassel Vineyards of Hershey on the Deck at the Warwick Hotel on May 13, 5:00 -?

As we approach the end of March, we are working longer days both in the vineyard and in the winery. Here the sun sets on the two rows of Chambourcin which have been pruned and tied to the top-wire of our high-wire trellis. The first time through, we were able to prune out any excess canes and determine which canes were going to be this year's fruiting canes. With the warmth of Spring the sap will begin to flow and we will be able to place the canes on the wires without the fear of damaging them. We had 2 weeks of warming weather and then the weather snapped back to below freezing and the canes have tightened up again. Hopefully next week we can get back to the vines and finish our work in the vineyard so that we can turn our attention to bottling in preparation for our uncorking celebrations in May and June. Hope you can make it out to try our new wines.