Pumpkin Patch Hayrides

      Well, the fall season hàs brought us all of the fruits of our Summer labors.  All those hours of work in the Spring rains and Summer heat are paying off in chilren's smiles, savory smells, and fruity tastes dripping with sunshine.  

      The Pumpkin Patch Hayrides are bringing children and their parents together each weekend to experience the fresh air, sunshine and outdoors in our huge pumpkin patch.  These young girls were the first happy riders last Sat. at noon.

      Each weekend we host picking parties that consist of 20 - 50 friends, students and strangers who come together to help us pick our tons of grapes.  In return we try to show our appreciation through a delicious home cooked meal and shared wine and fresh grape juice.  Everyone leaves happy, and many of our volunteers return week after week and year after year.

      In the end, our most prominant and appreciated fruit of our labor is the wine we make from the grapes we grow.  I like to call it #sunshineinabottle.  Stop by in the next 3 weeks to try the grapes and taste their sweetness before we transform them into one of our delicious wines.  Or you can just enjoy a bottle off our shelf and taste that sunshine when you open that bottle.

Night Picking and Harvest Party

      We are picking our Vidal Blanc this Sat. Evening at 6:00 PM.  The day will be spent eating and playing from 2-6:00 at our Harvest Festival.  the weather looks great and we have a great agenda set up for the day.  We kick off with live music, hayrides and pumpkin picking from 2-6:00.  Starting at 3:00 we will have several competitions including grape stomping and corn hole.  We will also have some awsome food and wine making their debates @ Cassel Vineyards.  First, we plan to release our Vidal Blanc Late Harvest and give samples for the first time ever.  Second, we will be serving pit Beef sandwiches to go with our other delicious wines. As the weather cools and the sun sets, enjoy a glass of our warm spiced wine or buy a gift pack to take home to enjoy with a friend later.

     At 6:00 as the harvest moon rises we plan to pick our Vidal Blanc so that we can process them in the cool night air.  The weather is going to make this an amazingly memorable day and night.  Please stop out and join us so we can spend the day together.

Signs of the Season

      The spice packs for mixing up spiced wine have once again made an appearance on the shelf at Cassel Vineyards.  We are still waiting for a cool evening at one of our concerts to serve our seasonal favorite.  You can pick up the wine and spice packets all ready for your drinking pleasure for $30.  We've also decorated our building for the holidays thanks to Donna Meyers.  Thanks for making the beautiful harvest wreaths that grace the doors on the front of our building.  They really look striking when the sun sets and makes them shimmer.

Early Morning Mists and Nightime Harvest

    With the warm, dry, Fall days, we have nothing to complain about in the vineyard.  However we do have to modify our picking strategies to keep the grapes in the best possible condition for winemaking.  This is another advantage we have over all the local wineries that buy their grapes from in-state and out-of-state growers.  

    This weekend we plan to pick our Chardonnay grapes early in the morning, like you see in the picture, while they are still cool from the, fog and low nightime temperatures.  It serves us well to keep the white grapes cool before crushing and pressing in order to minimize oxidization and the associated dark colors we see in other wines.  

     After this weekend, we get a short break before we change over to picking the Vidal Blanc on October 11.  For the Vidal we are planning to do another night pick with headlamps as the sun goes down.  The last time we did the nightime picking, people had a fantastic time. 

     Then we can turn our attention to the Chambourcin and Cab Frac which should be ready in late October or eArly November.  If anyone wants to help, this weekend we will start at 8 on Sat. and 9 on Sunday.  The Vidal picking will begin at 6:00 on Oct. 11 th.  Come out and join us if you want to have some fun in the vineyard!

Harvest 2014

    We have been working like mad to take advantage of the cool, dry weather we have been enjoying here in south central PA.  Th last two weekends have found us harvesting a bumper crop of Concord grapes.  Because of the cool, wet Summer, the sugar levels have risen very slowly.  The acid has slowly been falling and we have been patiently waiting for the perfect moment when sugar, acid and pH all come together.  Unfortunately, this year I don't think that time is ever going to come for the  Concords.  Not that the grapes won't make great wine it just looks like we are going to have to work a little harder to help the grapes reach their fullest potential.  Next week we will pick the final two rows of concord on Sunday.

      This Saturday, we plan to pick the Chardonnay in the morning while the grapes are nice and cool. The weather is looking good and the Chardonnay is developing much better than the Concord.  Today we tested the Chardonnay and it looked like it will all come together for us on Saturday morning.  We will keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.  Wish us luck and join us if you can.

Vineyard Light Show

O      The last several Fall days have provided some beautiful sunsets and harvest moon rises.

  All these spectacular light shows herald the start of harvest.  The cool, wet Spring and Summer have given way to a warm, dry fall just in time to ripen our grapes.  This weekend we will begin the harvest with our Concord and next week we will tackle the Chardonnay.  The fun begins at 9:00 AM and we will take a lunch break with Ham, Beans and Potatpoes.  

So enjoy the light show with us and see what the harvest moon holds in store.

Fall Evenings and Great Music

      Fall has always been my favorite time of year.  I know some people view it as a time of death as the days shorten and give way to darkness, but I grew up on a farm and Fall has always been about harvest and celebration in my life.  Summer is nice with the heat and humidity but I live for crisp Fall days with cool, clear nights.  Evenings come sooner but their is nothing like sitting around a fire and watching the harvest moon rise over the fields. 

       In the vineyard, our grapes are becoming ripe and we are looking forward to the crazy days and nights of harvest and winemaking.  This year is shaping up to be an outstanding year if the warm, dry days and cool crisp nights continue through October.  Because of the abundant rain, we did not hesitate to allow our vines to retain a large crop of fruit.  Now as the fruit continues to ripen, we are happy we made that decision and ready to make some of the best wines we have ever made.  Each year that the grapevines get older, their fruit becomes more complex.  Now with fall coming on strong and the possibility of an Indian Summer to continue ripening we anticipate another celebration and lots of great wine!