It’s late winter, and the view across an old, 40-acre farm is one of grays and browns, with a chilly wind blowing.
On a hillside, 3-year-old grape vines are dormant, their colors blending in with the landscape, which makes them difficult to distinguish against the surrounding fields.
It’s quiet now, but renewed life isn’t far away. As the weather warms, vistors will join together in this spot to sip wine, chat with friends and watch with delight as the chardonnay, riseling and chambourcin vines sprout leaves then fruit.
On a country road, just over a hill from area’s attractions, a gathering place–the Vineyard at Hershey–has just opened for business.
“Wine is about developing relationships,” said Jason Reimer, who owns the vineyard with Doug Gellaty and L. Paul Vezzetti. “It’s a common, shared experience in which everyone is enjoying the same emotions.”
Indeed, friendships can be credited for the entire venture.
Six years ago, a friend invited the wine-loving Reimer, who daylights as a Harrisburg attorney, to Napa Valley for a tour of vineyards there. He returned wanting to re-create the Napa experience–a friendly, welcoming place with great wines that caters to both casual and sophisticated drinkers.
“I thought that kind of customer experience is something that we could bring to central Pennsylvania,” he said.
Vezzetti, another long-time friend, had begun making wines, while another, Gellatly, owned a farm just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike south of Hershey.
It turned out the farm had an eastward-facing slope (perfect for grape cultivation), a 120-year-old farmhouse (perfect for a small tasting room) and a large, spring-fed laike (perfect for romantic vistas).
Three years ago, the partners planted their first vines, which are now maturing. They have also restored the farmhouse, and, soon, will knock down the dilapidated barn, the site of a future 4,300- square-foot building that will house the production facility, a larger tasting room and event space.
Until then, Vezzetti performs his viticultural magic in a small area in the bottling the winery’s first merlot, one of 500 that will be bottled, available in September.
“We plan to produce 14,000 bottles of wine this year–and every one is bottled by hand,” he said.
This season, the vineyard’s own grapes will be ready for the first time. Until then, Vezzetti makes his wines exclusively with product bought from other farms, all in Pennsylvania.
Currently, the Vineyard at Hershey offers a dozen wines, including two types of chardonnay, a seyval blanc, a Niagara, a chambourcin, a catawba, a dry and sweet riesling, a peach wine and several blends.
All are made in accord with Vezzetti’s wine-making approach, which could be described as somewhat drier and perhaps more complex on the palette than other area wines.
That said, Vineyard at Hershey offers wines for every taste–from dry to sweet; from simple to bold. The owners want to appeal to everyone, whether they’re day-trippers from the area or wine sophisticates staying at the Hotel Hershey.
“We want to make wines that people can have as their everyday drinking bottle, no matter who you are,” said Reimer.
Looking over the still terrain, Reimer envisions a day when the fields are fully planted with mature vines and ripe fruit is being harvested and trucked directly into the spacious new production room.
“We have a setting in which people will come here by thousands to enjoy fine wines and an overall wonderful experience,” he said. “And 10 years from now, it will be that much better.”
The Vineyard at Hershey, 598 Schoolhouse Rd., Middletown. Tasting room open Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6p.m. and by appointment. 717-944-1569; www.vineyardathershey.com.
