Our Grapes to Your Glass
Here at Shade Mountain, a point of pride is the presence of our own vineyard in Middleburg, PA, which encompasses nearly 70 acres and puts us at the top of the Commonwealth for independent wine grape growers. Our wine grape vineyard acreage sets us aside from other PA wineries, as few PA wineries actually grow ALL of their own wine grapes. We grow natives (i.e. Concord, Steuben, Niagara etc.) without too much difficulty. However, the European varietals (i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay etc.) require more attention and growing techniques such as grafting (where we graft the varietal to root stalk).
The Proof Is In Our Vines
So when you come to visit us at the winery and vineyard, please be sure to take a minute to enjoy the views of our mountain vineyard from our expansive deck. Please do appreciate the hard work that goes into our vines, as you sip a glass of Shade Mountain Wine from that deck. It’s our gift to you. A little Americana, hard work, perseverance, and loyalty to agriculture.
The Roots Of Our Winery
We do it all at Shade Mountain-cultivate the vines, harvest the grapes, and produce the final product-wine. The cycle begins again in the winter when we prune all the vines back to two cordons, thus preparing them for the growth of springtime. Our “roots” are very much in the vineyard aspect of our business, as without high quality grapes, high quality wine is merely an apparition. We understand whole-heartedly the meaning behind the expression “labor of love.” We feel that doing such work the “right way,” makes the rewards at the end of the day that much more meaningful. Any successes we may encounter down the road can be appreciated that much more because we did the work at our vineyard during harvest season and beyond.
