For my 21st birthday, I visited Blue Mountains Vineyard in New Tripoli, PA for a wine tasting and tour. The wine was paired with DiBruno Brothers Cheese, as well as information about wine making, tasting, and pairing.

Although due to summer rain we were not able to go outside to the vines, but we did go downstairs to where the wine is made to see the machines used, some top secret boxes, and all the barrels and casks.

Blue Mountain Vineyard grows all their own grapes and makes their wine in small batches, in house. They have a variety of special wines, like the current blueberry wine, as well as classics. After walking around, we returned for a wine and cheese pairing.

There were two wine lists, a dry pairing and a sweet pairing. To try the maximum amount of wines, my boyfriend and I each chose a different list. I went for dry, because I tend to go for a dry wine with a bite. I was able to taste aChardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Petite Shirah. Each was paired with a different cheese, and it was interesting to taste the dynamic flavor changes before and after eating the cheese.

In addition to my 5 dry wines, I tasted a variety of sweeter wines like Mountain Frost, White Merlot, Bri’s Blush, Red Horizon, and Victoria’s Passion. After the official tasting, we sampled 5 more wines and received a $5 off a bottle coupon. Through that, I tried even more including their dry Reisling, Brut Reserve, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sangria.

My two favorite wines were the 2013 Chardonnay, a medium bodied, dry white wine with oak and vanilla, as well as the 2012 Merlot, a uniquely smokey, Old-World style wine with black cherry and pepper.

I left the vineyard with two bottles of wine and a new appreciation of the craft, as well as tasting. The gorgeous main building offers event spaces as well as live music and a great atmosphere to visit, buy a bottle of wine, and enjoy some food with friends.