The Vineyard at Hershey’s wait for 2nd Governor’s Cup a …

The first Governor’s Cup felt like a long time coming for Dauphin County’s Vineyard at Hershey.

Located along Route 283 near Middletown, the winery won its first last year with its 2017 Merlot taking best in show for dry wine. It was apropos, considering that the producer almost since its inception has built one of its annual major events around the release of its Merlot. The Vineyard at Hershey opened in 2009.

Its second Governor’s Cup, announced Tuesday, came much sooner. Once again in the dry wine category, The Vineyard at Hershey’s Firefly was named best of show. It is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Per the release, “Firefly is a full-bodied red wine with the perfect blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot combining dark fruit with notes of plum, currant and spice. This wine has a warm, pleasant finish.”

Director of Operations Lynn Day said in an email that the winery “is proud and honored to be a consecutive two-time Governor’s Cup recipient for dry wine. It has been our goal since our inception to have Pennsylvania-grown and produced wines stand toe to toe with American West Coast wines, and not lose the unique quality that is a Pennsylvania-made product. We look forward to elevating the standard of the Pennsylvania wine industry.”

The winery shared the news on its Facebook page Sunday, with pictures that included the Governor’s Cup and its 2019 Moscato, which won a gold medal in this year’s contest.

“The partners and I were so excited about the announcement we all shared a glass around the fire pit,” Day said. “It was great to celebrate and reflect with a glass of our award-winning wine, right where it all began.”

This is one of several statewide competitions that are held annually, one that’s always tied into the Farm Show. Because of the pandemic, this year’s Farm Show is fully remote. You can read all of PennLive’s coverage of the event at this link.

The Pennsylvania Wine Association is connected to two other contests, including the Pa. Sommelier Judgment that takes place in the fall, and the PA Wine Society has for 18 years held a competition called Wine Excellence that is highlighted by a late January announcement. That will not happen at its usual time this year but could take place by summer if the pandemic wanes.

The two other Governor’s Cup winners were both Pennsylvania legacy wineries. Mt. Nittany Vineyard & Winery in Centre County won in the sweet wine division for its Nittany Mountain Blush (2019).

According to the release from the Department of Agriculture, the Centre Hall winery’s winning entry “is a blend of Steuben and Seyval Blanc. The fresh and light flavor of ripe red berries is balanced by bright refreshing acidity.”

Mt. Nittany opened in 1990 on more than 60 acres outside State College. PennLive recently featured the winery in a story on the completion of an upstairs tasting room called the Vintner’s Loft.

A third Governor’s Cup was given to Franklin Hill Vineyard, in Bangor, Northampton County for its 2019 Blue Hen, a 100 percent Noiret-based wine that was selected in the fruit division.

It’s the first best-in-show designation for the Lehigh Valley-based winery since it opened in 1981, owner Elaine Pivinski said Tuesday. The winery overall won five medals. “It feels so good this many years later to still be pulling in awards,” she said.

Franklin Hill planted the Noiret vines several years ago, and this wine is the result of their first full yield. Pivinski credited her assistant winemaker, Kat Kinsey, for “wanting to make a wine with a blackberry essence in it.” Bonnie Pysher has been Franklin Hill’s head winemaker for approaching 40 years.

ALSO READ: Allegro Winery purchasing Pinnacle Ridge, with plans for new tasting room

The wine’s name, Blue Hen, draws its origins from a peacock that Pivinski has had living on the farm for the past 10 years. It’s the latest on a list of unique names and wines that include Evanswood, Fainting Goat, Beach Bum and Redhead.

“We wanted to make a wine that was not too sweet, like our Concord, and yet not too dry,” she said. “We thought we’d do the one bottling” and that would be it, but it’s now on its second bottling. “We do a lot of distributions with grocery stores, and now we’re getting phone calls from other supermarkets asking if we can carry it now. It took off tremendously. And now having the judges giving it the Governor’s Cup for fruit wine. Wow.”

It was released in October and at this point seems bound to be a regular part of Franklin Hill’s list moving forward.

Wines submitted to the competition must be made of 75% Pennsylvania fruit. This year’s competition included entries from 26 Pennsylvania wineries.

Pennsylvania is the fifth-largest producer of grapes nationally, with more than 270 wineries producing over 5 million bottles of wine annually. The industry produces around $4.8 billion in economic activity in the state, according to a 2017 economic impact study undertaken by Wine America.

Two other winners of note were those receiving double gold medals.

Those include Tolino Vineyards, in Bangor, for its 2019 Papa’s Red, a dry blend of Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin; and Benigna’s Creek in Klingerstown, Schuylkill County, for its 2019 Hessian Red, a semisweet blend of Chancellor and Chambourcin.

Here is the full list of all the other winners:

Gold medals

Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor, Northampton County, 2019 Vidal

Kingview Meadow, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Happy Apple Pie

Seven Mountains Wine Cellars, Spring Mills, Centre County, 2018 Vidal Blanc

Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg, Monroe County, 2019 Salute

Vineyard at Hershey, Middletown, Dauphin County, 2019 Moscato

Silver medals

Benigna’s Creek, Klingerstown, Schuylkill County, 2019 Tears

Binah Winery, Allentown, Lehigh County, 2019 Celeste

Black Dog Wine Company, Oakdale, Allegheny County, 2019 Bark-o Noir

Broad Mountain Vineyard, Elizabethville, Dauphin County, 2018 Leading Edge

Courtyard Winery, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Captain’s White

Crossings Vineyards & Winery, Washington Crossing, Bucks County, Wild Berry

Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor, Northampton County, 2019 Chambourcin

Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor, Northampton County, 2019 Sir Walters Red

Greendance Winery, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, 2019 Sparkling Grüner Veltliner

Kingview Meadow, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Triple Beere

Kingview Meadow, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Viking Grog

Presque Isle Wine Cellars, North East, Erie County, Hot Kisses

Presque Isle Wine Cellars, North East, Erie County, 2017 Cabernet Franc

Seven Mountains Wine Cellars, Spring Mills, Centre County, 2019 Dry Riesling

Seven Mountains Wine Cellars, Spring Mills, Centre County, 2018 Traminette

Shade Mountain Winery & Vineyards , Middleburg, Snyder County, 2017 Pinot Noir

The Winery at the Long Shot Farm, Carlisle, Cumberland County, 2019 Chambourcin

Tolinio Vineyards, Bangor, Northampton County, 2018 Chambourcin

Tolinio Vineyards, Bangor, Northampton County, 2019 Falco Bianco

Vineyard at Hershey, Middletown, Dauphin County, 2018 Daybreak

Woody Lodge Winery, Ashville, Cambria County, 2019 Chardonnay

Woody Lodge Winery, Ashville, Cambria County, 2019 Jack of Diamonds

Yori Wine Cellars, North East, Erie County, 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Yori Wine Cellars, North East, Erie County, 2019 Famiglia Red Wine

Yori Wine Cellars, North East, Erie County, 2019 Beach Glass White

Yori Wine Cellars, North East, Erie County, 2018 Merlot

Bronze medals

Bella Terra Vineyard, Hunker, Westmoreland County, 2019 Chardonnay

Bella Terra Vineyard, Hunker, Westmoreland County, 2017 Merlot

Benigna’s Creek, Klingerstown, Schuylkill County, 2019 Sunshine

Benigna’s Creek, Klingerstown, Schuylkill County, 2019 Traminette

Benigna’s Creek, Klingerstown, Schuylkill County, 2019 Delight

Binah Winery, Allentown, Lehigh County, 2019 Stella

Black Dog Wine Company, Oakdale, Allegheny County, 2019 Nikki’s Revenge

Black Dog Wine Company, Oakdale, Allegheny County, 2019 Happy Puppy

Black River Vineyard, Bethlehem, Northampton County, 2019 SAKI

Black River Vineyard, Bethlehem, Northampton County, 2018 Lemberger Barrel Reserve

Broad Mountain Vineyard, Elizsabethville, Dauphin County, 2019 C Squared

Broad Mountain Vineyard, Elizsabethville, Dauphin County, 2019 Love Rock

Courtyard Winery, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Beach Glass Red

Courtyard Winery, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, 2019 Chardonel

Courtyard Winery, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Twisted Red

Courtyard Winery, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, 2018 Cabernet Franc

Crossings Vineyards & Winery, Washington Crossing, Bucks County, 2018 Chambourcin Reserve

Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor, Northampton County, 2019 Fainting Goat

Greendance Winery, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Cloud Burst Red

Greendance Winery, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Cloud Burst Ros 1/4 u0117

Hungry Run Wine Cellars, Lewistown, Mifflin County, 2020 Hard Tea Raspberry

Hungry Run Wine Cellars, Lewistown, Mifflin County, 2020 Salted Carmel

Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery, Centre Hall, Centre County, 2019 Moscato (sweet)

Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery, Centre Hall, Cenre County, 2019 Linden Vale Ros 1/4 u0117

Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery, Centre Hall, Centre County, 2019 Talegate White

Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery, Centre Hall, Centre County, 2019 Cabernet Franc

Paradox Vineyard, Landenberg, Chester County, 2019 Pinot Gris

Paradox Vineyard, Landenberg, Chester County, 2019 Vin Gris

Seven Mountains Wine Cellars, Spring Mills, Centre County, 2019 WE ARE

Seven Mountains Wine Cellars, Spring Mills, Centre County, 2019 Strawberry Rhubarb

Shade Mountain Winery & Vineyards , Middleburg, Snyder County, 2017 Riesling

Shade Mountain Winery & Vineyards , Middleburg, Snyder County, 2018 Autumn Harvest Blush

Sleepy Cat Urban Winery, Allentown, Lehigh County, 2019 Feline Fine Fredonia “F3”

Sleepy Cat Urban Winery, Allentown, Lehigh County, 2019 Alley “Cat”awba

Sleepy Cat Urban Winery, Allentown, Lehigh County, 2019 Smokey’s Midnight Treat

Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg, Monroe County, 2020 Arancia Rossa

Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg, Monroe County, 2019 Chambourcin

Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg, Monroe County, 2019 Leon Millot

Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg, Monroe County, 2020 Peach Bianco

The Winery at the Long Shot Farm, Carlisle, Cumberland County, 2019 Summer Blend

The Winery at the Long Shot Farm, Carlisle, Cumberland County, 2019 Pick Quiver

Thistlethwaite Vineyards, Jefferson, Greene County, 2016 Traminette

Thistlethwaite Vineyards, Jefferson, Greene County, 2019 Vignoles

Thistlethwaite Vineyards, Jefferson, Greene County, 2019 Chambourcin

Thistlethwaite Vineyards, Jefferson, Greene County, 2015 Farm House Red

Tolinio Vineyards, Bangor, Northampton County, 2019 Pinot Grigio

Tolinio Vineyards, Bangor, Northampton County, 2019 Lilly

Yori Wine Cellars, North East, Erie County, 2019 Ros 1/4 u0117 Wine

And this final note on the release from the Department of Agriculture:

Pennsylvanians interested in sampling winning wines are encouraged to visit the Pennsylvania Farm Show Trail, an interactive map that features the commercial exhibitors and PA Preferred 1/4 u00aemembers who exhibit at the traditional Farm Show. Just search “wine” in the search bar to be directed to Pennsylvania breweries for links to ecommerce websites or physical storefronts where you can purchase their award-winning brews.

“This Farm Show Trail gives Pennsylvanians from all four corners of the commonwealth the opportunity to support our Farm Show exhibitors and agribusinesses from the comfort of their home,” said Redding. “While the map was born out of a need to support our commercial exhibitors for this virtual show, I hope it’s here to stay.”

The Pennsylvania Virtual Farm Show features hundreds of online educational and entertaining events and resources.

ALSO READ: Molly Chappellet: Growing Grapes, Gardens, Family and Community in Napa