Thank you Appel Farm for putting on another great Wine and Music Festival. Apple Farm has a long and impressive history of teaching, supporting and showcasing music and the arts. For many years they hosted the Appel Farm Folk Festival on the first Saturday in June. My wife and I attended many of these festivals over the years. Though I still miss the Folk Festivals, I am hoping the Wine and Music Festivals will continue for many years to come. Though I heard some of the vendors say that they were a little disappointed by the turn-out, I thought the festival was well-attended and very well-run. This festival was a two-day event. My comments, therefore, are limited to the Sunday event. The photo shown above was taken early (soon after the festival began). The crowds grew in size, but there is so much room here that crowd size is also very deceiving. Wow! That sounded eerily familiar…but I digress. With the addition of a beer tent and a large number of craft displays and vendors, there are many other ways to spend your time (and money) in between tastes of some wonderful wines. While we enjoyed perusing the vendor tents (purchasing a few items along the way) we did wonder about the inclusion of Bath Fitter as a vendor at the event (no offense, just a comment on “product placement”).
This year’s winery participants included: Auburn Road Vineyards; DiMatteo Vineyards; Monroeville Vineyard; Paradocx Vineyard (PA); Penns Woods Winery (PA); Plagido’s Winery (New Jersey Winery of the Year for the second consecutive year); Southwind Vineyard; Villari Vineyards; and Wagonhouse Winery. I must admit that this year’s Pennsylvania winery entrants were noteworthy additions to the festival. Paradocx poured their wines from what looked like paint cans with a spout (they sell them in these 3 liter containers holding four bottles), while Penns Woods Winery had two of the better red wines I tasted all day: a terrific Merlot and a very nice Red Blend. I will make it a point to check them out on their home turf the next time I am in the Chadd’s Ford area.
My festival favorites included three from Auburn Road (Sole, The White Bottle and American Red Winemaker’s Red); Plagido’s Chambourcin; and Penns Woods Merlot and Proprietor’s Reserve (red blend). As always, while I try to sample as many wines of interest as possible, it is necessary to prioritize with all of the possibilities (even with a designated driver). With this in mind and having attended another wine festival the previous day, I focused on wines I’d never tried and a few old favorites. I must add that A Flying Fish IPA helped quench my thirst in the hottest part of the day. Quite tasty!
While my main focus on these pages is wine, this was a Wine AND Music Festival and Appel did itself proud on the Sunday event that I attended. A number of fine musicians entertained the crowd (including Jeffrey Gaines, pictured above with other members of David Uosikkinen’s In the Pocket). Other members included Ben Arnold and members of The Hooters, The A’s, The Soul Survivors, and Smash Palace. Other featured performers on Sunday included Deirdre Finnegan and Dave Cohen, Greg Jones Project and Joe Crookston. I really enjoyed Joe Crookston. It was fascinating to learn that Joe is, himself, a former “camper” at Appel, highlighting the influence that Appel has had.
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Cheers!
