(live-PR.com) - The sweet smell of ripened wine grapes blown across the vineyards by cool autumn winds signals the start of harvest season in the Lehigh Valley. The nine family-owned-and-operated wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will toast the bounty of our region’s agricultural heritage during its annual event, “Harvest Weekend: The Butcher, The Baker, The Winemaker.”

On Saturday, Sept. 13 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 14 from noon – 5 p.m., the wineries will pair their wines with products from their agricultural neighbors as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s PA Preferred program. Highlights include:

• Amoré Vineyards & Winery, Nazareth – will feature new releases of Red Rapture, White Delight and Peach Mist. PA Preferred Amore Farms will offer homegrown sweet corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomato/cucumber salad and other seasonal treats. Live music from Lifetime of Romance will be featured.
• Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville – will feature fresh, locally-grown fruit from Heckman Orchard and Sangria by the glass.
• Blue Mountain Vineyards & Cellars, LTD., New Tripoli - will offer a selection of cheeses compliments from Goot Essa along with freshly baked bread and summer sausage provided by Peters Brothers Meats. A walking tour with the winemaker can be taken on Saturday at 4 p.m. and acoustic entertainment by Kurt Strohecker from 1 - 4 p.m. Sunday highlights include a Fall Foliage Wine Tasting and acoustic entertainment by The Wow Brothers from 2 – 5 p.m. for a $5 admission fee. A complimentary tank room tour with the winemaker will be held at 3:30 p.m.
• Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville – will pair with their favorite PA Preferred friend, Mr. Bill's Poultry Market. Beat the heat with cool sounds from Margaret and Randy Ritter’s New Passages from 1:30 - 5 p.m. both days.
• Franklin Hills Vineyards, Bangor - will celebrate a dual harvest. Tour the winery and learn about the 2008 grape harvest and celebrate the apple harvest as they release their new apple wine made exclusively from local Cortland, Granny Smith, and Red and Yellow Delicious apples. Klein Farms will have a wide variety of homemade cheeses and cheese spreads for sale.
• Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas – will feature a taste of autumn with their Bavarian spice sweet wine paired with spiced apple raisin bread from Martin's Farm Market, a local family Mennonite business and a PA preferred member. The release of their 2006 Chambourcin wine will be sampled and a walking tour of the vineyard & cellar with the winery’s owners will be held at noon.
• Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown – will welcome harvest season with Blues in the Barn featuring live blues music from acts including Blues Factor and Bluestone. Listen to great music and enjoy the scenery of the surrounding vineyards along with a pig roast and barbecue which will be available for sale by the plate or sandwich.
• Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyards, Saylorsburg – will offer special tours with the winery’s owners from 1 - 3 p.m. Their farm neighbors, AJ's, will have fresh, local vegetables and specially priced tickets for their corn maze for sale. Tombler's Home Bakery of Easton will have goodies for sale. On Sunday, special harvest drinks will be available for purchase with live jazz music in the pavilion from 1 – 4 p.m.
• Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville – will offer vineyard/winery tours at 2 p.m. StoneCroft Farm will feature herb-infused goat cheeses and related products, while Haika's Kitchen will have samples of delicious breads. Jams and jellies from the Eagle Point Farm Market will also be for sale. Live acoustic music will be featured in the Vyneskeller starting at
1 p.m.

Visitors interested in making a weekend out of their winery visits can book a Lehigh Valley Wine Trail travel package at a local lodging facility by visiting www.LehighValleyPA.org and clicking on the “Travel Packages” button on the right side of the homepage.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is a non-profit organization of wineries whose mission is to create a premiere wine destination and grape growing region while promoting agri-tourism and wines from the region. All of the member wineries have won numerous awards in national and international competitions.

In April, the wineries were granted an American Viticultural Area (AVA) designation by the Federal Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. This designation enables vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they purchase. The Lehigh Valley AVA includes portions of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania. There are currently nine wineries and 13 vineyards in this designation with more than 220 acres devoted to viticulture.

To request a copy of the Wine Trail’s A Journey in Wine brochure, call Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-747-0561 or log onto www.LehighValleyPA.org. The brochure is also available at each of the member wineries. For more information on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, visit www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com or call 866-870-7800. For Wine Trail photos, contact Tracey Werner at Tracey@LehighValleyPA.org.