“First I wanted to be a forest ranger but graduated with a Ph.D in Wildlife Parasitology from the University of Georgia specializing in pigs. The babies are cute but will hurt you if you don’t watch their little tusks. Then I worked at the USDA with chickens.” Dominic Strohlein, owner and wine maker at Big Creek Vineyards on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, told me this 20 minutes into the interview. Standing in the chalet-style winery and shop in overalls, Dominic definitely gave the impression he preferred work in the fields to a Ph.D’s life behind a desk.
Big Creek Vineyard founded in 1988
Dominic's grandfather bought the 86 acre site near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania in the 1930's. Unlike many who left the New York area in that era and settled in the quiet hills of northeastern Pennsylvania, the Strohlein's ancestry is Eastern European rather than Italian. Yet that certainly didn't stop his grandfather or father from making wine at home just like their neighbors.
Pocono Mountains are good for grapes
Twenty-three years ago, Dominic, bored with chickens, moved back to the family land and started Big Creek Vineyards. "The first vines I purchased were varieties from Virginia, the best I ever bought, especially the Cabernet Sauvignon. Good grafts created by small vineyards thrive in the cold winters of the Poconos. Now the explosion in the industry has resulted in too many faulty grafts by big growing companies. It's our biggest problem now.”
“Lots of winemakers are retired engineers and chemists,” adds Dominic. “You can’t just dig holes and plant what you like to drink.” Getting the soil tested by agricultural scientists is a must, but the rocky shale soil of the Pocono Mountains is good for grapes. Late spring frosts can be a problem but not if there is time for a secondary flowering of the vines.
Like many small vineyards, Big Creek follows natural growing methods as much as possible. No herbicides are used to kill weeds, and Dominic applies chemical sprays only when bugs, such as Japanese Beetles, or mold is out of control.
Pennsylvania laws good for wineries
Dominic believes that wineries in Pennsylvania have freedoms that other states don’t grant, such as satellite stores – Big Creek Vineyards has one in Jim Thorpe. There are 80 to 100 festival days in the state where they can sell their wines both by the glass or the bottle as well as food. "New Jersey is very restrictive on their wineries and they’re hurting. New York’s better, but not as liberal as Pennsylvania." Wine on the Mountain in Penn’s Peak is Dominic's favorite. "It's held in an air conditioned building. Ninety degree summer temperatures aren't good for wine.” Tasting his wine in Big Creek’s chalet style winery is a pleasant affair.
Big Creek Vineyard’s wines
- Moonlight White (Cayuga Grape) has a light body leaving a pleasant herbal taste lingering in the mouth. Dominic adds, “The cayuga grape is easy to grow in this area.”
- Seyval Reserve (Seyval French-American hybrid grape) is a medium body white aged in American oak barrels which imparts a subtle oak after taste. American Oak barrels run $300 - $400 while French Oak cost $1200 - $1500.
- Seyval is fermented in stainless steel or plastic barrels and has nice citrus undertones with a light body similar to a Pinot Grigio. “The Seyval grape is very disease resistant,” comments Dominic.
- Dulcinea is a sweet white table wine with a smooth mouthfeel and mild citrus tones.
- Vin di Pasqualina Rose (Niagara grape) is named for his grandmother. My nose detected an aroma similar to fruity hard candy, yet that dissipated in the mouth leaving a pleasant mildly sweet taste of flowers and fruit.
- Frontenac is a dry medium bodied red with a smooth even mouthfeel and notes of cherry and berries. The Frontenac grape is particularly hardy and can survive temperatures to minus 50°F.
- La Brusca (Concord grape) is “my sweetest wine – 4% sugar. Just enough to minimize the tannins for people that don’t like the acidity.” It has a dry mouthfeel finish without the cloying sweetness of too many concord grape wines, yet it definitely tasted of grapes plus strawberries and peach.
- Apple Raspberry is Big Creek’s semi-sweet fruit wine made from all Pennsylvania fruit. It has a pleasant dry mouthfeel and a nice balance between apples and raspberries.
Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyard
In 1912 Lucia Sorrenti’s grandparents emigrated from southern Italy to America bringing with them their love for viticulture and winemaking. Yet like so many immigrants, the love translated into home production so that no meal would be without that most desired beverage. Yet, like grape vines, that love would grow and multiply. Her dad, Dominic, was well taught in the family basement winery, and along with her mother, Mary, opened Cherry Valley Winery on their 200 acre farm in 1981. Her brother Nicholas, the current winemaker, studied at the University of California, Davis, America’s premiere school for viticulture and winemaking. Lucia runs the wine shop.
Weddings and catered events
Besides the winery, an attractive complex of buildings includes the wine shop and a house that compliments the beautiful landscaped garden, gazebo and pond. Weddings and other catered events are popular in the garden, and the wine shop has related items ranging from spreads and bruschetta toppings to wine carrying cases.
Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Like so many residents of the Pocono Mountain and Lehigh Valley region, Dominic and Mary Sorrenti are dedicated conservationist. In 2010 they sold 187 acres of their farm to the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Not only did they want to protect hundreds of native plant species but their farm is home to the endangered Bog Turtle.
The current vineyard consists of ten acres, and they purchase additional Pennsylvania grapes and fruit from local growers within a 50 mile radius. All of Cherry Valley’s whites are aged in stainless steel and the red wines for two years in American Oak casks.
Cherry Valley Vineyard’s wines
- Pinot Grigio is a white semi-sweet wine with a medium body and a light citrus taste that lingers in the mouth.
- Proprietor White is a blend of Chenin Blanc, Cayuga and Sauvignon Blanc grapes with a nice balance of a floral taste up front followed by a mild astringent mouthfeel.
- Cayuga is balanced between summer fruit and citrus overtones with a pleasant semi-dry mouthfeel at the end.
- Seyvel Blanc tastes of herbs and summer flowers with a nice astringency at the end.
- Vignoles is a medium bodied, semi-sweet red, with herb and floral tones, yet it had a pleasant dry finish.
- Merlot with its medium body tastes of red berries and plums yet has a smooth buttery secondary taste.
- Cabernet is full bodied with the taste of fruit, currents and oak. Its tannins provide a kick at first followed by a smooth, dry finish in the mouth.
- Leon Millot is aged in vanilla soaked oak barrels for one year and has distinct vanilla undertones throughout the fruit. It has a smooth mouthfeel, and I’d recommend it as a terrific dry dessert wine
- Blackberry Merlot is 20% blackberry wine and 80% Merlot with a light aroma but an intense burst of raspberry and grape in the mouth. The blackberry flavor intensifies with each sip.
- Concord is sweet grape juice. A good summer wine for non-wine drinkers and best served chilled.
- Cranberry Blush is semi-sweet, light bodied yet with a pleasantly tart cranberry finish. Another good summer wine served chilled.
The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail
Following the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail in northeast Pennsylvania makes for a pleasant excursion just two hours from both New York City or Philadelphia. Nine family-owned wineries are part of the trail so I'd suggest spending two to three days if you wish to enjoy tastings at all the vineyards. Besides the wine, the area boasts stunning countryside through mountains and valleys, beautiful farms, quaint villages that seem to be living in a time-warp and charming bed and breakfast inns. For me, traversing this bucolic region, l’arte del fare il vino – the art of making wine – seems more la storia d'amore di fare il vino – the love affair of making wine.
Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, P.O. Box 350, Kresgeville, PA 18333, 610-681-3959
Sorrenti Cherry Valley Vineyard, Saylorsburg, PA, 570-992-2255
Marc d'Entremont - Years of experience as a chef, historian and teacher guides my travel and food writing. I explore all things that shape a culture.
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