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Great Wine Values: Clover Hill Riesling

For those who like to eat locally farmed foods and drink locally crafted beers, there's every reason to explore locally grown wines, too.

Lehigh Valley Riesling
Lehigh Valley RieslingRead moreClover Hill

For those who like to eat locally farmed foods and drink locally crafted beers, there's every reason to explore locally grown wines, too. The challenge for many wine lovers is finding a style at which our region's wineries can consistently excel. Early efforts in Pennsylvania using the European vine species vitis vinifera (the one responsible for all of the world's fine wines) tended toward the French grape varieties with the most commercial appeal, such as chardonnay or cabernet sauvignon. However, there are only slivers of Pennsylvania's terrain that suit those grapes, which prefer sunnier, drier weather. But there is one vinifera grape that Pennsylvania grows brilliantly across the board, from Erie County in the far northwest to Delaware County in the southeast: Germany's cold-hardy Riesling. This thick-skinned grape is considered by many experts to be among the top three wine grapes of all time, and it's a much better fit for the Mid-Atlantic climate. Sadly, few Pennsylvania wineries sell their wines through Pennsylvania stores, but luckily those that do tend to be affordable, like this semi-dry wine from Clover Hill in the Lehigh Valley. Riesling can be made sweet or dry, and this one is sweet-tart with flavors of peaches and lemon drops — perfect for brunch or for serving with a cheese plate.

Clover Hill Riesling, Lehigh Valley, Pa. $12.99. PLCB Item #6958