Sometimes you have the weather on your side but not the time. We were fortunate though this weekend to find a local distillery to visit here in the Pocono Mountain region which proved to be well worth the while. The Mountain View Vineyard is split between two locations with its original location along Neola Road in Stroudsburg and its gorgeous new facility on Walters Road in the same town.
We ventured out on the 20 something minute ride to sample the distillery first which found us making a sudden right hand turn into a steep driveway up to what may be mistaken as a house if one isn’t paying attention. This is a quaint facility with its commodities neatly on display and a knowledgeable staff at your service. Their vodkas come in a variety of fruit flavors and the rest of the lineup offers a Corn Whiskey (unaged), an Apple Shine, and a Brandy. We learned about the available tours as I scanned my card for a bottle of brandy and left with the instructions that we must see the new facility on Walters Road on our way back. Given it was only 2 miles away, we heeded their advice and the place did not disappoint!
The roads in this area can sometimes seemingly lead to nowhere with perhaps an occasional house or defunct barn from years gone by so it was quite refreshing to come upon the rows of grapes and ultimately their new building sitting majestically up on the hill with its stone columns supporting its view rich deck. At only about six months old, the place still had a scent of new wood as you entered the large double doors. This is a place suitable for wedding receptions and the like with its size, views, and surrounding property, I thought as we entered. Later, I was to learn from their web site that such affairs do in fact take place here.
There are few times when you wish you weren’t on a motorcycle and this was one of them as the idea of sampling their wines on that gorgeous deck of theirs was off limits in our personal riding rule book of no alcohol on two wheels. Instead, I settled for asking for their driest red, which led to me carrying out a bottle of their “Passion”. At home, the brandy surprised me with its “whiskey-esque” flavor which was very welcomed over the more sugary brandies we’ve had in the past. Denise isn’t a whiskey drinker but agreed with its whiskey like demeanor and just loves it. So don’t let my description fool you. Their Passion wine is rich with an outstanding finish and I would imagine everything else on their list is of the same quality as these two samples we brought home.
There was plenty of daylight left as I stuffed the wine into the saddle bag and we took a more quiet and lengthy way home. I kept the speed down low so as to soak up as much of the remaining day we had with only the anticipation of getting home to try these spirits keeping us on course.
If you live in the area, there is no excuse for not visiting as it’s a real gem of a place. If you live elsewhere, put it on your list of places if you ever come through, you won’t be sorry.