Bashore & Stoudt Country Winery
by
Kathy Sullivan
Summary: Bashore & Stoudt Country Winery is located in the small Pennsylvania town of Shartlesville. We discovered the winery and tasting room located in a white, one-story building just off of Old Route 22. The winery offers an array of fruit wines including many with home grown fruit.
Bashore & Stoudt Country Winery was founded in May 1999 by David C. Bashore and Bob L. Stoudt. Bob’s parents started the nearby fruit orchards where plums, peaches and nectarines are grown. The winery is located across the street from Stoudt’s Fruit Farm Market.
Bob decided to add winemaking to his list of accomplishments to help maintain the orchard farm. After the orchard suffered a devastating weather problem, he decided to add a commercial winery. He had already been making wine at home as a hobby winemaker. In 1997 he attended the Winery Unlimited Trade Show and Conference when it was in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Two years later he started the winery.
The tasting room is located adjacent to the winery space. Visitors can view the inside of the winery through the large glass window behind the tasting counter. The tasting room is filled with numerous wine giftware ideas. Small jars of luscious looking wine jelly are available.
In addition to the traditional fruit wines that Bob produces, he also makes a mulberry wine. We talked about the challenges of removing the numerous small seeds from the fruit. All of the fruit used in the wines is sourced from within the county. It is important to note that the fruit wines are produced with 100% fruit.
Wines
While talking with a staff member, we tasted several wines. The Peach wine was a light yellow colored wine with a peach aroma and taste. The wine was sweet with some drying on the aftertaste. There was a hint of a peach pit in the wine. Nectarine wine was a yellow color with a gold hue. The wine offered an aroma and taste of nectarine. It had a very smooth mouthfeel with a bit of sweetness.
Three plum wines were tasted. Shiro Plum Wine was a yellow color. The wine had a light plum aroma. It was smooth and sweet. Formosia Plum was an orange color with a gold hue. The wine offered notes of plum and spices. The mouthfeel was sweet and silky. Blue Ribbon Plum was a red color with an orange hue. The wine had a very plumy aroma and taste with notes of spices. There was a long aftertaste. It was sweet but drying on the finish.
Other fruit wines tasted were from different berries. Elderberry wine was a ruby color. The wine offered notes of elderberries with a hint of earthiness. It was slightly sweet and drying on the finish. Mulberry wine was a beautiful pink color. The taste was very sweet with notes of your backyard mulberries. The finish was sweet and the mulberry taste lingered. Pair this wine with a rocking chair on the porch on a summer day. Red Raspberry wine was a beautiful raspberry color. The taste reminded one of a fresh raspberry. The raspberry taste lingered on the finish.
While traveling about this area of Pennsylvania, stop by the winery for some delicious fruit wines and a friendly visit.
Bashore & Stoudt Country Winery
5784 Old Route 22
Shartlesville, Pennsylvania
GPS: N40º 30.845’ W76º 06.682’
Article written July 2016
