Stone Villa Wine Cellars
by
Kathy Sullivan
Summary: Stone Villa Wine Cellars offers picturesque views that include a scenic lake, patio and a hand built stone winery and tasting room. The winery produces all of its wines with 100 percent Pennsylvania fruit.
Looking for Stone Villa Wine Cellars while traveling along a small country road, we came upon a stunning view of the winery with a picturesque lake, patio and stone winery building. It reminded us of a fairy tale. Could Goldilocks have lived here at one time?
Inside and outside evidence of the stone mason heritage of the Paul family is noticeable. From the stone cottage-style facility created with stones from the fields, and skillfully placed by Randy’s father, to the 4 inch thick piece of concrete for a large tasting counter and cement floors, everything is about masonry.
The owners, Randy and Debbie Paul, are the third generation of stone masons. They had enjoyed visiting wineries for years. “Wine is in my veins; rocks are in my head.” Randy noted that his parents made wine and that he had grown up with wine. Randy’s grandparents had also made wine and were stone masons. Although wine was available, it wasn’t until Randy was in his thirties that his wine journey began.
The Stone Villa tasting room has numerous wine related items to browse, but the real draw to visitors is just outside the large glass doors where a patio, with tables and red and green umbrellas, offers beautiful views of the lake. On weekends visitors can enjoy spending time on the patio with a glass of wine, music and lake views. Stone Villa Wine Cellars is a popular destination for wine enthusiasts. Most weekends, the winery expects to host 400 visitors.
Nearby on a hillside are five acres of grapes including Baco Noir, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Additional grapes are sourced from North East and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The owners keep in touch with the growers so they can be sure they receive quality grapes.
Randy compares winemaking with cooking. Using the same ingredients, chefs will make three different items. Using the same grapes from the same vineyard, different winemakers will make different wines.
Randy and Debbie want visitors to come and experience the Stone Villa wines that are produced only from Pennsylvania fruit. Stone Villa Wine Cellars has created an environment where visitors can enjoy themselves and make a memory.
Wines
Today Stone Villa produces 9,500 cases of Pennsylvania wine. A large variety of wines are available. Serious wine lovers and those who just enjoy an occasional glass of wine will discover wines to enjoy. Note what appears as stones at the sides of the wine bottle labels. On closer inspection, rather than stonework, the image shows an outline of the Pennsylvania counties. A star indicates the location of the winery.
Villa White 2009 was a blend of Chardonnay and Seyval. This light yellow wine offered aroma notes of apple, nut and oak. The taste was smooth. The finish was crisp and fruity with a hint of vanilla on the finish. Riesling 2010, a light yellow, was aromatic and the taste was fruity and sweet. The wine tended towards drying on the finish. Suggested pairings were seafood and pork. It would also be delightful by itself on a hot summer day.
Stovilli 2010 was a light ruby. The aroma and taste was earthy with cherry notes. The fruity finish had mild tannins with a long cherry aftertaste. Polocitro 2009 was a light ruby color with an aroma of cherries. The taste offered cherry and blackberry notes with hints of tobacco. The finish was fruity with mild tannins.
Randy and Debbie want visitors to come and experience the Stone Villa wines that are produced only from Pennsylvania grapes.
Stone Villa Wine Cellars has created an environment where visitors can enjoy themselves and create a memory.
Stone Villa Wine Cellars
1085 Clay Pike Road
Acme, Pennsylvania 15610
GPS: N40º 10.784’ W79º 26.621’
