The livin' was easy as wine lovers flock to festival in Hegins

Sep. 5—HEGINS — Jamie Murphy recalls that, when she was growing up, elderberry wine was said to have medicinal properties.

"Years ago, doctors recommended it if you had a cold," said Murphy, a Pottsville nurse. "It's rich in antioxidants."

With that in mind, Murphy embarked on a search for elderberry wine at the Schuylkill County Wine Festival on Sunday in Hegins.

She found it at Stone Mountain Wine Cellars, a Pine Grove winery whose website describes it as "semi-dry, tastes like eating fresh elderberries."

Murphy was among an estimated 3,000 wine lovers who turned out for the festival's 13th run in Hegins Park. Visitors began arriving at 9 a.m., three hours before the gates opened at noon.

A dozen wineries, most from Schuylkill and surrounding counties, set up tent stands with the picturesque foothills of western Schuylkill County as a backdrop.

Tom Stutzman, festival president, said it appeared business was brisk at the winery stands.

"It was a financially good day," said Stutzman, who also owns Red Shale Ridge Vineyards in Hegins. "It helps the wineries stay in business."

The festival is a fundraiser for Hegins Park, which has baseball diamonds and tennis courts, Stutzman said. He anticipated the festival would raise about $20,000 for the park.

While some vineyards have suffered from the drought, Stutzman said the grapes on Red Shale Ridge have fared well this season. Red Shale grows five varieties of grapes.

A portion of the park was a tent city with families and friends gathering to sample wine and relax in near perfect weather.

Callie Studley favored Cool Cat Rita from Armstrong Valley Vineyard & Winery in Halifax, Dauphin County.

"It's kind of a mix of margarita and sangria," said Studley, a veterinary technician in Valley View.

Pottsville residents Joel Ebling and Kim George set up pop-up tables under a tall oak tree in the park's grove.

Ebling, 60, a maintenance worker in the Pottsville Area School District, preferred Plumb Pleasure, a sweet wine that its maker, Fieldwood Winery, says has a pound of plums in every bottle.

George went for something a little more hardy, a sweet banana wine.

"It's just a relaxing day," said George, who raised a souvenir glass marked "Schuylkill County Wine Festival."

Schuylkill County Fair Princess Lila Evans and the fair's Little Miss Ariana Eifert, both of Pottsville, circulated among the crowd.

Food and craft vendors were scattered throughout the park, offering alcohol-infused cupcakes, fragrant candles and high fashion sandals.

At Chimes & Charms, Berks County artist Denise A. Bennett offered hand painted wine bottles — empty, of course.

DJ Dan Poletti's Ultimate Dance Party had kids doing somersaults to rock'n'roll classics.

In mid-afternoon, shielded from the sun by a canopy of oak trees, Sieg and Judy Illig, of Millerburg, were the picture of easy summer living as they slow danced to Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle."

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007