About Briar Valley Vineyard & Winery
Briar Valley Vineyard & Winery was a family winery in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny Mountains near the historic Bedford Springs Resort. Tod and Jean Manspeaker founded it in 2005 and released their first vintage two years later, with Jean Manspeaker as winemaker.
Briar Valley was unusual for its part of Pennsylvania in that it made dry vinifera wines only: Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Chardonnay in white, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot in red. The Manspeakers grew from three acres in 2007 to twenty by 2011, reaching roughly 2,000 cases a year, and they built the tasting room on the belief that there were Pennsylvanians who wanted dry vinifera and would go looking for it.
After fifteen years the Manspeakers sold the business in May 2020 to Jay and Joanna Bell, the owners of Bella Terra Vineyards, who planned to widen the tasting room lineup with sweet wines, ciders and sparkling wines and to operate in Bedford under the Bella Terra name. The Briar Valley website is no longer active, and there is no Briar Valley tasting room to visit under that name, so no hours, fee or reservation policy applies. Confirm current details for whatever is operating in Bedford before you go.
This winery is listed here for reference. It is closed, so there is no tasting room to visit.
A Bedford County holdout for dry vinifera, sold in 2020 and no longer pouring under the Briar Valley name.
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Manspeaker founded,Tod and Jean Manspeaker started the winery in 2005 and released the first vintage two years later.
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Dry vinifera only,the lineup ran Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot, with no sweet wines.
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Twenty acres,the planting grew from three acres in 2007 to twenty by 2011, at about 2,000 cases a year.
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Sold in 2020,Jay and Joanna Bell of Bella Terra Vineyards bought the business in May 2020.
“Pennsylvania, contact the winery directly for current tasting flights and current-release wines.”
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Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Briar Valley Vineyard & Winery, please check the winery's official website or contact the tasting room directly. Pennsylvania producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
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