Pennsylvania Wine Country

About Pennsylvania Wine Country

Pennsylvania wine country is one of America's great wine secrets hiding in plain sight. One hundred fifty-seven estate wineries across a state that most Americans associate with the Liberty Bell and cheesesteaks make Pennsylvania a genuine top-five wine producer nationally — with a depth, diversity, and quality trajectory that rivals better-publicized East Coast wine states. The Lehigh Valley's Bordeaux varieties, Chester County's Brandywine Valley estates, and Lancaster County's farm winery culture together tell a wine story that is as diverse as the Commonwealth itself.

The Lehigh Valley AVA has emerged as Pennsylvania's most critically acclaimed wine region, producing Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Riesling from the Blue Mountain foothills northeast of Philadelphia. Vynecrest, Clover Hill, and Pinnacle Ridge have earned 90+ ratings from national publications, demonstrating that the Lehigh Valley's limestone soils and cool-climate conditions produce wines of genuine finesse.

In Chester County's Brandywine Valley, Chaddsford Winery (Pennsylvania's most nationally distributed producer) and Va La Vineyards (the state's most internationally acclaimed estate) have made the case for Pennsylvania as a serious wine destination. Va La's Italian-inspired Sangiovese, Tocai Friulano, and estate blends from 14 varietals are among the most distinctive and ambitious wines made anywhere on the East Coast — and the Brandywine country setting, with its Andrew Wyeth landscapes and Revolutionary War history, provides a wine tourism context of unusual richness.