It’s the Year of the Wine Glass. The never-empty, keep filling that baby up because the world is imploding, wine glass. Wine cures it all in 2020! Stress, anxiety, remote learning, unemployment all magically disappear with the ingestion of several glasses of wine. So of course I took the opportunity this year to tour a few of the best wineries in my local area. I had to pay homage to the motherships of the local area and thank them for keeping us all alive in times of a global pandemic, civil unrest AND in an election year. But if I’m being honest, I really needed them to refill my glass, again and again, while I pretended to be interested in how wine is made.
Whether you’re looking for a fun fall activity, wine, education on the industry, wine, cheese AND wine, new glassware, or you know, just some wine — I’ve done the hard work for you and found the best wineries in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas. I scoured the lands of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland to find those heavy pours. It was tough research but I’m here for you guys!
(All of the below wineries require face masks when not seated at a table and request that everyone visiting adhere to socially distance. No wine tastings are available at any of the wineries due to COVID-19 restrictions but wine flights, and bottles or glasses of wine are available for purchase.)
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1. Chaddsford Winery – Chadds Ford, PA
I have frequented Chaddsford Winery, located in the Brandywine Valley of Southeastern Pennsylvania, several times over the years. It is sort of the O.G. of local wineries in my area, and is considered one of the oldest wineries in Pennsylvania. Established in 1982, Chaddsford Winery produces about 24,000 cases of wine annually. That’s a lot of wine! (I wonder if they made double that in 2020?!). Chaddsford wine is so widely known that I was once on a trip in Switzerland in 2004 and the small hotel owner prided himself on collecting wines from around the world. He had his very own bottle of Chaddsford wine!
Wine tastings are not currently available because of the pandemic but wine lovers can enjoy wine by the glass, bottle, specialty wine cocktails or even craft beer from Pennsylvania while visiting Chaddsford Winery. The outdoor seating is scattered along the winery’s patio and grassy areas. Food trucks are on property for those seeking to purchase food but you are also welcome to bring your own food to the winery. Dogs on a leash are also welcome here. Chaddsford Winery is open for wine drinking visitors Friday through Sunday. Reservations are required.
Related: Best Places to Visit in Pennsylvania
Tractor ride at Blue Cork Winery in NJ; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
2. Blue Cork Winery – Williamstown, NJ
I will admit I was influenced on Instagram to visit Blue Cork Winery in Williamstown, New Jersey. It didn’t take much to convince me. At Blue Cork Winery, you can take a tractor ride through the vineyards WHILE DRINKING WINE! Need I say more! The tractor ride tours are private and only for your group (social distancing friendly) and last about 45 minutes. The “tractor” is actually a comfortable, open-air, trailer-like thing with bench seats and a table in the middle with convenient wine glass holders, pulled by a mini tractor. The ride loops around the vineyard with stops along the way for plenty of those token photos of you holding a wine glass amongst the vines. The tour guide and owner of the small, local winery explains their winemaking process while outside in the vineyard and then in more detail inside, alongside the wine barrels and presses. The tractor tour is $30 per person and includes a wine glass, filled with the wine of your choice. There is a minimum tractor ride occupancy of six people. Reservations for the tractor tour are required but not needed to visit the winery.
After your tour (or instead of a tour), there is a pretty, outdoor courtyard filled with socially-distanced tables that overlook the vineyard, making it a perfect spot to drink more wine. Bottles of wine, individual wine flights and wine slushies are available for purchase inside. A very basic cheese plate is also available for purchase and there is a food truck onsite and the availability to order more food online from a nearby restaurant that will deliver right to your table. Outside food is not permitted.
Related: The Best Things About Fall Travel, Because I’m Basic
3. The Inn at Grace Winery – Glen Mills, PA
Also located in the Brandywine Valley, The Inn at Grace Winery was first a bed and breakfast in the early 1900s. Prior to that, the farmhouse is said to have housed the British after the Battle of the Brandywine in the Revolutionary War, was a safe house on the Underground Railroad and an infirmary during the Civil War.
Grace Le Vine, niece and namesake of Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, ran the bed and breakfast then called Sweetwater Farm in the 1990s until her death. Her brother, Christopher, took over the farm and restored the former barn into a winery, calling it Grace Winery. In 2015, they combined the Sweetwater Bed and Breakfast and Grace Winery to its current name The Inn at Grace Winery. The Manor House estate on the 10 acre property features seven guestrooms, and there are an additional eight cottages for rent that are scattered around the farm, making it an ideal destination for those seeking a full wine-filled weekend.
The winery is housed in the former barn originally constructed in the 1750s. It was restored in 2010 with grand details including the bar top being created from original steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Wine lovers can sip and indulge while enjoying the outdoor seating at the winery. They offer charcuterie boards of a higher standard here along with delicious wines of course by the glass or bottle. Beer is also available along with a light fare menu. No outside food is permitted. Dogs on a leash are welcome here. The Inn at Grace Winery is open Thursday through Sunday. Reservations are required.
Broken Spoke Winery in MD; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
4. Broken Spoke – Earleville, MD
This winery has animals! The end. A large barn welcomes visitors to the Broken Spoke in Earleville, MD, not far from Chesapeake City. The barn is situated in the center of wide open farmland scattered with horses, donkeys, chickens, goats and the resident pot belly pig named Gus. Gus is a big guy who roams around the winery ready to welcome wine lovers from near and far.
Inside the outdoor, covered barn there are socially distance tables, couches around fire pits and tables with umbrellas situated just outside the barn. You can choose from a variety of white, red and rose wines available for tasting, and you are given a stemless Broken Spoke wine glass with the purchase. The tastings come in their own small, covered wine decanter. Once you’ve decided on your favorite, you can buy wine by the glass, bottle or indulge in a wine slushie. The apple cider wine slushie was fantastically fall! There is a food truck on property and cheese plates are available for purchase, too. Visitors are also welcome to bring outside food to enjoy. The winery is open Thursday through Sunday and there is often live music or events that take place on the weekends. Reservations are not required.
5. Harvest Ridge Winery – Marydel, DE
The family owned and operated Harvest Ridge Winery first opened in 2013 as Delaware’s fourth winery. It sits on the Mason-Dixon line between Delaware and Maryland and has two tasting room locations, one in Marydel, Delaware and the second in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Wine tastings and tours are currently suspended due to the pandemic but Harvest Ridge is still open for visitors to try a few wine flights or purchase bottles to take home. Wine lovers can create their own wine flight sampling of four different wines to enjoy. The tasting room and food trucks are open Friday through Saturday, and no reservations are required. Harvest Ridge Winery also offers a Wine Club membership opportunity that brings different wine perks and discounts right to your door. I think that’s a club that we all may be a member of by the end of 2020!
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