Stretching roughly 120 miles from Altoona and Blairsville in the south to Sheffield in the north is the Groundhog Wine Trail. Featuring 15 different wineries, the Groundhog Wine Trail features some of the most rural wineries in the state. However, the quality of the wines, especially the sweet ones, makes a visit along the Groundhog Wine Trail worth the trip.
I found this to be especially true of my three favorite wines from my brief time visiting. While I didn’t get a chance to sample all of the wineries, I really enjoyed the offerings from Allegheny Cellars Winery and Laurel Mountain Vineyard.
From Allegheny Cellars I particularly enjoyed their Bigfoot Shadows Wine. The name comes from the many alleged Bigfoot sightings in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. The wine has a very sweet, fruity taste which I’m sure any Bigfoot would love. To me, the wine tasted like alcoholic grape juice, which made it pretty much the best thing ever!
Another great wine was Groundhog Grog, a spiced apple wine, by Laurel Mountain Vineyard. I’m a big fan overall of spiced apple wines, and Laurel Mountain Vineyard’s was definitely one of the better ones I’ve had.
Overall, I enjoyed the quality of the wines of the Groundhog Wine Trail. However, the large geographic area covered by the trail can make it a bit hard to visit many of the wineries in a single weekend. Because of this, events like the Groundhog Wine Festival in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania are a great way to find your favorite wineries.
The event, held the Saturday closest to Groundhog Day in nearby Punxsutawney, features many of the Groundhog Wine Trail’s wineries, as well as local vendors and some great bands. It is held in the Clearfield County Fair Grounds and often features a visit from Punxsutawney Phil himself.
However, whether you visit for the Groundhog Wine Festival or spend a few days exploring the various wineries on the trail, you can’t go wrong taking a trip along the Groundhog Wine Trail.
For more information on the Groundhog Wine Trail or the Groundhog Trail Festival, visit their website.
Note: I was given complimentary admission to the Groundhog Wine Festival to facilitate this review. However, the opinions expressed in this article are my own and were not subject to review.
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