This is the 10th in a series of weekly stories that profile Pennsylvania wineries.
Derrick Michael began home brewing in 2008.
Not long after, he and wife Heather bought a piece of property outside Elizabethville at the base of Broad Mountain, in Dauphin County.
Over time, they would plant hops and grapes, the latter now providing eight varieties of grapes. That would provide the foundation for Broad Mountain Winery, which today includes a tasting room and an events venue. Soon, those will be complemented by a large space to use for winemaking. The names of Broad Mountain’s wines have local references, such as a semi-sweet white called Benderstettle, the original town name of Elizabethville. You can peruse the full list at this link.
In addition, Broad Mountain makes several hard ciders and sells Pennsylvania-produced beer and liquor.
PennLive sent several questions to Derrick, and with the winery’s Farm Show appearance completed, he responded in depth.
Q, Give me a little bit of history. What led you to open the winery, who are those involved and when did you open?
A, A trip to the Finger Lakes in 2008 is what fueled the idea of growing grapes and making wine. Shortly after the trip we planted grapes on a small plot of land we owned at the time. This turned into making wine and mead at home while searching for land that could one day be used for a much larger grape-growing operation. In 2011 we found that land which is just at the bottom slopes of Broad Mountain, hence the name. The winery was started in Elizabethville just over the mountain about 3 miles away where our tasting room is also located. Grapes were planted in the spring of 2012 and everything grew from there. Now, we also have a beautiful event venue with amazing views, and are building our 4,000 square-foot-winery facility at the vineyard. All our wine, mead, and hard cider is still produced in Elizabethville until the new winery building is completed.
Broad Mountain Vineyard just completed several days offering samples and selling its products at the Farm Show.
Q, You have a lot of variety on your list, with dry and sweet wines, cider, beer and cocktails. Has it always been that way? What are a couple of your bigger wine sellers and how popular has the cider, beer and mixed drinks been?
A, We were making a variety of wine and hard cider when we opened. It wasn’t until 2016 that wineries were allowed to carry beer and liquor. Since then we’ve carried a wide variety of PA craft beer and liquor to complement our long list of wines and hard ciders. Our Pine(apple)2 hard cider is a fan favorite for ciders, but we also do over 20 different hard ciders a year. It’s hard to pinpoint one wine that would stand out as we have many varieties from dry to sweet, white to red. I personally suggest one of our barrel-aged red wines, but I’m a dry red drinker myself. If someone comes for a tasting we can always recommend something based on what styles they like.
Q, How many events do you have during the year (normal year, not COVID years)? We run larger events throughout the year, but also try to have things each week for customers such as weekly music and wine pairings. How many different things do you run out of that events building that appears on your website?
Our event space is a great venue for weddings with the open views of the vineyard and mountain plus plenty of indoor air conditioned space for receptions. We host all types of events though from birthday parties and baby showers, to holiday events and work functions.
Q, How big is the vineyard? What are you growing?
A, The vineyard is on 26 acres with 8 different varieties being grown. We have Cab Franc, Riesling, Dornfelder, Chambourcin, Baco, Traminette, Vidal, and Foch.
Broad Mountain Vineyard Winery & Cidery is located on 26 acres outside Elizabethville, Dauphin County.
Q, Best thing and worst thing about owning/running a winery?
A, The initial trip to the Finger Lakes that started this all for us showed the glamorous side of the winery with the beautiful views of the vineyard while enjoying a fine wine. But there is a lot of work involved in running a vineyard and winery that produces its own grapes/juice that you don’t see when going on a wine tour. Being able to enjoy the fruit of your labor at the end of the day is the best thing about growing your own wine.
THE SKINNY ON BROAD MOUNTAIN VINEYARD WINERY & CIDERY
Location: 45 W. Broad St., Elizabethville
Hours: 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday; 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
More info: Phone – 717.362.8044; Website: http://www.broadmountainvineyard.com; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BroadMountainVineyard; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/broadmountainvineyard/
Other wineries in the vicinity: Red Shale Ridge Vineyards, 266 N Good Spring Rd, Hegins, Schuylkill County; Armstrong Valley Winery, 212 Rutter Road, Halifax, Dauphin County; and Benigna’s Creek Winery, 1585 Ridge Rd, Klingerstown, Schuylkill County
More:
Central Pa. winemakers group was eager for its new president to start. Now, it tries to cope with his loss.
Dauphin County producer keeps streak alive for Governor’s Cup wins in dry wine category
Wine’s Most Inspiring People: Ron Rosenbrand—Viticulturist, Spring Mountain Vineyard
Red Shale Ridge Vineyards, Armstrong Winery, and Benigna’s Creek.
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Originally Appeared Here