What's Cooking on 1060: Pennsylvania Wine Month
By Hadas Kuznits
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- October is Pennsylvania Wine Month.
Kari Skrip, co-owner of Clover Hill Winery in Lehigh Valley, says October, for her, is probably the most exciting month of the year.
"Because it is the time where we're harvesting," she says, "so we're bringing in all the grapes from the season."
Carley Mack, a board member with the Pennsylvania Wine Association, says Pennsylvania consumers are becoming more educated about local wine.
"Before, maybe people only drank Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Merlot," she says. "(Now), they're wanting to try varietals like Tremonet, Chamberson and other varietals that are more common in our area."
Mack says Pennsylvania has a booming wine industry.
"We have over two-hundred wineries in Pennsylvania," she says, "and you'll always find a winery within an hour-and-a-half of you."
"And it's a wonderful way to preserve agricultural farmland in the state of Pennsylvania," says Skrip. "When you see farms across the state dying off, we see vineyards going in."
The industry has grown over the years.
"We're 7th in the country for wine production," Mack says.
And she says it's become an important part of the state's economy.
"The economic impact is about $2 billion," Mack says.
Hear the full podcast (runs 17:01)…
And for this week, that's "What's Cooking on 1060!"
—–