Cheers to 10 YEARS!
10 years? They say time flies when you’re having fun and while there may be some truth to that phrase, I think time has a way of passing regardless. Sometimes looking back it feels like just a blink of an eye that we were planting vines, building the winery, and producing our first wines. In other ways 10 years seems like a lifetime of countless hours of grueling work, too many harvests to count, event upon event, and overcoming obstacles all while making memories and developing amazing friendships along the way.
We are so very thankful for our heritage, for our family, and for the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people over the last 10 years.
Come with us as we take you on a journey back memory lane…
It all started in the early 2000’s when our father, Larry Kennel, began to make wine as a hobby. This was a surprise to his college age children, who had never seen him consume alcohol in their Mennonite home. He spent many hours harvesting roadside wineberries and elderberries to make his specialty, completely dry fruit wines.
As his passion for winemaking grew, he began dreaming about planting a vineyard. His vision to produce premium dry wines became a reality when he tested the soil on the family farm and it revealed exceptional soil for grape growing. He asked his daughters if they would be willing to join him in his passion, and with their help, they started planting the vineyard in the spring of 2009.
And just like that, six members of the Kennel family – Larry & Marilyn, along with their daughters, Fran & husband Steve Kratz, and Sarah & husband Scott Haines – embarked on a journey to produced premium wines that would raise the reputation and transform the perception of wine in Pennsylvania.
Producing excellent wine doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time…
FIRST HARVEST September 9, 2010
With the help of many friends, we harvested our first crop – 4,375 pounds of Pinot Noir grapes. Unfortunately Larry had sustained a broken hip after being kicked by a cow earlier in the week, and therefore was unable to participate. He rejoined the family for the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest. All the grapes harvested in 2010 were sold to Maiolatesi Wine Cellars.
(Larry says that Sal Maiolatesi wanted to buy our 2011 Cab Sauv as well, saying that it was the best he had ever bought. )
In 2011 The Vineyard at Grandview, LLC was formed and the we began construction on the winery and tasting room. Grapes from the 2011 harvest were transported to another facility for winemaking, as the winery was not yet completed. Despite working other jobs and managing families with little kids, Sarah and Fran began marketing and the guys continued to work hard in the vineyard and with tasting room construction throughout 2012. Marilyn held everything together in the office. The brothers contributed in their area of gifting, with Nathan helping in construction, sound, and website and Reuben installing the hardwood floors. August 2012 the first vintage of Grandview wines were bottled! Although we were granted our license in 2012 and had our FIRST SALE on Thanksgiving Day 2012 (what a wonderful thing to be thankful for!), the tasting room was not completed and ready for reveal until January 2013.
January 19, 2013 – FIRST EVENT
We had our first public event (marking our official Anniversary) – a Sapphire Release party, the first sweet wine added in our collection. With the addition of this wine, our list consisted of 6 wines – Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Crimson Quartette, Rosé of Pinot Noir, Sun-Kissed, and Sapphire White. (Fast forward 10 years – we now produce 28 wines, ranging from dry crisp whites and savory reds to pleasantly sweet selections and many in between. And don’t forget the fruit wines. We are excited to be adding a brand new fruit wine this year!) Our deck was completed in July, which we celebrate every year with a deck party!
2013 was a wonderful year for our grape harvest, and we were able to produce our very first vintage of Grande Rouge, a Bordeaux style estate blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. This wine was blended out of the best barrels of each varietal and aged to perfection. We released our 2013 Grande Rouge in January 2016 with a wine pairing dinner and later submitted the wine for competition at the San Fransisco International wine competition, along with several of our other estate wines. When results came in that our blend had earned a DOUBLE GOLD, we were ecstatic. This was the first time in over 10 years that any winery east of the Mississippi River had earned a double gold in this category, and it’s only ever happened on one other occasion in the history of the competition. Our Cabernet Sauvignon earned a silver and our Chardonnay and Crimson Quartette earned Bronze. What wonderful confirmation that we were doing something right, that all of our hard work and dedication was paying off and we were building a name for our brand.
5TH ANNIVERSARY
In 2018 we celebrated our 5th Anniversary, rebranding and changing our name to “Grandview Vineyard”. After all, it IS quite the GRAND view! We also installed a tap system, offering local draft beer to our customers.
As the years progressed and the business continued to grow, Larry & Marilyn became more and more interested in a slower paced lifestyle. 2020 and all that came with that only served to fuel their desire for retirement. With concern for their health, Larry & Marilyn made their cabin a temporary home, Fran spent many hours working at the hospital, and Scott & Sarah held down the fort at the winery. Each week seemed to change, with a new guideline or restriction and we were determined to continue to fight for our business. Giving up was not an option. In order to survive, we pivoted our business, delivering wine and wine slushies to neighborhood outdoor parties, we added local home deliveries, and shipping wine out of state. We worked harder than ever.
On November 20, 2020 Scott & Sarah Haines became the sole owners of Grandview Vineyard, committing – along with their four children – to continuing the family legacy of producing quality wine and providing an experience like none other.
Scott continues to work a full-time job, in addition to managing the vineyard and winery, while Sarah manages sales, marketing, staffing, and the wedding venue. On any given day when you visit the winery, you may pass by the kids, doing various jobs on the property – from taking out the trash, to mowing, to hostessing or working in the kitchen.
Owning a family business is almost never easy, but it is our goal to provide the opportunity for our team (and our children) to learn what hard work and dedication means. They will see that creating a thriving business takes persistence in the face of opposition, perseverance when the outcome is unclear, patience with each other, and in turn produces fruit…or should we say, WINE!
We hope that you will join us this year for one, or ALL, of our 10 events celebrating 10 years (see below) and that the simple joy of sharing a glass of wine with friends will create memories to be cherished for a lifetime! ~The Haines Family
10 EVENTS Celebrating our 10th Anniversary
- 1/28: Birthday Party
- 3/5: 1st Grandview Library Tasting (by invite only)
- 3/26: New Wine Release Dinner
- 4/28-30: Spring Celebration / Deck Opening
- 5/25: National Wine Day Dinner in the Vineyard
- 6/19: Cigar Dinner
- 6/24: Fete en Blanc / Grande Blanc Release Party
- 7/22: Anniversary Deck Party
- 8/31: Cabernet Day Social
- 9/9: Grandview Bash & Benefit