Wine tours enjoy a taste of success

On Sunday, Mulvey and a few family members dropped by Four Springs Winery in Seven Valleys as part of the UnCork York Wine Trail's 2009 Tour de Tanks.

"It's been fascinating," Mulvey said. "We're seeing things here in York County that we wouldn't have known about if it wasn't for this."

The weekend tours, which were organized by the York County Convention & Visitors Bureau and feature 12 area wineries, began at the end of February and will wrap up this weekend.

According a news release from the bureau, more than 5,500 people took part in the first three weekends of the tour. That is an increase of more than 50 percent compared with the same time last year.

At Four Springs, co-owner Charles "Turb" Aldinger said the winery has seen a 30 percent increase in attendance over last year. Co-owner Lloyd "Junior" Mortorff Jr. said Saturday was the busiest day the winery had seen.

"This is the biggest year yet," Mortorff said.

Mortorff began making wine more than 30 years ago as a hobby. bout four years ago, Aldinger and Mortorff, along with Mortorff's brother Leroy "Buck" Mortorff, opened the winery.

"The community was really anxious to see what was going on," Lloyd Mortorff said.

Four Springs has enjoyed rather quick prosperity, with its wines being sold in a few dining establishments. All told, the winery produces 12 variations.

In a back room, wooden barrels filled with wine sat in a row as a stream of people paraded in, glasses in hand.
The Mortorff brothers took turns giving attendees a quick tour, which included samples straight from a steel tank and from a wooden barrel.

Glenn Eck, formerly of York County, and Kristine Mehok made the drive from Philadelphia to take part in the tour. Their plan was to ride their bikes to two other wineries Sunday.

"It's really great," Eck said after the tour.

SAMPLING ETIQUETTE
Not sure how to sample wines properly? Charles "Turb" Aldinger, co-owner of Four Spring Winery in Seven Valleys, has a few tips:

Start dry. It's best to start with a dry white before moving up to a dry red wine. Next, sample the semi-sweet wines before going for the sweet wines.

Swish it. Sight and smell are the first two senses that should be used when trying a wine. Look at it, then smell the wine by putting your nose nearly into the glass. If you don't like the smell of it, chances are you won't enjoy the taste of the wine.

To spit or not to spit. If you're sampling a few wines or just getting started on your tasting escapade, you can probably just drink the wine -- unless you don't like it, in which case it's OK to just spit it out. But you're starting to feel drunk, then it's best to spit.

IF YOU GO
Tickets for UnCork York Wine Trail's 2009 Tour de Tanks can be purchased at participating wineries or online. They cost $15 each. The tour ends this weekend.

For more information about Tour de Tanks, or to purchase tickets, go to www.uncorkyork.com or call the York County Convention & Visitors Bureau at 888-858-YORK.