KATE LANGENBURG/SC A&E Editor
Wine lovers rejoice! Salvatore Vito, local lawyer of Stroudsburg, has started a new winery in our area called Pocono Limited Winery. He, along with fellow winemaker and ESU graduate Joseph Richards, have devoted their time to the creation of specialty organic fruit wines.
The apple flavored wine has been thoughtfully named “La Pomme,” which means “the apple” in French. It brings new taste to wine connoisseurs that falls out of the realm of your typical white wine. The apple flavor offers a drier, crisper aftertaste to the mouth, leaving you craving a second glass after your first sip.
Of course, the apple flavor is not so overpowering as to ruin your wine drinking experience. It is subtle, light and is paired very nicely with an Italian meal, just to make a suggestion.
The organic wine making process is quite unique. The wine is fermented so that it can reach a stable temperature, then filtered using a microbial filter, which keeps the product sterile without losing any of its organic qualities. Instead of adding sulfites, preservatives that can add to a hangover, the winemakers barrel-age the wine for four months to strengthen its flavor.
ESU graduate and winemaker Joseph Richards fills bottles with La Pomme. Photo by Kate Langenburg.
Because Pocono Limited Winery crafts each bottle in a European style, they take pride in the aging process, which helps them achieve one of the most important goals in European winemaking: to develop weinsteins or “wine diamonds” in the wine. Essentially, wine diamonds are a sign that the wine has not been overly processed and has reached full, high quality maturity.
One of the main draws to the apple wine is the lack of preservatives. Chemicals that are added to most other wines, like bentonite or potassium sorbate, are the main causes of those nasty hangovers that often come with a night of wine drinking. La Pomme doesn’t have any of those chemicals, so it leaves you feeling better than you would drinking any other wine.
Pocono Limited Winery has also created a smooth apple liqueur, which is equally as delicious as the wine, but is more decadent. The interesting aspect about its production is that it is cryogenically created, hence why the winery calls it “ice liquor.” At the end of the process, the tasty drink comes out to be 75 proof.
Recently, Pocono Limited Winery entered the 2009 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, which was held in Rochester, New York. The competition featured over 500 wineries worldwide, with over 2,100 bottles of wine entered in the contest. La Pomme received a bronze medal, an achievement equal to third place.
Joseph Richards is very happy with the wine’s success. “For a winery that’s only been in operation for under a year, we’re doing really well,” he said. “We’re competing against wineries that have been in business for many years. It’s [the winery] got a lot of potential.
As of right now, Pocono Limited Winery features solely apple wine and liqueur created from organic apples, but plans are in the works for making other organic fruit flavors as well.
Pocono Limited Winery will be selling their delicious wines and liqueurs at the Chestnut Hill Nursery on the weekend of May 16-17. They will also be at the Monroe County Farm Market in Stroudsburg every Saturday morning from May through October. If you can’t wait that long, they also sell wine at The Crossings in Tannersville. You can find Pocono Limited Winery at the kiosk right next to Vitamin World.
To learn more, or to order yourself a bottle or two, visit their website.
If you’re any kind of wine lover, I urge you to try La Pomme. It’s scrumptiousness far surpasses many other wines out on the market. Plus, the fact that it’s completely organic helps, too. Lucky for you, the winery will be holding tastings by appointment in very soon.
Email Kate Langenburg at kll2718@esu.edu
