Field Notes
Society members visited Crossing Vineyards and Winery at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania on October 2, 2003. This is a new small winery started in Bucks County in 2000. The owners, Tom Carroll, his wife, Chris, and son Tom Jr., have successfully converted the farm’s old bank barn and cattle stable into a tasting room and built an extension which houses a stat-of-the-art winery. The winery includes computer-controlled jacketed stainless steel tanks to precisely regulate temperature. Also state-of-the-art is the sterile bottling system employing air pressure to evacuate unwanted yeast and an air bladder juice extraction system. The Carrolls planted their first grapes on five acres in April 2002 and a second planting of ten acres in April 2003. While the Carrolls have been in business more than two years, they are approximately a year and a half from selling their best red wines. They produce a range of products from berry and blush wines to the classic chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons. “I think when people taste our wines, they will find Pennsylvania wineries can make fine wines that compare favorably with those grown in California,” said Tom Carroll.