This post about the Juniata River Valley, Pennsylvania, wine trail was created in partnership with the Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau. As always, however, all thoughts, opinions, and experiences are my own.
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When you think of wine regions, your mind might immediately go to such iconic places as Tuscany, Napa Valley, the Loire Valley of France, South Africa’s Winelands, or the red-wine heaven of Mendoza, Argentina. Happily for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic states of the USA, however, we don’t have to travel nearly so far to have a great wine-centric vacation. Tucked away among the green mountains and fertile valleys of central Pennsylvania are five small, family-owned wineries just begging to be experienced, and you can visit all of them in just one day on your own Pennsylvania wine tour!
I’m talking about the Juniata River Valley Wine Trail, located in Mifflin and Juniata Counties in the heart of the state. This is a land of small, historic towns and charming country roads, where you can drive for a week without seeing a red light and the connection to agriculture and great food runs deep.
As in the Finger Lakes of nearby New York, sweet wine lovers will be the most delighted on this Pennsylvania wine trail. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something for everyone! It’s hard to pull me away from a good dry red – I learned to drink wine in Argentina, after all – and I still had a great time visiting all the wineries the Juniata River Valley has to offer.
Today I want to share with you the perfect itinerary for visiting the five wineries of the Juniata River Valley, along with some great small retail businesses and restaurants along the way to break up all that sipping! I had an absolute blast checking out each of these places when researching this post (it’s a hard life, I know), and I can’t wait for you to experience the fun for yourself!
You can visit this entire Pennsylvania wine trail in just one day! When I did it, I budgeted an hour for each winery and a half hour for each small business, plus some additional time for lunch and dinner. I arrived at Brookmere Winery when it opened at 10:00 AM, and I had plenty of time to make it to the Juniata Valley Winery for their live music at 7:00 PM without feeling rushed.
From your starting point at Brookmere to your end point at Juniata Valley, you’ll drive a total of about fifty miles. It’s a very manageable route, and no single leg should take you longer than about fifteen minutes. Most of the drive times are ten minutes or less!
The answer to this question really depends on how much wine you buy, what you purchase for your meals, and if you buy anything at the small businesses along the route.
Brookmere and Juniata Valley wineries both offer free tastings*, while Hawstone Hollow and Burnt Timbers charge $5 each (though Burnt Timbers waives the cost if you make a purchase). Hungry Run offers wine flights for $12. At a minimum, you can expect to spend at least $22 if you partake in a tasting at each stop on your tour. You can also expect to spend an additional $10 for your cover charge and a cup of wine/wine slushie if you’re visiting Juniata Valley Winery for live music in the evening. All in all, though, you can easily make it through the day without breaking the $100 mark, including meals.
*Juniata Valley Winery allows you to taste up to five wines for free, after which there is a $5 charge to try any others.
Your wine trail passport, that is! The five wineries in this tour have partnered together to create the Juniata River Valley Wine Trail Passport, whereby making a purchase at each of the five businesses entitles you to $50 in freebies on your next visit(s). You can pick up a passport at any of the participating wineries, and you don’t have to make all your purchases on the same day.
Located inside a renovated 19th century barn in the heart of Amish Country, Brookmere Winery is the perfect place to start your Juniata River Valley wine tour. It’s the oldest winery on our list – they’re celebrating their 40th birthday this year! – and they have certainly used that time to create some excellent vintages. All winemaking activity is done on-site, from crushing the grapes to bottling the finished product, so you know you’re in for the real deal.
We passed multiple Amish buggies on the scenic drive to Brookmere, rolling along past modest homes and sweeping family farms until we reached the big red barn that was our destination.
Once inside, friendly Kiarra took great care of us as we sampled a few of Brookmere’s offerings. Two of the most popular wines are Frog Hollow, a pink Niagara blush, and Bear-ies Gone Wild, which is a Concord blended with raspberries. My favorite was their Indian Summer, a chardonnay-riesling blend perfect for the warm months on the way.
In addition to the tasting room, Brookmere has multiple other spots to enjoy their wines and some great scenery. Upstairs, owners Cheryl and Ed have transformed their 19th-century barn into an inviting and cozy gathering place. Here, you can snack on some of their tasty menu items while sipping wine and admiring the original wooden beams soaring above your head.
We visited in the morning, so things were pretty quiet, but it’s the kind of place that is definitely hopping on a weekend afternoon!
While the barn was beautiful, I can imagine there’s no better place to be on a fine day than Brookmere’s outdoor wine garden, where you can enjoy a vintage while admiring the countryside around you. As the weather warms, yard games and live music also come out to play.
I loved the small touches that Ed and Cheryl have added, particularly the local stones used in framing our their patio areas and the old wine bottles used to make their railings. The latter, in particular, was such a fun detail!
In addition to their tasting room and wine garden, Brookmere Winery also offers a lovely bed and breakfast. The Vineyard Inn mansion dates to 1866 and features four rooms, all with private bathrooms. Stay there, and you’ll be steps away from the first stop on your wine tour the next morning. The property is also a popular wedding venue, if you’re looking for an idyllic spot to say “I do”!
5369 State Route 655, Belleville, PA 17004.
Open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
One of the most surprisingly delightful finds on our Pennsylvania wine tour wasn’t a winery at all, but rather a small business specializing in handcrafted leather goods. The second stop on our Juniata River Valley wine tour, Gritwell is an artisan leather company with deep roots in central Pennsylvania.
Their storefront in charming downtown Reedsville is beautifully curated, with lots of unique and interesting products in addition to their gorgeous leather goods. My mom was obsessed with the antiques that they’ve sprinkled in to hold and showcase all of their wares.
I also was impressed by the company’s dedication to detail and quality. There’s a real sense of purpose at Gritwell that I absolutely loved.
For me, Gritwell’s showstopper was their tote bag (and I’m not even a purse person), but they also sell beautiful crossbodies, wallets, keychains, notebooks, and more. Surprisingly, I was told, one of their best selling products is a leather cover that slides onto the handle of a cast iron skillet. Clever and functional!
We could have stayed at Gritwell much longer – owner Danielle was so welcoming and kind! – but eventually we had to set off for the next stop on our tour!
13 South Main Street, Reedsville, PA 17084.
Open Wednesday through Friday from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Closed Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
(PS: If you need a mid-morning pick-me-up, local favorite East End Coffee Co. is right next door!)
The funny thing about The Crooked Shelf Bookshop is that there isn’t a crooked shelf to be seen inside! Instead, the rooms of this delightful independent bookstore in downtown Lewistown are filled with gorgeous, solid, handmade wooden shelves filled to the brim with tons of good reads.
The third stop on our tour, The Crooked Shelf occupies the first floor of a former home just off of Lewistown’s pretty main square. It doesn’t take long to see that its wide array of books is curated with a ton of love.
With its multiple rooms, The Crooked Shelf is cozy and welcoming, inviting you to explore each nook and cranny in search of the perfect read.
It also has one of the most delightful and charming children’s rooms I’ve seen, with tons of colorful books, cute pouf seats, and a comfy shag carpet just begging to be laid upon with a good book open in front of you.
There’s also a section featuring local authors, a display of new releases, and a brand-new shelf of manga titles. Good luck staying on schedule with all of these stories waiting to be read.
23 North Main Street, Lewistown, PA 17044.
Open Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM, Friday from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM, and Saturday from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Closed Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays.
With one winery and two great small businesses under our belts, we had worked up an appetite! Luckily, our second winery, Hungry Run, also features a tasty restaurant that was perfect for grabbing lunch.
It was a gloriously sunny day, if a little warm, so we chose to sit outside in their patio area. Even though the bistro is located along a fairly busy road, the patio is behind the building and feels very secluded.
In addition to a full contingent of wines, Hungry Run has a tempting lunch menu and upscale dinner offerings. I ended up settling on the shrimp tacos and my mom went for the smashburger. If you’ve been here a while, you know my deep love of French fries, and Hungry Run’s rosemary fries were *chef’s kiss*. My shrimp tacos were tasty, but those fries would definitely keep me coming back.
Rather than offering tastings, Hungry Run sells six-glass flights (2 oz each) to allow you to try their different wines. At the recommendation of our server, Alethia, I made sure to include their Blackberry Cabernet, which is apparently their most popular wine. It was perhaps my favorite of the whole day! I also particularly enjoyed their Rosé.
10042 US Highway 522 South, Lewistown, PA 17044.
Open Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Friday from 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM, Saturday from 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM (with live music during the summer months), and Sunday from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
With our bellies full, it was time for the next stop on our Pennsylvania wine tour! Looking at Hawstone Hollow Winery from the outside, you’d never imagine the burst of color waiting for you within. Everything about this place is bright and fun, from their many fruity wines in a variety of flavors to the vibrant colors and artwork (painted by one of the owners!) adorning the walls.
Hawstone Hollow’s best-selling wines are sweet and fruity, with their Cran Grape and Mangolicious topping the list. When Ali, one of the husband-and-wife owners and the artist behind a lot of the decor, mentioned that another of their most popular wines is called Cotton Candy, I didn’t know whether to be amazed or skeptical. A wine that tastes like cotton candy? Never would I have ever thought to put that flavor into a wineglass!
With a knowing smile, Ali poured us a sample, and both my mom’s and my eyes widened in shock. It was delicious! I don’t know that I could personally drink a full glass (again, I’m a sweet-wine-in-moderation kind of gal), but it was such a refreshing, tasty surprise!
In addition to their sweet wines, Hawstone Hollow also has some nice semi-dry and dry wines, meads, wine slushies, and local Pennsylvania beer and spirits. There’s something for everyone, and the wide variety allows for a nice change of pace during your wine tour.
I was so charmed by Hawstone Hollow! I loved all the color, there was so much creative mixing of fruit flavors, Ali was so kind and welcoming, and that Cotton Candy wine was such a delightful surprise.
Tastings at Hawstone Hollow cost $5 and include six one-ounce samples. You’re also welcome to bring your own snacks or food to enjoy while you sample or sip!
11 Hawstone Road, Lewistown, PA 17044
Open Wednesday through Saturday, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM, and Sunday 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
The next stop on our Juniata River Valley, Pennsylvania, wine trail is Burnt Timbers Winery outside of the little village of Granville. It was a beautiful drive from Hawstone Hollow, with sprawling fields and meadows only occasionally punctuated by a barn, house, or copse of trees. We even got stuck behind a big, slow-moving tractor for a little while.
It was a lovely reminder to slow down and just enjoy the relaxed pace of life in this gorgeous area.
Finally, however, we made it to Burnt Timbers, which is located on a former family farm. The tasting room is a renovated barn dating back to the 1850’s, and the cottage next door was where the owner’s grandmother raised her eight children, including his mother, Sarah. Nowadays, it’s a popular vacation rental property where you can book a stay for some rural R&R!
We were fortunate enough to have Sarah taking us through our tasting at Burnt Timbers, and she supplied us not only with plenty of wine samples but also with lots of stories about the property and the surrounding area.
While Burnt Timbers certainly has enough sweet wines for those of that persuasion, they also offer some of the best dry and semi-dry varietals we had all day. I particularly liked their vidal blanc, pinot grigio, chambourcin, and riesling. In fact, on aggregate I liked the wines at Burnt Timbers best overall.
Even more than that, I loved how peaceful and secluded the property felt. I can only imagine my sigh of bliss if I found myself in front of a roaring fire in the cottage’s outdoor fireplace with a bottle of chambourcin at my side.
Tastings at Burnt Timbers cost $5, but that charge is waived if you make a purchase. There is often live music outside on summertime Saturdays.
45 Fisher Bee Lane, Granville, PA 17029
Open Fridays from 3:00 – 7:00 PM, Saturdays from 12:00 – 7:00 PM, and Sundays from 1:00 – 5:00 PM.
Next up on your wine tour itinerary: one of the prettiest historic landmarks in the Juniata River Valley!
Tucked away just off of Route 322, with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it parking area, is the Stone Arch Bridge. The bridge is over 200 years old, having been completed in 1813 as a part of the turnpike between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Amazingly, the arch was constructed without a keystone.
Nowadays, the bridge sees only foot traffic, but its pretty location spanning Jack’s Creek is a great spot for photos or a quiet bit of reading or relaxation. There are even a couple of benches at either end perfectly suited to that purpose.
While you don’t need much time to see and appreciate the Stone Arch Bridge, it’s still worth a few minutes on your tour!
1 Jacks Creek Lane, Lewistown, PA 17044 (just off of Business Route 22)
Open dawn to dusk.
The last small retail business on your Juniata River Valley, Pennsylvania, wine tour is Shade Mountain Naturals. For over fifteen years, the company has been handcrafting all-natural skin care and wellness products in small batches, and people in the surrounding area can’t get enough.
Today, you can check out all of their goodies at their store just outside of Lewistown, where you can also watch new products being made in the open kitchen behind the longest display counter.
Even if nothing’s “cooking” at the moment, there’s plenty to peruse! Shade Mountain offers everything from soaps and lotions to bath bombs, essential oils, shampoo discs, beard oil, lip balms, and more. (I feel like every woman in Juniata County, where I grew up, carries a Shade Mountain Naturals lip balm in her purse!)
Appropriate to the theme of the day, one of Shade Mountain Naturals’s more unique offerings is their “vinotherapy” products, which are made with winemaking by-products and sediments. The polyphenols from the grapes are said to help combat free radicals and aging processes. You can choose from creams and lotions, body scrubs, soaps, lip balms, and more.
If you have more time, Shade Mountain also offers massage and spa services, though they’re so popular that it can be hard to get an appointment! Make sure to reserve your time slot well in advance.
45 Serenity Lane, Lewistown, PA 17044
Open Monday through Wednesday from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM, and Saturday from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
As dinnertime rolls around, you’ll find yourself crossing from Mifflin County into Juniata County. The seventh-least populated of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, Juniata has fewer than 24,000 people, according to the last census… but don’t let that fool you. There are plenty of great things to do here, and this Pennsylvania wine trail itinerary will have you ending your day at two of the best.
Even after a tasty lunch at Hungry Run, by this point you’ll likely have worked up an appetite again. Your first order of business should be dinner (or supper, as folks will say around here) at Guante Family Restaurant.
Located in downtown Mifflintown, the county seat and largest town, Guante’s building may not look like much from the outside. But step through the door and you’ll find a colorful, welcoming restaurant featuring excellent dishes from all across Central and South America.
Whenever I come home to visit my parents, Guante’s is at the top of my list of places to eat. I love their maduros (sweet plantains) and pernil (slow-cooked pork), as well as their chifrijo bowl, which pairs a protein of your choice with rice, beans, pickled slaw, pico de gallo, and a house sauce.
My mouth is watering just typing these sentences.
Another reason I love patronizing Guante’s is that the restaurant’s owners are so community-minded and have done so much for the area. They are amazing partners and cheerleaders for other small businesses, and during the pandemic they ran a lunch program for kids who were out of school and facing food insecurity. So you can rest assured that not only will you be enjoying delicious, authentic Latin food, but you’ll also be supporting multiple good causes!
111 Bridge Street, Mifflintown, PA 17059
Open Thursday through Saturday, 10:30 AM – 9:00 PM.
You’ve made it! After a full day of wineries, small businesses, and pretty scenery, you’ve reached the final stop on your wine tour: Juniata Valley Winery.
Open since 2012, Juniata Valley Winery offers tastings in the converted sunroom of a 19th-century manor house. The winery is a popular place for weddings and events, with multiple beautiful venues spread across the property. (We had my grandmother’s surprise 80th birthday party here, and it was delightful!) They also have an excellent bed and breakfast, which currently is available as part of a wedding or onsite event package.
If you’re visiting Juniata Valley Winery during the day, you’re welcome to try up to five of their wines for free, after which there is a one-time $5 charge for any additional tastings. Given the number of wines available and how many of them are award-winning, you’ll likely be more than happy to fork over that extra Abe Lincoln!
Juniata Valley Winery has a nice mix of wines ranging from dry merlots and oaky pinot noirs to fruit wines made from apples, plums, pears, and more! There’s even a dark cherry wine blended with chocolate for the ultimate indulgence.
My personal favorite of their wine names is “Red Headed Stepchild,” which is one of their more popular sweet blends.
Rather than partake in a traditional tasting, we arrived at Juniata Valley Winery in time for their Friday Night Music, which occurs at 7:00 PM every Friday during the warmer months.
Friday Night Music takes place in the space between the Wilson House (home of the bed and breakfast as well as the tasting room) and Aisling Hall (one of the winery’s two beautiful event venues). A covered stage faces a semi-shaded lawn, where for a $5 cover* you can spend a couple of hours enjoying a local band, a food truck or two, and any of the Juniata Valley wines, wine slushies, and even a few different beers. (Food and drinks are at an additional but very reasonable cost.)
*Kids 11 and under are free!
Doors open at 5:00 PM and the music goes from 7:00 – 10:00 PM. There is no outside alcohol permitted, and the event may be canceled in the event of bad weather. Make sure to check the winery’s Facebook page in advance if things are looking stormy, and don’t forget a blanket or lawn chair unless you’re good chilling on the grass!
Thankfully, the weather was perfect when we visited. I won’t say that the band is going to win a Grammy anytime soon, but it was still so nice and relaxing to sit outside in this beautiful area, sip a tasty wine slushie, and enjoy some live music.
19175 Rt. 35 South, Mifflin, PA 17058
Open Thursday through Saturday from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Sunday from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM. Live music begins at 7:00 PM on Friday nights during warmer months.
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