Adams Co. Winery plans 'Derby Day,' trolley tours
Fellas, iron your most fetching pastel suit.
Ladies, dig out your widest brimmed hat.
The fashion and fun of Churchill Downs is coming to Adams County.
The Adams County Winery will host its first "Derby Day" noon to 5 p.m. May 7 to debut its new stone-fired pizza oven and release Metro Monet Chardonnay, a new wine inspired by Metro Meteor, a retired race horse that paints. A dollar from each bottle sale, as well as a portion of ticket proceeds, will raise money for New Vocations Race Horse Adoption Program, which helps retired race horses find new homes.
"We want people to dress to the nines and wear their best derby hats," said Katie Martin, the winery's special projects manager.
Guests can expect a full-blown Kentucky Derby-esque experience. The farm winery property will have its own grandstand, track and infield. Admission to the event is free, but tickets to reserve infield and grandstand seating cost $5 and $10 respectively. Six-person tables may be reserved for $60 at the infield or $5 at a picnic table.
The stately affair will include refreshing wine mint juleps, live music by Ron Nicodemus and a silent auction featuring paintings by Metro Meteor. Stick pony races, games of croquet and contests for best dressed and best hat are also on the afternoon's agenda.
The event will serve as the grand opening for the Terrace Bistro, a stone-fired pizza oven and kitchen where staff will serve up gourmet pizzas, dessert flatbreads and appetizers. For now, the bistro will only be open on weekends, but Martin expects the hours of operation to expand by June.
Also coming up in June, Adams County Winery will take to the country road by way of antique trolley for tours focused on the region's historic art and its handcrafted wine and beer offerings.
The Monumental Trolley Tour, set for 2 to 5 p.m. on June 12 and Sept. 11, will include wine samples and cheese and crackers en route to the Gettysburg National Military Park, where a licensed battlefield guide will share the stories behind the battlefield's monuments and the artists who crafted them. Admission is $75 per person plus tax.
For those looking for both wine and beer, the ACW Pitz Stop Tour includes a wine cocktail at the farm winery and snacks and a wine tasting on the trolley on the way to a private beer tasting at Roy Pitz Brewery in Chambersburg. The cost is $35 per person plus tax.
The upcoming Toast of Gettysburg Tour sold out so quickly that winery staff are collecting names for a waiting list, as they plan to set an additional date for it, Martin said. The trip's name says it all - guests will climb aboard the trolley for a wine tasting and snacks on the way to Battlefield Brew Works for a tour and tasting at the Gettysburg brewery and distillery. Admission is $50 per person plus tax.
"We have such a neat beer and wine community building up in Gettysburg," said events coordinator Melissa Roth. "I want people to be able to realize that they have this locally now."
To learn more about Adams County Winery, visit adamscountywinery.com or call 717-334-4631.
