Borderland Vineyard, located in Chester County in beautiful Landenberg, Pennsylvania, firmly believes in supporting local businesses and the local environment. Owner Karen Kalb Anderson grew up on Fall Line Farm, and she and her brother Kurt were a large part of reclaiming the land and turning it into a production winery.
But why keep it local? Karen shed some light on her family’s decision to remain a locally focused winery in this interview with PA Eats.
PA Eats: Why is supporting local so important to you?
Karen Kalb Anderson: Borderland Vineyard values local wines and local businesses for many reasons. For starters, let’s focus on wine. Wine embodies the concept of “terroir”—the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.
What is Borderland’s secret to producing extraordinary local wine?
All good wine starts with the best possible grapes. My brother Kurt tries to produce those. When successful, he imparts the very essence of the specific farm we grew up on into the fruit. Hopefully, people drinking our estate wine will, through it, get some profound sense of our roots—what built our character and launched us into the world. Fall Line Farm was a beautiful place to live, and we were privileged to be there as children and happy to return there and share it with our customers now.
With the help of our winemaker, Gabriel Rubilar, the characteristics of Kurt’s grapes are the key elements in each of our estate wines’ flavor and aroma profile. When we buy grapes from our neighbor, Zach Wilson from Wilson Vineyard, then Gabriel elicits the flavors and aromas unique to the Wilsons’ lovely farm, not our family farm, but one that’s part of the neighboring areas that we also remember from our youth.
Why do you use all local grapes?
We have no deep connection to grapes from other locations. Why should a small, modestly funded family business attempt to produce wines to compete with case after case of similar wines already being produced elsewhere? By dedicating ourselves to local wines, we produce something unique and connected to our family and our community.
What are the benefits of keeping Borderland a small, family-owned business?
Owning and participating in a small, family-owned business brings significant, nonmonetary rewards. It brings autonomy, breadth of responsibility, the deeper connection to and support of family and friends, a strong co-located team, a clear sense of what one contributes to the business and direct contact with the customers, to name just a few.
Why do you like to work with other small local businesses?
We love collaborating with other small businesses and creating employment right in our own neighborhood for people who might otherwise be struggling to find meaningful and adequately paying work.
Who are some of the people you value having a close-to-home relationship with?
Members of the Chandler family work on our farm. Other friends and neighbors—Ronnie, Will, Jim, Jean, Dawn—are also vital to our business. When they talk about Borderland, you can hear the pride they have in their work, the excitement they feel about each wine release and their pleasure with their inventive new approaches to caring for the grapevines and our sheep. It was inspiring to watch their plans about how to set up a charming rustic tasting room come to fruition.
What local small businesses does Borderland work with?
Marcia Dickerson of Foot Bling Things sells her wares at some winery events. We love to hear her talk about what inspires her business, and the stories of other local businesses that come to our winery—to name a few: Botanical Bubbles, Candle Krazy, Discover Your Palette, Oxford Handbags, Urban Spa, and Yo’R So Sweet.
We also love to listen to all the talented local musicians that play at the farm—Gusten Rudolph, Casey Alverez, The Bickel Brothers and Mark Unruh and the Unruhlies, for example.
Overall, how does it feel supporting local with your small business?
Owning a small business and operating with other local small businesses brings out the best in all of us and makes us feel great! So many people are helping us succeed. We want to reciprocate.
Get a taste of Borderland Vineyard’s wines at their upcoming Harvest and Estate Release Party; visit the tasting room on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1–6 p.m. or by appointment (reservations requested for groups of seven or more); or purchase bottles at New Garden Growers Market and every other weekend at Headhouse Farmers’ Market.
Borderland Vineyard is located at 332 Indiantown Rd. in Landenberg; phone: (215) 436-9154.
- Photos: Alexandra Whitney Photography
