We’ve got exciting PA wine news to share! A brand-new winery and cidery in Andreas (at the northern foot of Blue Mountain), Cellar Beast Winehouse, is opening to the public on May 22, 2021. This exciting new project is the joint venture between Karin Kozlowski, co-founder and vineyard manager, Matt Check, co-founder and head winemaker, with the support of their friend, Brian Crew, who is also a winemaker.
Kozlowski and Check have a shared history in the Pennsylvania wine industry: They both received sommelier certifications from the Wine School of Philadelphia, and they have both made wine (and cider) at various other operations in the past. They’ve been looking to embark on their own venture for the past four years, and, after getting connected with some investors and finding a defunct but beautiful winery for sale on Zillow, this dream is on the cusp of coming to fruition.
“Winemaking is our passion, and the proof is in the wine we’re making,” Check says. “There is a big emphasis on quality, both in the product and in the guest experience.”
For the Cellar Best crew, quality starts in the vineyard. The property they acquired came with a small vineyard home to seven-year-old vines, which they are working to transition to an organic and biodynamic operation. Even though they have plans to plant more grapes, even at full tilt the vineyard will not produce enough fruit for their production needs. Eventually, they hope to become an estate winery, but until then they are also sourcing grapes from growers in Washington State and California that they’ve been developing relationships with over the past decade. Their goal is to find growers with responsibly grown and unusual varietals, and then to make wine with minimal intervention.
The vines already planted include Golden Muscat, Concord and Ives. Kozlowski, who has experience in agriculture, says that for the future, she’s identified some hybrid varieties that she thinks will thrive in their growing region. Over the next few years, they also hope to purchase additional property in the area to plant more vineyards.
“With the advent of climate change and spotted lanternfly, it makes sense to plant hybrid grapes,” she says. “There are some vinifera grapes that we’re looking at, but we need to study what’s going on in our vineyards in terms of weather and temperature and find plants that would do well in our area.”
Kozlowski will also kick off Cellar Beast’s cider program. She has been sourcing apples from Scholl Orchards, which is just eight miles away from the winery, and this fall she’ll be reaching out to more local orchards, all within 50 miles of the winery.
“I like to approach cider in a fairly unique way,” she says. “I’ll be doing some spontaneous fermentation, as well as playing with beer yeasts, ale yeasts, farmhouse yeasts — I think they give ciders unique characteristics.”
From the guest experience perspective, Check say it’s all about connecting the consumer more intimately with the wine.
“We want to share the knowledge with them to understand wine in a deeper fashion,” he says. “And we want people to get to learn in a comfortable and approachable way, so it’s not pretentious.”
They’ll be doing this in their small tasting room, which is situated on their property. Though Cellar Beast is right off 895 (and so easy to get to), it feels very rural and secluded. They hope people will come enjoy their outdoor covered patio, or the rustic, intimate tasting room that Kozlowski calls a “fancy cave.”
“There are windows overlooking vineyards on both sides, but instead of light and airy, we wanted to make it a little darker and warmer,” she notes. “We chose dark wall paint and dark wood, but light tables so you can see your wine when you do the tastings. And there is a fireplace!”
Once open, they’ll have six Cellar Beast ciders and eight wines on the menu, including a cab sauv, carmenere, pinot gris and sauv blanc. A few local beers will be on tap, and later in the summer, they’ll roll out a cocktail program featuring PA spirits. For food, they’ll offer small plates, charcuterie and cheese. Occasionally, local food trucks will park outside. Eventually, the plan is to launch a fully operating kitchen, but Check notes they are at least a year out from that. They’ll focus at first on selling wine, both by the glass and to-go from the Cellar Beast Winehouse, and will expand in the future to wholesaling to other restaurants and retailers.
As for Cellar Beast’s quirky name: Kozlowski says that a few years ago, she jokingly nicknamed her winemaking friends, including Check and Crew, “the beast winemakers.” The name evolved to Cellar Beast to give a nod to how much work goes on in the cellar.
“Most of us start in the cellar, so everything we do, all the hard work we put in the cellar is to make sure we get to share these awesome things with our customers,” Check says. “And I think about the vine in its natural life, how it’s a beast to be able to make this fruit, and what it undergoes each season.”
Visit Cellar Beast’s website for more information. Soon, you’ll also be able to make reservations there for its indoor and outdoor tables, too. For images of the winery’s progress and for news on the grand opening, follow along on Instagram!
Find Cellar Beast at 139 Ash Circle in Andreas, PA.
- Photos: Cellar Beast Winehouse
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