Franklin Hill Vineyards

My friends and I went to Franklin Hill Vineyards for Nouveau Weekend and loved our experience! The staff was super friendly, and the owner came out to talk to us and thank us for coming.
Because it was Nouveau Weekend, there weren’t any tours, but they had a special tasting and other snacks set up. We had one wine paired with a soup, and a pudding made with the pumpkin wine. Both were delicious and the girl helping with our tasting was great!
After the tasting, we sampled some cheeses, and finished up with coffee and biscotti. We only wish it was a little warmer outside, so we could have bought a bottle and hung out for a while. Overall, a great day at Franklin Hill!

On the 4^th of July, we decided to take a wine tour at Franklin Hills Vineyards. Franklin Hills is part of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail and is the oldest vineyard in the Valley. The staff was very friendly and our tour guide was fantastic. Everyone was laid back but knowledgeable, so we learned a lot about this vineyard/​winery. 28 of the 32 employees are women, which is pretty cool. They also have a mascot of sorts– a peacock aptly named «Franklin». He was hilarious. While we were on the tour of the vineyard, he would strut and shows off his plumage with some patent peacock screams if no one paid attention to him. Love it!
They offer wine tastings of 6 varieties for $ 3.00 per person, or $ 5.00 if you’d like to keep your Franklin Hill Vineyards wine glass as a souvenir (who wouldn’t?).
We took the tour through the winery and a portion of the vineyard before we got down to the business of tasting the goods! Some of what I learned on the tour: The owner Elaine opened the vineyard in 1976, and the winery in 1981. Their grapes are French American hybrid varietals, which started as a Cornell University experiment to find a grape that would adapt well to the region. They allow the vines to grow for 3 – 5 years before they harvest new the grapes for wine. Harvesting takes 5 – 7 weeks a year and they usually start in the 1^st week in September. They pick all their grapes by hand and their ideal grape sugar content is 21 to 22 «brix» (measurement used to determine grape sugar content). Their giant Bottler/​labeler machine processes 4 cases per minute! And finally– The wine ‘Sir Walter’s Red’ is named for Elaine’s father, Walter who worked in one of the retail stores until he passed away. They renamed the wine in his honor after he passed.
After the tour, we headed inside to do our tastings. The tasting room is also their shop. It has a large bar along with various wine related items and snacks for purchase. They have samples of the snacks out to taste (probably to soak up all the wine!). There were 5 of us in our group. Since none of us had tried wines from this vineyard previously, we each picked different wines so we could taste a bunch of their offerings. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked quite a few, with the Vidal Blanc being my favorite. Needless to say, we left with a couple of cases! There was a 10% discount if you bought a case of 12 and a 5% discount off a ½ case. You can also order their wine online at
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Decent wines and friendly service. 3 dollars for 6 tastes plus 1 free paired one for the Lehigh Valley winery special weekend. 2 dollars more gets you the glass.

Definitely stop by this winery if you are in the area. It was completely dead on a Wednesday afternoon but that was okay!
Evanswood was by far my favorite– a dry smoky red… DELICIOUS.

first time visiting… nice vineyard in PA… tried the sampling where you can select six wines to taste… i think they have about 15 – 20 wines to choose from… many of the wines are on the sweeter side which i do not prefer but they also have a few options on the dryer side… we ended up picking up 6 bottles and cost $ 76…so the prices are quite reasonable… they also offer dinners in the vineyard a few times a year which we have been told are very nice so we will hopefully return soon for one of the vineyard dinners…

Beautiful location, friendly and knowledgable staff. Explained the nuances of their current wines. Bring your own fruit and cheese and sit outside and experience the Pennsylvania countryside.

Fabulous tour and tasting in a beautiful setting. Bonnie was amazing, welcoming, and educational. A great destination any day, but made my bachelorette extra special. Be careful on the drive in!

Franklin Hill is the easternmost of the Lehigh Valley Vineyards and a short drive from Easton.
Entering the property is difficult with a 1 lane rural road with speed bumps and then gravel before approaching the property. If it’s a busier weekend, they have staff to manage the flow of traffic to and from the winery.
Aside from the difficult traffic flow to and from the location, the tasting room itself is very nice with a wonderful view of the small vineyard. They have a small seating area outside the tasting room to sit and enjoy a glass of your favorite wine on a nice day.
This winery has several excellent blends of wines that are very tasty, making this one of our favorite wineries on the wine trail. Our favorite blends include their White Jade, Thin, Trio, & Red Head. They also have an interesting Cabernet that starts light with a nice peppery finish.
A plus, they catered to my gluten free diet providing gluten free pretzels for my wine tasting.
Great winery that is well worth a visit if you’re in the area. One of the best on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail.

There was a detour so it was a little difficult and longer to get to, but well worth the ride. Such pretty property, a lovely store and a pleasant tasting. They have delicious wines. There is even tables out front if you want to bring a lunch, buy a wine, and dine while enjoying the view. Very nice. Reasonable prices, and tours available. Go!

Visited with one of my best friends for an early birthday gift. It was really pretty driving through the vineyards to the quaint little shop. I’m a city girl, so being out where the trees are abundant was a pleasant experience. The lady there (can’t remember her name!) was very friendly, setting us up with a checklist of their wines so we could choose which ones to taste. With each of our selections she would tells us little facts and give suggestions with what to pair them. Everything was delicious and I took home a bottle of the Calawba, Fainting Goat, and Sir Walter’s Red. Would definitely recommend to anyone liking for good east coast wines.

BEAUTIFUL property. Friendliest owners and staff. Had a wonderful experience tasting here during March Madness — and even left with a case! Look forward to visiting again next year.
PS — friends of mine are staying local and serving Franklin Hill wines at their wedding in the fall. The owner is excited and going to be great to work with! :)

First class all the way. One star withheld because it’s time to expand the tasting room.

I love this vineyard! And Funny Face, the sweet cat that greets you at your table if you choose to sit on the patio to enjoy a glass of wine.
My favorites are the Simply Red (LOVE IT) and the Vidal Blanc, and they are very reasonably priced at $ 12 and $ 10 a bottle. I always leave with 6 bottles, and they give you a discount of course.
The atmosphere is very relaxed and homey, which I love, and they’ve always been super friendly. Actually last time I was there I also bought the scented oil they sell, it’s smells wonderful!
Big fan!

This is one of my favorite wineries to visit. Their staff is so friendly & helpful, & their modest selection of wines are so wonderfully tasty. In the last few years they’ve expanded by building a beautiful tasting room plus an outside deck which offers a great view of the area. They also have a few outlet stores in the Lehigh Valley (I live very close to one of them!), but I love making the drive to the actual winery to enjoy the full experience. Franklin Hill offers tours of their facilities & they’re open 7 days a week!

I’m looking forward to visiting this weekend to try Chamborcin wine. Last Fall, we went for the Chamborcin and had an adventure. I printed directions from the computer. They were no good. The sign was missing from an important street. We were out in the boonies, so my smart phone’s navigator was no longer so smart! After driving around like fools (and enjoying every second of the beautiful scenery, which involved a John Deer tractor event) we happened to find a deli. They were very friendly and gave us directions: go past the bbq place… turn right after passing the cows… Incidentally, when we asked how the bbq place (Little Creek BBQ) is every person in the deli (all 3 of them) turned and said yes it’s fabulous! We followed the directions and miraculously arrived at Franklin Hill. If we could have the same adventure this year, we would take it! You never know… maybe you will… but onto the wine. We tried many delightful wines, but Evanswood was our favorite. We love deep, rich red wines. It went perfectly with our bbq.

A larger winery with at least 25 varieties to choose from. Large selection of reds, whites, blushes, and fruit based wine all having both sweet and dry options. I prefer reds, but this is one of the few wineries where I will buy as many whites as reds. 3 of my favs here are the Simply Red, White Jade, and Kiss. The Simply Red is exactly how it sounds. Its a no fuss, no frill red wine. No oak or other «added» flavors. Just a crisp red that is smooth on the palate and paired very well with lasagna later that night. White Jade is a mildly oak, crisp white, with a slight musk aroma. Kiss is a beautiful pink blush in an equally pretty bottle. It reminds me of a white Zin with hints of strawberry and kiwi.