Jack Firneno, the Wire
It wasn’t as difficult as one might imagine for Richard Fraser to change careers and become a winemaker.
“The transition from insurance to alcohol was pretty easy,” he joked.
But when he made the switch in 2000, he was in the right place at the right time: Today, there are nearly a dozen vineyards in Bucks County alone, each with its own distinct varieties. And, as wine continues to become more popular in the same vein as craft beers and other locally produced items, interest in local wineries has expanded well beyond just connoisseurs.
“When it comes to the local level, people enjoy it and are starting to look at it more like a food item than alcohol,” he noted.
Today, Fraser’s own Wycombe Vineyards in Furlong is one of the nine wineries in Bucks included in this year’s Wine Trails Spring Tour. Held over two weekends in May, the self-guided tour is an opportunity for people to sample the wares from the vineyards.
“Each winery does something different, and they’re all paired with a local food vendor,” said Fraser. “People get a sampling of some really high-end food and very good wine.”
He sees the popularity of local vineyards as a renaissance of sorts, similar to the rise of locally brewed craft beers over the last decade or so.
“People in their late 20s through their 50s are a group that, in their younger years, were used to mass-produced stuff,” Fraser explained. “Now, they’re everyday people who are tasting things they haven’t tasted before and they’re enjoying it.”
And Bucks County, it turns out, is an ideal place for people to do just that. There’s the quality of the soil, for starters, and the fact the county features large tracts of open land while still being close to places like Philadelphia and New York.
“We’re finding out that a lot of people come from out of state to visit,” said Fraser. “It could be someone’s birthday or a bachelorette party, groups of 10 people or more. It’s a nice experience, visiting the vineyards and wineries.”
And the experience varies greatly for each one. Bucks County wines run the spectrum from classic, dry varieties like cabernets to sweeter, fruitier types like niagaras, blueberry or strawberry. But, most vineyards corner a niche rather than do it all.
“You can get any type of wine in Bucks, but you can’t get them all in one spot,” noted Fraser.
That’s what makes something like the Wine Tour so attractive: wine enthusiasts, from casual to connessier, can get a little bit of everything. The tour is split over two days, with four wineries one weekend and five the next, so people have the time to enjoy each one, and discover what they have to offer.
“It’s a different experience at each one, and they really reflect each vineyard and their owners,” said Fraser.
His own Wycombe Vineyard, for instance, started out with pinot noirs when they opened in 2006 and grows all their own grapes. Most of the vineyards in Bucks grow most of their own, but also purchase some grapes since there’s a risk of bad weather affecting that year’s output.
But for Fraser, who was trained by a winemaker from Bordeaux, France, the grapes are an especially important component. “It’s not about the alcohol, but the flavor of the grape,” he explained. At Wycombe, “We know what the grape tastes like on the vine.”
His own work in wine began when he and his wife began planting their own vines in 2000. Their vineyard, spread over 10 acres with another 60 acres of adjacent open land, is part of a farm that’s been in his wife’s family since the 1920s.
When the farm became designated as preserved open land in the late ’90s, Fraser decided he could begin transitioning out of the insurance business and into farming. Now, he’s wrapping up his two-year term as president of the Bucks County Wine Trail with this year’s tour — an event he’s been watching grow even before he was in charge of it.
“It’s all about the experience,” he said. “We have people come back every year and bring more people.”
The Bucks County Wine Trail Spring Tour takes place on May 17 and May 24. Tickets are limited to 300 for each tour. For information, visit www.buckscountywinetrail.com.
