Grape Escape: Pinnacle Ridge Winery satellite tasting room

Part of the fun of continuing coverage of wines and wineries is, of course, having an excuse to visit them. Not that I need an excuse. In the past, the feature has been simply named the Grape Escape. While I’m not big on “best of” lists, since winery visitors have a variety of criteria that draw them to different wineries, these are all places I’d recommend if you are in the area or simply looking for a winery to visit during the weekend or on a weekend afternoon. This first visit, on a raw, rainy Saturday afternoon in May, included a visit to Pinnacle Ridge Winery’s satellite tasting room in Souderton, Bucks County, with friends. The winery is in its second life after founder and winemaker Brad Knapp built it as one of the better-known Pennsylvania wineries, running the Kutztown, Berks County operation for 25 years. He sold the brand to Carl Helrich, who already was operating Allegro Winery in York County, and the property to the owners of the Referend Bier Blendery, in 2021. The latter still tends a portion of the vineyard left behind, and created a brand called Therein Wine Co. Meanwhile, Pinnacle Ridge’s main tasting room now sits a couple of hundred yards away from Allegro Winery in Stewartstown. Helrich opened a Pinnacle Ridge satellite tasting room in a building that once housed The Reporter and its staff in downtown Lansdale, Montgomery County, in 2022, but then closed it three and a half years later. It reopened a couple of towns away, at 143 N. Main St., in Souderton, two months later. That tasting room features an outside deck in addition to a tasting bar and several rooms inside, for days like the one we visited. It’s open noon to 8 p.m on Thursday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. There is parking on the premises. Said Helrich in an email, “Our location in Lansdale really wasn't working out that well for us, but there is still a strong demand for our wines in the Philadelphia region from our wine club at Pinnacle Ridge Winery. Souderton is a small town that really drew us in because we knew we already sold some wines into some accounts there, and we found a very quaint spot near a lot of property redevelopment that was happening in the town. “The highlight, of course, is the deck and the ability for people who come out during the Third Friday events to see our location and hang out with us in the evenings. ”The people in Souderton have been very welcoming to us, and we look forward to lots of success and sharing wine in our new space,” he said. The photos are a combination of some I took and others (on a clearer day) sent by Jenn Childress, who is the tasting room manager. ALSO READ Pa. winery’s finish at blind tasting offers opportunity to shine in the international spotlight Va. producer gets great news, times two, in what has been a rewarding 2026 For this award-winning Maryland winery, the ups have far exceeded the downs