here was a time, not too long ago, when vineyards in Pennsylvania were pretty much unheard of. Vineyards were in France or California, not Pennsylvania. But that didn’t stop Dominick and Mary Sorrenti. They bought 300 acres near Saylorsburg and started a vineyard.

Now 35 years later, Sorrenti — Cherry Valley Vineyards is a thriving winery with seven Best of Show awards. In January, the Sorrentis won the 2016 Gold Medal for Best Hybrid at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. The winning wine is their Baco Noir. They also won a Silver Medal for their White Spumante, and Bronze medals for Cayuga, Watermelon Rose, Marachel Foch, Seyval Blanc, Raspberry and Raspberry Spumante, all from the new vintages.“We were elated,” said Nicholas Sorrenti, whose parents founded the vineyard. “For us, it was great. It is something that we want to promote, sort of validates something we’ve always said. These grapes can produce high-quality products.”Sorrenti explained the award-winning Baco Noir uses the Baco grape developed by Francois Baco in France around 1898. It is a hybrid, because it is a cross of an American grape vine that is resistant to the phylloxera aphid with the prominent French vine used for making wine. This hybrid vine helped Europe overcome the devastating insect that eats the roots of the vines, killing them. Although helping to restore Europe’s vineyards, France passed regulations to restrict its use and even considered pulling all of the vines by 2010. Other countries have also pulled these vines. Why?Vines native to America have a strong grape flavor, which the French term as foxy, Sorrenti explained. This is an undesirable trait in France. In their wines, the grape flavor is muted, which allows for other flavors, such as oak, to shine through. Baco Noir and its sister Baco Blanc, both hybrids of the American and French vines, produce a grape that are resistant to the devastating insect but have a far less foxy quality.Sorrenti’s Baco Noir has a subtle flavor with a little spice that comes through on the palate and ends with the oak.“Even the sweetest drinkers can have a glass of this and find it appealing,” Sorrenti said.Although America’s native wines, with their foxy quality, aren’t valued so much in Europe, they certainly are here.“They sell 10 to 1,” Sorrenti said. The wines made from the Concord, Catawba and Niagara grapes are always top sellers. “Drink what you like. That’s what we are trying to teach people.”Mary Sorrenti, who owns the vineyard with her husband, joked about people who are a bit uppity about their wines, also known as wine snobs.“We tried it. It didn’t work out,” she said. “To me personally, let’s bring awareness to the East Coast and what we have to offer.”“We’re not trying to compete with France or even California,” he said. “It is a viable area where we can produce high-quality products.” The native grapes as well as the Baco grapes are able to withstand the cold of the northeast region.Like many wineries in the northeast, Sorrenti’s also has a large variety of wines mixed with other fruit juices. The Blackberry Noir is made with the Baco grape and carries the same oak flavor as their award-winning Baco Noir. Recently, Nicholas Sorrenti created a white wine infused with blood orange, which has also become a top seller.“I think the customers appreciate having so many different choices,” he said.Soon, patrons will also be able to sample flavored gins, brandies and bourbons. Sorrenti recently acquired a small still and hopes to get started on the new lines.After taste-testing a variety of fruits of the vine, Sorrenti wanted to give people an opportunity to follow it up with a meal. The pizzeria offers brick-oven pizza made with a secret family recipe sauce in a French La Planyo oven and sangria. The oven gets to 700 degrees, which quickly bakes the thin crust crispy, but leaves the inside chewy, Sorrenti said.