Raise Your Glass for the Great PA Wine Toast

Generally, I don’t need an excuse to open up a bottle of wine and toast another long day. The stunning red-violet of a good pinot noir, the zip of tropical fruit in a sip of sauvignon blanc … these are all the initiative I need. This weekend, though, I encourage all of you to get yourself to the nearest winery and raise a glass for a less self-indulgent reason: the Great Pennsylvania Wine Toast.

On Saturday, August 14, more than 50 Pennsylvania wineries and tasting rooms will play host to a wine tasting and 4 p.m.-on-the-dot toast. The point of this perfectly coordinated effort? To break the current Guinness World Record for the largest wine tasting ever conducted. The current record – 17,540 – was set by more than 400 pubs across the U.K. in 2009, so we Keystone State winos best be in attendance.

Pennsylvanian and racing legend Mario Andretti will host the event via video feed and kick things off with a toast written by a PA wine lover. Check out the five finalists for the honor.

Ticket prices vary per location, but all proceeds will go towards The Fund to Benefit Children & Youth, a Lehigh Valley organization that helps provide items and services to children and families in need. Many spots will also have live music, food tastings or other special events in honor of the toast.

Read to raise one? Here are the participating vineyards in the Philly area:

Black Walnut Winery

Boyd’s Cardinal Hollow Winery

Chaddsford Winery

Crossing Vineyards

Paradocx Vineyard

Sand Castle Winery

Twin Brook Winery

For more information on the toast, contact the Pennsylvania Winery Association at 877.4PA.WINE or www.pennsylvaniawine.com.