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Bethel winery expands business underground

BY MICHELLE SHAW | COMMUNITY PRESS STAFF WRITER

BETHEL - It's hard to imagine this place is called Harmony Hill.

With an enormous hole in the ground and piles of dirt and broken limestone being surrounded by a crane, tractors and semis, the noises fell together in a symphony that might open to less than rave reviews.

But by next spring the hole will be filled and covered by a stage, a parking lot or a patio and landscaping will disguise it ever being there. Click here for the rest of the story.

Wow!! What a summer. 2006 was greater than we could have imagined. Thank you to all of those visitors who have made this summer truly memorable. Following is a collage of 2006's SIXTEEN SUMMER SATURDAYS. 

September 30th    AAC ANNUAL PICNIC

 

Harmony Hill entertained 120 staff and family members of Anesthesia Associates of Cincinnati for their annual Fall Harvest Picnic. The weather was wet but the spirits weren't dampened.  See you all next Fall.

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August 19th JAZZ IN THE COUNTRY

'Jazz in the Country', as Harmony Hill featured the soft jazz sounds of Emerson & Hagerman. Thanks guys for making it one of the busiest Saturdays of the summer. The music was wonderful, and Patti and I are looking forward to your repeat performance September 2nd.

Click any photo to enlarge it.

August 12th LEAGUE FOR ANIMAL WELFARE

Adopt-a-Pet Event.
Click here to see the web site for the League of Animal Welfare.

Harmony Hill was pleased to welcome the League for Animal Welfare on August 12th for an Adopt-A-Pet event on the winery grounds. The pooches and kittens they brought were to die for. I had to keep blinders on Patti, as 7 rescue dogs and 2 cats that currently reside in our house is all we can handle. Thanks Toni and Maxine for all your hard work.

Click any photo to enlarge it.

August 5th COOL PICKERS AND HOT METAL

Cool Pickers and Hot Metal was the theme for our August 5th event, as Harmony Hill featured the cool sounds of local bluegrass pickers (thanks Mike) and the hot metal art of Bethel's own blacksmith extraordinaire, Tom Cole. All in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves and to watch Tom work the hot steel was a thing of beauty.

Click any photo to enlarge it.

Click any photo to enlarge it.

July 22nd FAST CARS AND FINE WINE

Harmony Hill Vineyards & Winery hosted the First Annual Wright Motor Sports Porsche Event on Saturday, July 22.  Off to a rocky start with bad weather in the morning, the sun and the cars were dazzling by mid-afternoon.  Thanks Greg and John for making this event happen.  See you next year. 

Click any photo to enlarge it.

 

Eighteen Wine Geography students and instructors arrived mid-afternoon from Wittenberg University in Springfield.  Thanks Artimus Keefer for including Harmony Hill on your fieldtrip (I regret that there weren't classes like this when I was in college).  I had a hoot of a time and look forward to seeing you all next year.

 

Click any photo to enlarge it.

July 8th REPTILES ROUND THE WINERY 

Harmony Hill featured a visit by The Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society on July 8th.  Peggy Fille and friends brought 20 different reptiles of varying shapes and sizes.  The children were fascinated, and winemaker Bill (who used to keep frogs in his pockets as a child) had the time of his life.  Thank you Peggy for making Saturday a fun event. 

Click any photo to enlarge it.

July 1st HARMONY HILL FARM GAINS NATIONAL RECOGNITION AS A CERTIFIED WILDLIFE HABITAT

The National Wildlife Federation announced recently that the Harmony Hill Vineyards in Bethel has been certified as an official Backyard Wildlife Habitat site.

Vineyard and property owners Bill and Patti Skvarla moved from Pittsburgh to Bethel in 1994. At that time, they had 15 acres but quickly expanded the property to encompass the 70 acres which now attract the diverse and abundant wildlife that live and nest on the property today.

Click here to read the story.

June 2nd & 3rd    2nd STREET MARKET WINEFEST, DAYTON OHIO

Harmony Hill poured for the 3rd consecutive year at The National City Second Street Market Winefest in Dayton, where over 25,000 Ohio wine consumers were in attendance.

May 19th and 20th   WESTCHESTER WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL

Harmony Hill poured May 19 and 20 at the West Chester Wine and Food Festival to benefit the Voice of America museum.

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Harmony Hill's 'Sixteen Saturdays' campaign has been a huge success.  A big "Thank You" to those of you who have made this summer an enjoyable one.

In two years, Harmony Hill Winery has already outgrown its physical space.  The construction of our 700 square foot, super insulated bottle aging room is well under way.  Thanks to all of you who helped make this addition necessary.

Harmony Hill is featured in the "Ohio Wine Country Excursions" by Patricia Latimer. Available at  www.emmisbooks.com or www.amazon.com.

An archive of past year's events and photos

The first annual "BRING YOUR POOCH" Christmas Open House held December 17th was a huge success.  The weather that day was the nicest we'd seen at the farm all month and all who attended had a wonderful time.  Thanks to those of you who dressed your pooches for the holiday and brought them along. 

Bill and Patti

 

The pictures below are from the Westchester Wine and Food Festival, June 24th and 25th at Voice of America Park.	On June 3 and 4, we poured for the second year at the 2nd Street Market District National City WineFest.
In keeping with tradition, the spring of 2005 has forced another dozen gray hairs out on my already graying head. May 4th and 5th were record low temperatures in the vineyard of 29.6 and 29.4 respectively.  Needless to say, I slept very little those two nights, in the vineyards at 3 am monitoring temp, wind, humidity, and impending frost damage.  The good news is that the combination of straw bale burning (see pictures) and warm water sprays (1500 gallons) seems to have thwarted any significant damage to the vines, so we are looking for another excellent vintage for 2005.	On an even happier note, our new Traminette vineyard block is planted and the vines of this spicy white grape (Gewurztraminer parents) are progressing nicely.  The release of our 2004 vintage wines is scheduled for Saturday, July 2nd with an open house, Christmas In July and bring-your-own-picnic event at the winery.  Watch this site or sign up on the contact form to receive further notification.
Bill and Patti visited the premier winery trade show, Unified Symposium, in Sacramento California in January, with fellow growers, Ron and Nancy (Kinkead Ridge Winery, Ripley) and Brad and Armanda (La Vigna, Higginsport). A trip to Napa and Sonoma followed the show!
Harmony Hill wines were well-received at the Chefs Growers Collaborative "From the Garden to the Table" at the Iron Horse Restaurant in Glendale on August 15, 2004.	Harmony Hill "Concerto" was poured at the A Taste of Clermont, September 11 and 12, 2004 in the wine tent. Click here for information. To see the Beverage Gardens, click here.
Awards: Our Concerto : 2004 Indy International Wine Competition : Bronze	We poured our wines at the 2nd Street Market Winefest in Dayton Ohio on June 4 and 5 and the Childrens' Hunger Alliance in Columbus, Ohio.