GO Laurel Highlands launches new micro-pour tour app
Keith and Heather Fry are showcasing their newly opened Own Brook Winery by participating in the GO Laurel Highlands “Red, White & Brews” micro-pour tour starting Friday.
The winery is located at 129 Perry Hite Road, a dead-end residential street in Hempfield, on a nearly 2-acre, hilltop property overlooking the lower lake at Twin Lakes Park.
The tour, a smaller, seasonal version of the tourism information bureau’s popular Laurel Highlands Pour Tour, will feature 47 craft beverage businesses across Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties.
Running through May 16, the tour will be available via a special app through May 16.
Rusty Musket Distilling Co. in Boswell, Somerset County, joins Own Brook as the other first-time tour participant. Rusty Musket specializes in traditional mountain-style moonshine, flavored moonshine, vodka and whiskey.
The Frys are producing small-batch wines using grapes sourced from Lake Erie-area growers. The menu features limited selections of red, white, rose and blush wines and fruit wines, including a Cabernet Franc aged in bourbon barrels.
An agronomist with a family background of farming, Keith Fry has planted some vines on the property.
“The long-term plan is to grow slowly into a larger-scale vineyard,” he said.
The winery’s tasting room opened to the public last weekend. Hours are posted on the website at ownbrookwinery.com.
“We’re huge fans of the pour tour. We’ve gone on some of our own,” Keith Fry said. “With our dream coming to fruition, we said, we’ve gotta get on the pour tour.”
The micro-tour is called “Red, White & Brews” because it offers participants a chance to score an exclusive T-shirt in red, white and blue.
“The theme is to help people get ready for the Fourth of July,” said Anna Weltz, GO Laurel Highlands director of public relations.
Those interested in taking the tour can download the free Laurel Highlands Pour Tour app from the Google Play and Apple stores, then select the “Red, White & Brews” passport to check in.
When visiting a tour site, they should take a photo of their purchase and then upload it. After 16 confirmed check-ins, GO Laurel Highlands will mail them the exclusive “Red, White & Brews” T-shirt in time for the July holiday.
The original Laurel Highlands Pour Tour launched in 2019, as a means of drawing visitors from across the Mid-Atlantic region by showcasing the area’s growing craft beverage industry. Participants also can request a free passport or download a free app to participate in the larger tour.
Upon visiting a participating site and making a purchase, they can receive a sticker for their passport or check in via the app to log their purchase. Three prizes are awarded, after collecting stickers or check-ins from eight, 18 and 38 participating locations.
For information on “Red, White & Brews” or the original tour, including a list of participating businesses, visit golaurelhighlands.com.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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