One phrase perfectly sums up 2016 at Mountain View Vineyard. They are the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 19:26. He said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

As we entered the new year, so many people asked us if we were prepared for all that came with trying to put up a new building, if we could handle the stress, if we could deal with all of the growing pains that came with expanding so quickly.

The answer to all of the questions is no. We could not handle any of it…on our own. God has carried us every step of the way and we are eternally grateful.

In February, we adopted this precious little girl. Angel is a Chocolate Lab who lights up our days and chews up our shoes. She loves running in the vineyard and greeting customers. We love the joy she brings into our lives.

We planted a new seven-acre vineyard along Walters Road in Stroudsburg. It has more than 3,000 new vines.

We were overjoyed (as you can see from our faces!) on the July day when a construction team marked our property with stakes for a new winery building.

Pennsylvania changed its archaic liquor laws this year. So, now you can buy wine in many grocery stores. Kinsley’s ShopRite in Brodheadsville was the first to carry our wines. You can also find Mountain View Vineyard wines in Daleville and Mount Pocono ShopRite locations. Plus, we’re in Wegmans in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Nazareth.

On September 1, we celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary and the groundbreaking on our new winery! (It was also the seventh anniversary of our winery opening and the third anniversary of our distillery opening.)

This was definitely one of the most fun moments of the entire year (it was also one of our most popular blog posts)! You have to see Linda’s reaction when we hit the detonator to make way for the new winery building. With God — and dynamite — all thing are possible!

You can now get craft beer on tap at the winery. The state’s new liquor laws allowed wineries to sell Pennsylvania-made brews. We’re currently carrying beer from several local brewers. We hope to add our own craft beer to the mix in 2017.

You’re going to love the 2016 vintage. We had a fabulous harvest. The relatively dry summer without any major weather issues made the grapes happy.

Aurore hit the shelves in October. Customers love this light, refreshing white wine. It pairs especially well with cheesecake. We’re getting hungry just thinking about it!

You can now get wine delivered just like you get pizza delivered. We partnered with Hungry? We Deliver to offer wine delivery in the 18360 zip code. Oh, what fun!

Each of these highlights came with challenges to overcome and lessons to learn. God has used us to show how all things are possible through Him. We can’t wait to see what He has in store for us in 2017.

We hope our stories have inspired you to pursue your passions and follow your dreams.

Cheers to a happy new year!

Love,
Linda & Randy