Our Story
Everyone said we were crazy when we gave up our jobs to open a winery.They were right in a way, because we are crazy about what we do.
We are Linda and Randy Rice, Owners and Vintners at Mountain View Vineyard.
It all started with a trip to the Finger Lakes region of New York. There, we fell in love with grape growing & winemaking. We decided to try it on their own in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. So, we planted 6 varieties of grapes on our driveway’s split rail fence. When those 70 vines flourished, we cleared about four-acres of our six-acre property to plant a vineyard. It took about six years before we had enough grapes to start our business.
We opened our Pocono winery on September 1, 2009, our 20th Wedding Anniversary.
It wasn’t long before Randy thought, “If it’s this much fun to own a vineyard & winery, how much more fun would it be to have a vineyard, winery & distillery?” We opened our Pocono distillery on Labor Day Weekend in 2013, the same weekend we celebrated the 4th anniversary of the winery & our 24th wedding anniversary.
It’s been more than 20+ years since we planted our first few dozen vines. Now, we have a nearly 100-acre farm and thousands of vines in our vineyard.
In May of 2017, we moved our business out of our home & into a beautiful new building. There’s at least four times as much space with a covered wrap around porch & stunning vineyard views.
It’s been a wonderful labor of love and we truly appreciate all of our loyal customers who have made this such an amazing journey.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…” Ephesians 3:20
Our Mission
Our goal is to leave our farm in better condition than when we bought it.
We're on a mission to create fun experiences for our guests, and make the finest products with the least amount of chemical intervention in the vineyard, winemaking, distilling, and brewing process.
Minimizing Chemical Interventions
By growing disease resistant grape varieties, we've eliminated the use of pesticides and insecticides and minimized the use of herbicides and fungicides. We've eliminated the use of synthetic fertilizer by composting tree chips from local tree trimmers, animal manure, and spent beer grains from our brewery. We mulch around the base of the vines, which not only suppresses weeds, but also helps retain moisture from the rainfall, and promotes the growth of beneficial fungi and microbial activity by adding organic matter to the soil.
Preventing Erosion
Erosion from our mountainside is prevented by our “no till” farming, and we plant grass and clover between our vineyard rows. The clover replenishes nitrogen removed from the soil by our vines. We’ve also installed beautiful rain gardens that gather rainwater that might otherwise lead to erosion. The plants and flowers in our rain gardens, as well as the wildflower fields we planted, are not only beautiful, but they’re pollinators that attract beneficial insects and butterflies. They also provide food for winter birds.
Other Eco-Friendly Methods
We use geothermal heating and cooling, and LED lighting. We also recycle spent beer grains from our brewery by using them to feed our chickens and livestock, composting them for fertilizer for our vineyard. We reclaim rainwater from the roof to water our garden.
Coming Soon
With the expansion of our organic vegetable and herb gardens this spring, we hope to provide delicious, fresh produce for our bistro. Additionally, we hope to create a farm stand and fresh flowers for visitors to purchase as well.