After pumping an estimated $2 million into the local economy last year with its craft beverage passport program, GO Laurel Highlands launched Pour Tour 4.0 on Thursday with events throughout the region.
The new version of the popular program includes partnerships with 52 craft beverage makers including breweries, distilleries, wineries, cideries and a meadery spread across Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties.
“The Laurel Highlands Pour Tour is nothing short of amazing,” said Ann Nemanic, GO LH’s executive director. “As we launch version 4.0, anticipation has been growing among participants for weeks. Our extremely successful Bonfires, Barrels & Brews event in November started the excitement of a new program, and now, with 30,000 passports in our warehouse, we are ready to kick off 2024. It’s not just the fun of collecting stickers at each of the craft beverage locations and prizes along the way, but more about savoring every sip of a new product and sharing those stories with other enthusiasts. The economic impact remains strong and is one of the main drivers as to why GO Laurel Highlands continues to invest in the extraordinary program. We are hopeful by the end of 2024 we can reflect upon an overall five-year, $6 million economic impact to the region.”
The new trail showcases the region’s rich heritage, agricultural diversity, and entrepreneurial spirit. Craft beverage enthusiasts can pick up a Pour Tour 4.0 Passport at any participating location throughout the Laurel Highlands or download the all-new GO Laurel Highlands app.
“We are excited to implement the new app,” said Jennifer Benford, GO Laurel Highlands’ senior director of marketing. “The app will make it easier for participants to digitally stamp their passport, provide a leaderboard for some friendly competition, and – my favorite part – not only showcase our craft beverage makers, but also all of our partners in the Laurel Highlands, such as nearby hotels, restaurants and retail shops that are near their favorite Pour Tour stops.”
Bringing back the history
Two of the newest stops on the Pour Tour have been built on a long and proud history in the region.
Ponfeigh Distillery in Somerset reflects Maximilian Merrill’s passion for whiskey and history. The Laurel Highlands is the birthplace of rye whiskey, and Merrill wanted to pay tribute to that.
“I knew I had to do a distillery in Somerset County to bring back the history,” Ponfeigh’s president told a group at the distillery, which is housed in a former 84 Lumber building on Stoystown Road.
Merrill plans to add a whiskey museum to honor the region’s legacy along with a tasting room with indoor and outdoor bars, a cigar lounge and an amphitheater for 2,000 fans to enjoy live music.
At full production, Ponfeigh can distill 3,000 barrels per year, making it the largest distillery in Pennsylvania. In addition to talks with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to have Ponfeigh sold in state stores, Merrill has been working with an e-commerce site, which he said should have his product available in 42 states within the next few years.
Ponfeigh started selling bottles of its Westylvania Rye in Somerset late last year, which is the culmination of a distilling process that started three years ago.
“We drove five tractor-trailer loads of Somerset County rye to a sister distillery called Southern Distillery, where I was trained on that equipment for a couple of weeks,” Merrill said as he spoke inside the massive distillery space. “We laid down those 200 barrels that are stacked up over there, using Somerset County rye, on the same equipment we have here today. Now, we’re producing that same spirit with the same barrels and the same rye on the same equipment to catch up to that 3-year-old spirit (that we have produced).”
In addition to Monongahela rye, Ponfeigh plans to begin distilling a Maryland-style rye, rye-aged rum and rye-aged gin.
'Exceptionally clean' winemaking
SanaView Farms and Winery also has longstanding ties to local history. Nate McKee, who owns SanaView along with his mother, Janet, said the 52-acre historic landmark is the oldest farm in the area. The McKees purchased the property in 2012. It now hosts weddings and other events and features lodging in its farmhouse and bunkhouse.
Eventually, Janet encouraged Nate to become a vintner with an eye toward the same high standards that they demand at their organic farm.
“She said, ‘You love drinking the stuff, why don’t you figure out how to make it?’ ” he recalled.
He did just that, studying the winemaking process in California, by reading books and meeting with industry insiders, who told him it wouldn’t be possible to make wine naturally. He disagreed and set about finding a way to make a great-tasting wine that doesn’t use chemicals in any step of the process.
“What we’re doing is natural wine with low, low, low intervention,” Nate McKee said. “We’re letting Mother Nature do the work. That’s why you’ve got to start with really high-quality ingredients. … You’ve got to be exceptionally clean with every step of the process.”
Finding hidden gems on the Pour Tour
Mike Fahy, one of the owners of Forbes Trail Brewing in Stoystown, understands McKee’s passion for crafting delicious beverages the right way. Fahy is the brewmaster at Forbes Trail and while he loves traditional beers, he isn’t afraid to try new things, such as the blackberry raspberry marshmallow beer currently available at Forbes Trail.
That kind of innovation has helped make Forbes Trail a popular stop on the Pour Tour, and Fahy loves how the program helps beer lovers discover his brewery.
“The Pour Tour brings in so many people that I don’t think ever would have found us,” he said.
With a qualified purchase, participants will receive a sticker from the beverage maker for verification in the printed passport or choose to stamp their passport digitally via the app. Passports can then be redeemed for prizes with a Tier I prize for 15 stamps, Tier II at 30 and Tier 30 for 45 stamps as part of Pour Tour 4.0, which runs through Dec. 23, 2024. The passport and app cannot combined, participants must choose one method to use throughout their tasting tour.
Last year, more than 2,200 Pour Tour prizes were redeemed by participants from 10 states, including as far away as Florida, Colorado and Washington.
About Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands
A magnificent mountainous region, the Laurel Highlands is an outdoor lover’s paradise that spans 3,000 square miles in southwestern Pennsylvania. Located just an hour east of Pittsburgh, the beautiful four-season destination offers spectacular natural scenery, outstanding skiing, hiking, biking and golfing opportunities, historic sites and attractions, family activities and world-class resorts. Notable destinations within the region include four architectural masterpieces by Frank Lloyd Wright – Fallingwater®, Kentuck Knob, Mäntylä and Duncan House – as well as Nemacolin, Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Flight 93 National Memorial, Idlewild and SoakZone, whitewater rafting in Ohiopyle State Park and much more.
Located within 200 miles of the major metropolitan areas of Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Washington D.C., Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands can be easily accessed from exits 67, 75, 91 and 110 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Visitors to the Laurel Highlands can find information online at GoLaurelHighlands.com, facebook.com/laurelhighlandsPA and twitter.com/laurelhighlands or by calling 724.238.5661. Established in 1958, GO Laurel Highlands, formerly known as Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, is the official destination marketing organization for Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.