Summerfest

taking off as a wine-growing region and producing some very good vintages,” he says. Every wine tells a story, and ticket holders will taste a unique combination of history and terroir in the French-inspired wines that Grace Winery will be bringing to Summerfest. “The style of our wines is dry to semi-dry, which you don’t really find a lot in Pennsylvania,” says Ruggiero. “This style also complements the farm-to-table cuisine we serve at the Inn.”

The farmhouse which is now the Inn at Grace Winery dates back to 1734 and was commandeered by British troops during the Revolutionary War. The officers slept in the house while the soldiers stayed in the barn which is now the tasting room. Today, a variety of grapes flourish in the limestone-rich soil which continues to yield up the occasional button or coin from this era. In the early 1990s, when owner Chris Le Vine inherited the property from his sister Gracie, he named the inn, and the winery he started with the first vines planted in 2008, in her honor. The distinction is important, says Ruggiero, because there’s another extraordinary Grace in the family tree as well — Le Vine’s aunt, Grace Kelly.

Grace Winery is an elegant venue for weddings and other events, and the Inn offers beautiful accommodation as well as three-course seasonally inspired farm-totable dinners on the weekends. Ruggiero describes executive chef Dan Wood’s approach to cooking with the best local ingredients as classic, with a flair that celebrates his Southern roots. With the recent purchase of an adjoining property and a newly planted field of sauvignon blanc, Grace Winery continues to grow.

Grace Winery’s head winemaker Andrew Yingst calls their wines “a labor of love” and invites Kennett Summerfest-goers to taste the unique terroir of this storied earth in the heart of the Brandywine Valley. Grace Winery will be pouring a pinot gris and a chardonnay and rosé, as well as two reds — 1734 and Dragonfly. “Dragonfly is a nice blend of syrah, which we import from an organic vineyard in California, and our own cabernet sauvignon.

It’s our version of a pinot noir — sweet on the front with tannin and oak on the back,” says Ruggiero.

Grace Winery is the northernmost winery in a Brandywine Valley wine trail that includes Summerfest participants Stargazers Vineyard and Honey Lane Winery to the west and then south to Harvest Ridge Winery in Toughkenamon, Paradocx Vineyard in Landenberg, and Wayvine in Nottingham. Other confirmed wineries include Casa Carmen Wines, which got its start on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and will open its doors in West Grove later this year. Lancaster County’s Vox Vineti will also be bringing their beautiful, single vineyard Bordeaux blends to Summerfest and Dressler Estate will be bringing their dry, wine-like ciders for participants to sample. More wineries are being added all the time, so check the Summerfest website for a regularly updated list of confirmed participants. In addition, Kennett Square’s very own award-winning West Branch Distilling and Coatesville’s Spring House Spirits will be sampling a variety of mixed drinks created with their locally crafted spirits.

Ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase bottles of wines and spirits they enjoy, with Kennett Collaborative providing a wine check and Summerfest wine totes. Organizers urge Summerfest participants to make their reservations now at their favorite Kennett Square restaurant for lunch before, or dinner after, the event — and to leave time to walk through town to take in the beautiful Kennett Blooms: Floral Flash installations. Floral Flash will feature three different installations on State Street, one on South Broad Street, and another two on Birch Street, creating a great walkable “trail” for people to follow to take them all in.

Summerfest, a sister event to Kennett Brewfest and Winterfest, is a fundraiser for Kennett Collaborative, the nonprofit that helps make Kennett thrive through programs and events including Light Up the Square, Kennett Blooms, the KSQ Farmers Market, the How We Build Matters Speaker Series, the Holiday Village Market, and Third Thursdays on State Street. For tickets: https://www.kennettsummerfest.com/