For two Lancaster residents, investing in a way to pass the time could not have evolved into anything sweeter.
It initially began as a hobby, but when bottles of wine overtook their home, Tracy Smith gave her husband, Bill, an ultimatum. He could either stop flooding their home with wine or evolve the craft into a business – and a business is what he chose.
Bill and Tracy Smith opened Moonlight Winery earlier this year to run as a side business in theme with keeping their full-time positions.
‘The home (for the winery) must have character,’ Tracy said about their search for a location. After looking at five different properties, they decided upon a well-known Birdsboro spot.
Ridgewood Farm was built in 1725, with an addition built in 1811 and is located just off Rt. 724 in Birdsboro. The couple purchased the estate in June of 2013. The Moonlight Winery is the only winery to be located in a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The farmhouse’s exterior walls, doors, and details are still original. Upon adding a discreetly placed parking lot, basement floor and bar, the farmhouse was ready to go.
‘I love bringing people into the house. I want people to come and see it,’ Tracy, acting tour guide, said.
The farmhouse is rich with character and has always been a landmark for locals. The farm is rumored to have been part of the Underground Railroad, helping slaves make their way north, and is built on Indian ceremonial grounds. From locks on their closet doors, to ‘Holy Lord’ hinges and Biblical doors, the details of the home are a reminder of the prominent family who first occupied it. Between Tracy’s love for the history of the home and Bill’s love and enjoyment of producing wine, Ridgewood Farm has proven to be an exemplary location for their business.
‘[We] really started to pursue this two years ago,’ Tracy said. Bill credits his inspiration for wine making to his wife’s grandfather, Raymond Miller Sr. Bill was drawn to the strength of Miller’s homemade wines and, after ‘taking his recipes to the grave,’ Bill was intrigued to invent his own creations.
As an amateur, Bill offered his concoctions to his friends while they would visit and lounge around by the Smith’s pool.
‘They would tell me if they didn’t like it or to make it sweeter,’ he said. Bill credits his own palate with having an acute sense for flavor. He also aims to provide wine with no aftertaste. ‘I can pick up ‘off’ tastes in the wine,’ Bill said. ‘I like releasing it when that flavor is gone.’
Currently there are at least eight different wines offered by Moonlight Winery, specializing in sweet flavors. Strawberry, Niagara, Diamond, Concord, Blackberry, and recently added Peach, are among the sweet flavors, with Reisling and Sauvignon Blanc offered for the dry wines. Moonlight Winery has the possibility of finishing the year with a variety of 10 – 14 flavors. The Smiths challenged their customers to name their raspberry flavored wine. Kathleen Klinger’s wine name, Raspberry Rhapsody, was the winning pick.
While all their wines are bursting with flavor, it is the Blackberry wine that has wine-lovers coming back for more. The Blackberry creation all began when the Smiths were given an ample amount of blackberries from a friend. Bill whipped up some wine with the excess fruit and put the bottle in the basement. A year went by while the wine fermented, left alone and forgotten. By the time he discovered he had put it away, the taste was perfection.
In 2010, after much persuasion from their friends, Bill entered the amateur statewide wine competition and swept the awards, taking first, second, and third place including Grand Champion, and winning 14 total awards. The wine awards continued into a second year and it was the recipe for the Blackberry wine that led to the first supply of 350 bottles to sell out at the winery in just three weeks.
‘[The awards] were never the drive,’ he said. ‘I want to make a good product that people like and [draws them to] come in. I have fun doing it.’
Whether it was their intention or not, Moonlight Winery now has 21 awards to their name. The operation is manned by Tracy, Bill and their son, Jeremy along with staff member Jonathan. Their other children Jessica and Brandon help out when they can’We want to treat you like family,’ Bill said.
Moonlight Winery invites customers to bring their own food, picnic style, and enjoy an afternoon out on the porch or in the home. ‘People sit here, talk and enjoy the sites of 200 years ago,’ Tracy said.
Even with their success in such a short amount of time, the Smiths prefer to stay small and local and received a great response from local wineries willing to help them get off the ground.
Ridgewood Estates is available for rent for meetings, small weddings, bridal parties and showers, and holiday parties. Visit the winery for a tasting, Call ahead if you are coming with a big group for wine tastings at 610-404-2727. Moonlight Winery is open 1 to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and is located at 2039 Philadelphia Ave., Birdsboro. The winery has expanded their hours of operation for the rest of the fall from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Friday evenings.
For updated information, visit them online at facebook.com/moonlightwinery. For a list of their upcoming events, check out the Calendar of Events in The Southern Berks News.