Our winery, with its nature and wildlife theme, opened its doors on November 3, 2007, and the response has been fantastic. The winery is nestled in the beautiful mountains of the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County. Located directly off Route 6, one mile east of the traffic light in Sheffield, PA. Our tasting room and gift shop provide a comfortable “woodsy” atmosphere where visitors are encouraged to sample from a wide selection of wine and give their opinion of each. Take your time to browse the many wine related gifts that we have to offer also. You may just find a gift for that special someone.

Tina West and Alan Chapel welcome you to...
Allegheny Cellars Winery.

Well, we finally did it! We took the plunge and opened the winery after years of indecision and uncertainty. We originally had the intention to open back in 1998 when we purchased the building, but due to many circumstances it just didn’t work out at the time. Now that Alan is no longer employed at his full-time manufacturing position, due to the plant closing, it has given him the push and the time needed to get this project rolling.

The path wasn’t always clear and, in fact, we came very close to selling the building when the plant closure was announced. Without having partners to share the workload, we thought it might be too much of an endeavor to undertake on our own. After much thought, we decided it was still feasible and continued forward by ourselves.

Since neither of us had owned a business before, everything seemed so overwhelming and foreign. We learned a lot of new things about being business owners and, unfortunately, sometimes it was the hard way. We forged ahead anyway and with a lot of effort and conviction we are now ready to realize our dream.

We were a few months behind in opening the winery than was originally anticipated, because of the numerous unforeseen obstacles and setbacks that are inevitable when opening any new business. We feel fortunate to have overcome them in the time we did, and are happy that we’ll be ready to share our new winery with all of our friends, family, and visitors.

Located in Sheffield, PA along scenic & historic Route 6, we seek to provide each visitor with a unique and enjoyable experience. Since we are in the middle of the Allegheny National Forest, it was only natural that we based our theme on local surroundings and wildlife. Our labels and décor reflect this brotherhood with nature. In fact, all of our labels were created with pictures that we took ourselves in the woods behind our house. Feel free to bring us your wildlife pictures to put in our display case… with your permission we just might use one on our labels!

We have a variety of wines from dry to sweet that you can sample at our oak top tasting bar. Shop for other wine related gifts in our knotty pine showroom and, above all, relax and have fun.

We hope that you truly enjoy your visit. Come see us soon!
 

Local winery strikes gold at farm show

By BRIAN FERRY bferry@timesobserver.com Times Observer
POSTED: January 30,2010.  Used with permission

When Alan Chapel and Tina West sent eight bottles of wine for judging at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, they hoped for a good result.

But, up against more than 300 other state wines, they hadn't counted on bringing home too much of the hardware.

The judges had other ideas. More than half of the winery's entries won.

The winery's Big Bend Blush took the gold medal honors as best American wine variety. Bull Hill Blush and Fawnd Memories won silvers and Two Mile Red and Bigfoot Shadows brought home bronze. The other entries were Depot Red, Wildcat White and Tionesta Sunrise.

"I got five out of eight," Chapel said. "That's great. Way more than I expected."

Bull Hill Blush and Bigfoot Shadows are more celebrated wines than the Big Bend. A bottle of Bigfoot on display at the winery has five medals from various wine events hanging on it.

In fact, Chapel and West almost didn't send Big Bend to the Farm Show. "The one that won the gold was kind of a last minute decision," Chapel said.

They're glad they added it to the list.

"This is our first gold," he said.

The winery had received medals at the 2008 and 2009 Farm Shows, but the successes did not reach the level of 2010.

The recognition at the show has had an immediate an immediate impact on business.

"The medals definitely boost sales," Chapel said. "We've had a lot of people come in and say, 'We heard you won.'"

Some of the Farm Show wine exhibit staff ordered Allegheny Cellars wines based solely on the medals. "We sent almost a case of the Big Bend Blush for the staff down there, just because it was a winner," Chapel said. "They hadn't even tasted it."

The Pennsylvania Winery Association also buys bottles of the medal-winning wines for its events, he said.

Just having a booth at the show is a big deal.

More than 2,500 people sampled Allegheny Cellars wines in two days. Chapel said the winery went through more than that many tasting cups.

With that many people walking by, asking for samples, and buying bottles, there was plenty to do.

"It was rough," Chapel said. "But we did it."

In the process, they sold about 30 cases of wine.

"It gives us a good shot in the arm in the winter months," Chapel said. "Good sales in a slow time of year."

With the medals bringing the winery notoriety and the thousands of people passing the booth bringing in sales, the biggest impact of the Farm Show on business could be the networking.

"It gets people in that area an idea of what's up this way," Chapel said. "More people know we're here now."

He said there were familiar faces at the show, but the vast majority were new.

Allegheny Cellars also connected with representatives from other wineries, resulting in invitations to various festivals, yet more chances to spread the word about the award-winning winery in Sheffield.

The Farm Show has been good for Allegheny Cellars and the owners have no plans to quit while they're ahead.

"I don't know how much of a sure thing it is to get into, but it was a worthwhile event," Chapel said. "We'll pretty much always apply."