Mount Nittany Winery is bringing the award season home to central Pennsylvania. We won five medals at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Wine Competition in January, and traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive the “Best of Category – Sweet Blush” for our 2017 Nittany Mountain Blush at the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association Wine Competition. And we were just awarded five more medals at the most recent 2019 Pennsylvania Winery Association (PWA) competition held at the Nittany Lion Inn, included a GOLD for 2017 Nittany Mountain Blush, SILVER for 2017 Cabernet Franc and Geisenheim, and BRONZE for Nittany Mountain White and Moscato.

In a recent interview, winemaker Scott Hilliker talked about the path that led him to winemaking. “Several years ago I took a trip up to the Finger Lakes in New York and spent some time with winery owners and winemakers while I was there. I fell in love with wine and winemaking.

When I can home from the trip, I started reading books about winemaking and started making wine in my basement at home. I have a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from North Carolina State University, so I am a science type of person. The whole winemaking process was very interesting to me. After working as a quality control analyst at a chemical company for five years, I went back to school to become a winemaker.” Scott and his family moved to Central Pennsylvania eight years ago and he started making wine at Mount Nittany Winery in 2015.

Scott is looking forward to another great year in 2019. In addition to the wines already in our repertoire, we are making some small batch new wines this year: a dry Linden Vale Rose and a sweet Moscato. Scott’s favorite thing about making wine in Central PA is the differences that each year brings. “Our weather is always changing from year to year, and the different vintages make things fun in the winery and in the vineyard. Never knowing how the vintage is going to turn out keeps me on my toes,” he says. “Being at Mount Nittany Vineyard and Winery is amazing. Our team is great, and the owners, Steve and Linda Weaver (who took over for Linda’s parents, winery founders Joe and Betty Carroll, in 2015) are awesome people. It is truly the best job.”

The best selection of Mount Nittany wines will be found at our tasting room, just six miles from the Penn State campus on the side of Mount Nittany (300 Houser Road, Centre Hall). You can also find our wines at the Wegmans, Weis, Giant, and Giant Eagle. Or, order online at mtnittanywinery.com. Best-seller? Tailgate Red, of course!