On the Pocono Beverage Trail, there are a lot of treasures throughout the four counties of the Poconos including here at Mountain View Vineyard Winery, Brewery & Distillery. Linda Rice, the owner, took PTN on a tour.

“We’re doing tours for the first time since COVID. I take folks into the vineyard,” said owner Linda Rice. “Right over here we’re adding a whole other outdoor bar. It’s going to have 16 taps because all of our wine and beer are on tap now.”

“There will be a slushy machine out here,” Rice went on to say. “And the most awesome part is a wood-fired pizza oven. Folks can come over here and if they would like to have a seat on this side of our building. This is brand new, this has gas fire pits. A lot of seating, we probably have seating for another 75 to 100 people.”

The Mountain View crew has added so much to the Pocono Beverage Trail and their vineyard: patios, a tent, playground, outdoor bars and more.

“Oh, and we have baby goats coming,” said Rice. “My husband has been dying for baby goats. I was afraid they would eat our vineyard but he has talked me into two pygmy goats. Their names are Billy Joe and Bobby Sue. I’m so excited, they’re coming in about ten weeks.”

New additions to Mountain View Vineyard are meant to help enjoy the main ingredients grown right here.

“We consider ourselves sustainable. We’re not certified organic but we do practices pretty close to organic,” added Rice. “We put wood chips down to keep weeds at bay.”

The 12-week growing season is underway and Linda and her team are ready to welcome visitors to learn all about the process.

The grape harvest comes in September and, until then, Mountain View owners Linda and Randy Rice are pulling out all the stops including live music and tours as well as what makes this operation unique.

“We love what we do. People think we're crazy. It’s been 18 years since we started growing our first grape. Then it’s been about 12 and a half that we’ve been open for business,” she said. “And we work together every day. We’ve been married 32 years now. And we still love each other, we haven’t killed each other working side by side.”

“We want to show you how things have changed since COVID. Prior to COVID folks came right up to the tasting bar and they used to get served their wine tasting, beer or spirit flights right there,” said Rice. “Even though the rules were lifted, what we discovered was that it was a whole lot easier to take care of guests continuing to be seated. In fact the guests liked the fact they could stay longer and that someone took their order. It kind of forced us into turning into a kind of a restaurant.”

If you want to visit and sample wine, beer or spirits you will want a reservation. And take some of the Mountain View goodness on the go with you in a bottle, can or growler.

“That was our mission,” said Rice. “Make it a seriously fun place for everyone to enjoy. And we’re pet friendly and we’ll have baby goats soon!”