Grown in Greene: Thistlethwaite winery backdrop for local events
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
From the nine varieties of wine grapes grown at Thistlethwaite Vineyards, Jamie Thistlethwaite said he can produce about 15 types of wine, from sugary sweet to sophisticated dry.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Wine grapes ripen on the vine, going from green to a lovely shade of purple, at Thistlethwaite Vineyards in Jefferson.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Rows of wine grapes, some nearly ready for harvest, grow at Thistlethwaite Vineyards.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Meticulously planted and cared for rows of wine grapes grow on a gently sloped vineyard in Greene County. The grapes are planted so that no row’s shadow will fall upon the next row.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Rick Thistlethwaite, third-generation farmer and, now, vineyard and winery owner, pours a sample of red for a guest during a recent Wine Down Wednesday event.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
On Wine Down Wednesdays and live music Fridays, folks pop into Thistlethwaite Winery for a glass – or bottle, to share! – of wine and then move outdoors to enjoy conversation and live performances.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The production barn’s red roof peeks out from below Thistlethwaite’s vineyard, where Jamie, Duann and Rick Thistlethwaite grow about 60,000 pounds of hand-picked wine grapes each year.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Jamie Thistlethwaite planted his first acre of wine grapes on his family’s property in 2000.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The entrance to Thistlethwaite Vineyards is simple and rustic with a touch of elegance, just like the winery and tasting room, where folks gather for events year-round.
The serene rolling hills of Thistlethwaite Vineyards will be dotted with colorful vendor booths and food trucks Sept. 9, when the fifth Farm to Fork event kicks off against the beautiful landscape in Jefferson.
The event, which runs from 3 to 8 p.m., offers Southwestern Pennsylvanians the opportunity to sample Greene County’s good eats, admire and purchase artworks and artisan wares crafted locally, and sip excellent wine grown and processed on-site while live music echoes off the hillsides.
“Somebody laughed at me the other day because I pull up my temporary stage for my musicians and it’s an old hay wagon. You sit there and you see a tractor and a hay wagon with a roof on it,” smiled Jamie Thistlethwaite, who owns Thistlethwaite Vineyards with his wife, Duann, and his father, Rick. “All day long, music. It’s kind of ‘fall festival.’ Come (for) crafts, and then come experience good food and, if I dare say so myself, great wines, great local wines.”
This is the sixth year the Observer-Reporter has sponsored Farm to Fork and the fifth time Thistlethwaite has hosted; the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
“The first one was 2 or 300 people and then every year after it’s been 5, 6, 700 people come out on that day,” Thistlethwaite said.
It’s a big to-do, but putting on an extravaganza is something the family-owned and operated business is used to – and enjoys.
Throughout the year, Thistlethwaite Vineyards serves as the setting for a myriad of events, including the weekly Wednesday Wine Down, which runs from 5 to 8 p.m., outdoor movie nights, comedy events, live music acts, weddings and the occasional child’s birthday party.
“We started pretty much out the gate,” Thistlethwaite said, noting the number of events on the property increased gradually. “The problem was having the facility and the space. Everything was under tents and in the summer or fall. Once I got some building space available, then we started holding events year-round.”
Events center around Thistlethwaite Vineyards’ selection of wines, grown and produced on-site. The site itself has been in the Thistlethwaite family since 1892, but only recently became the vineyards and winery people from Greene County and beyond love.
“This is very different than what the other four generations of my family have done with this place,” said Thistlethwaite, surveying the 208-acre plot of land from the front seat of his four-door company truck on a recent afternoon.
In 1999, Thistlethwaite’s grandparents announced the property would be left to his father, Rick, who grew up raising animals, planting and harvesting crops, and living on the farm. That year, Thistlethwaite learned he would one day take over the farm for his father.
At the time, Thistlethwaite was living in the D.C. area with plans to move as west as possible, to Seattle.
“I grew up here. The place meant something to me,” Thistlethwaite said. “I immediately switched gears and thought, what kind of farming do I want to do? It just kind of made sense in my head: I like to drink, I’ve got to farm. Let’s grow some grapes and make wine.”
He pitched the idea to his parents and grandparents, none of whom drank. To Thistlethwaite’s surprise, everyone was on board, though a little hesitant.
“The next generation didn’t want to farm traditionally. My grandfather (was) just concerned: Grapes? Why? It’s really hard to grow anything around here because of molds and mildews. But if you do your homework and learn what you need to do, it can be done. Technology has gotten better. Penn State, Cornell University, Ohio State University, those three universities have done a boatload of science that allowed me to bring grape cultivation to Greene County,” he said.
In 2000, the Thistlethwaites planted their first acre of wine grapes.
“We’ve grown all other kinds of things. The grape growing part was … we gotta build a trellis and, you know, no big deal. It was after we planted the first acre of grapes my dad looked at me and went, ‘All right, somebody’s gotta learn how to make wine,'” Thistlethwaite recalled.
Off to St. Louis he went.
Thistlethwaite spent four years apprenticing at Sugar Creek Winery, working his way up to cellar master – “you’re not the winemaker, but you do everything,” he laughed – under the tutelage of a gentleman who studied in Napa Valley.
Upon his return to Greene County, Thistlethwaite worked for five years with Christian Clay Winery.
“There’s a constant learning and that was one of the things that fascinated me about this. You’re never going to know it all,” Thistlethwaite said.
Thistlethwaite is heavily involved in every aspect of winemaking, from planting the vineyard’s nine varieties to aging to labeling to pouring product for guests in the tasting room.
“If you look as we drive down through here,” Thistlethwaite said, inching the company truck along the vineyard perimeter, “you’ll see how meticulous I am with my rows. Very uniform. There’s five acres of grapes and normally I do about 60,000 pounds. They’re all picked by hand. I normally have them planted at least in a half-acre, if not acre, blocks. It’s easier for me to keep track of.”
Thistlethwaite opened the tasting room in 2008 and delights in interacting with guests. He plans to expand Thistlethwaite Vineyards to accommodate the skyrocketing number of annual events, including building an amphitheater (to replace the hay wagon stage) and additional indoor space for larger gatherings.
That extra room inside will allow for bigger events to be held in wintertime, because Thistlethwaite is committed to welcoming folks to the vineyards, into the winery and tasting room, and to celebrate occasions of all kinds and sizes in all seasons.
Right now, though, fall approaches, and Farm to Fork is the next big event on the vineyard calendar.
“When I first got started, they told me that wineries are generational businesses. That when you get started, it’s going to take the community 20 to 25 years before they say, oh, the winery,” Thistlethwaite said. “I didn’t have a big marketing budget. So for me, it’s always good, especially in the fall, when it’s the best time to come out here, to put ourselves back in the forefront of everybody’s mind. We do stuff.”
Thistlethwaite Vineyards will continue doing stuff – including producing excellent, hyper-local wine – for and with the community, for years and years to come. Starting, of course, with the next big event: Farm to Fork, on Sept. 9.
For updates on, or tickets to, this year’s Farm to Fork event, go to farmtoforkevent.com.
For more information on Thistlethwaite Vineyards, visit thistlegrape.com.