Last summer a friend and I decided to do a little day trip to places that we haven’t been to before. She’s a brewery lover and I am a winery lover so we set out to hit as many as we could in a semi-close span. Low and behold we lucked out finding not only one but three great places to enjoy good beverages and one awesome little waterfall. All of which were in the Mt. Pleasant area, if not relatively close. The best part about a good day trip is that you can literally do anything from hiking, and waterfall hunting to tasing out new restaurants and drinking around the area. Well as long as you don’t go getting drunk and planning to drive your ass home. But there’s nothing wrong with a little wine tasting and purchasing a bottle of wine to bring home for later right!
Not in any particular order…
Bella Terra Vineyards
Bella Terra is a super cute little winery just off the New Stanton exit. The winery opened in 2019 and seems to be growing pretty well despite recent events in the last few years. Bella Terra features live entertainment Wednesdays through Sundays as well. The staff is super friendly when it comes to tasting wines and finding the right pick for yourself. They have a nice section outside where there is a pond, fire pits, tables and a stage to enjoy when there are events going on.
My personal favorite wine was the Sweet Findley, naturally, I had to take a bottle home with me as well.
Address:
121 Sunny Lane.
Hunker, PA 15639
Greendance the Winery at Sandhill
This particular winery is my absolute favorite amongst all the other wineries I have been to in the area. Scrolling through all of my photos will not do it justice at all. It is an actual farm so once you park you could be greeted by goats, peacocks, guineas, and other animals. The grounds are stunning, there are apple orchards and flowers everywhere. The staff allows you to wander at your leisure, checking out the animals in the fields or walking through the orchards. You can even wander through some of the vineyards and check those out if you like. Throughout the grounds, there are tables and chairs around every tree and bush. They even have spaces for weddings and a stage where they have bands to enjoy in the summer and early fall. All of their wines are created from their own small fruits and berries farm called Sand Hill Berries. The bar and wine shops are open year-round, although unfortunately, the outdoor food and dessert cafes are only open from May to October.
The photos below are of the menu at the Cabin the outdoor snack shop, my delicious sandwich I ordered and, my wine tasting slip. All of which was delicious by the way. We even tried their homemade chips and dips and they were beyond amazing.
I advise putting Greendance on your list of places to visit. Grab some friends and do a tasting any time of year.
Address:
306 Deer Field Road
Mount Pleasant, PA 15666
You can easily spend hours here. Go into the wine tasting center, find something good that you like, and grab a bottle. You can take your bottle to any spot you like and enjoy your wine. Good luck finding one particular wine you are interested in though because I always come home with 4 – 6 bottles. Although, I will say the Isabella is my absolute favorite. I always try to have a few on hand at home! The Bella Rose, Blackberry, and Concord are also quite tasty if you like sweet wines. I can’t give you any recommendations if you are a dry wine type of person, unfortunately.
Helltown Brewing
Helltown is another super fun little spot to try out some fun beverages. If you are more of a beer drinker then this is more your style. Helltown was founded in 2011, the original being the one in Mt. Pleasant. It was actually named after Mt. Pleasant’s nickname during the late 1700’s whiskey rebellion. They have four different taprooms located in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
There are also a few other places just outside the Mt. Pleasant area that you can check out!
Mt. Vernon Furnace
I have had the lovely pleasure to check out Mt. Vernon Furnace and learn about its history. Stopping and visiting little historic landmarks are always a super fun thing to add to your venture when planning day trips!
Jones Mill Run Damn at Laurel Hill State Park
This awesome dam waterfall was really fun to hike to. I haven’t had the chance to check out the whole park but it is definitely on the list.
Seven Springs Mountain Resort
You can’t go wrong with a visit to seven springs. In the winter you can hit the slopes or hang in the lodge, but they also have lots of events all summer long. We actually made a pit stop at seven springs the day we did this day trip and it just so happened to be Ribfest. To check out the other events they have to offer head to the seven springs website here.
West Overton Village
Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to visit West Overton Village yet, but one of these days I will get there.
We also may have driven a little farther to hit a few more stops but we will talk about those another time! Here are some fun photos of some of those places though for fun!
Thanks for joining today, guys!
