Oregon Hill, Clinton County’s First Winery, Opens This Week

RecordStaffJune 4, 2019Last Updated: June 4, 2019

2 minutes read

From the left, Wendy Wetzel, executive assistant; Bri Linn, wine maker; Karon Swendrowski, president/owner; Kristin Burkholder, McElhattan manager; Emiley Diehl, tasting specialist.

MCELHATTAN – As of later this week Clinton County will have its first winery. The Oregon Hill Winery will hold a “soft” opening this Thursday in the former Henry Shoemaker Estate barn along Reservoir Road in McElhattan.

Owner/President Karon Swendrowski hosted a media tour on Tuesday of this week and talked about her company’s first venture beyond its wine-making facility near Morris. She traced Oregon Hill’s history, the winery started by her late husband, Eric, in 1983. The new McElhattan facility will offer a variety of “Pennsylvania Mountain Wines” created at the winery 32 miles north of McElhattan.

Mrs. Swendrowski said the expansion decision came after a long association with the Maguire family of McElhattan, Oregon Hill Winery customers for 30 years. She said the creation of the first winery in Clinton County, more specifically Wayne Township, made sense. The project developed quickly, she said, after township voters last year gave an okay to the sale of wine and other spirits.

The shop is housed in what was once the horse barn for the Shoemaker Estate and is located just south of the old Shoemaker homestead. The owner said her husband passed away several years ago and she made the decision to maintain the winery and ultimately expand into Clinton County. She said the winery has always had many customers from the area. She said when her husband started in the winery business at the age of 17 in 1983, there were 30 some wineries in the state; that number is now approaching 300.

The Oregon Hill Winery will offer 29 varieties of wine, all made from Pennsylvania-grown grapes and fruit. Customers can buy bottles to take home, or can sit down and enjoy a glass of wine. Several Pennsylvania beers will also be available.

Mrs. Swendrowski said she was pleased with the support she received from Wayne Township, the Lock Haven University Small Business Development Center and the Clinton County Economic Partnership in getting the winery in operation, a process completed in a matter of months.

The winery’s soft opening will be this Thursday, June 6, from 4 to 8 p.m. A grand opening and ribbon cutting will occur on Wednesday, June 26. Weekly hours at the outset will be: Wednesday from 1 to 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The winery will have eight employees.