Cassel Vineyards of Hershey

Known for award-winning wines and ties to horse racing

A visit to Cassel is marked by the rich flavors of their estate wine and the experience in a pastoral, peaceful setting just five minutes from Hershey attractions.

Award-Winning Estate Wines

What’s an estate wine? Cassel Vineyards’ vintners, Craig and Chris Cassel, like to do things themselves. Making estate wine means they grow all their own grapes and produce their wines on the property.

“You get an authentic wine experience when you come to Cassel Vineyards. You’re going to look out the window and see where we produce all of our grapes. You’ll see our production area where the wine is made here on site.” – Chris Cassel

Cassel Vineyards began in 2008 when they planted their first acre of vines. Today, they have 4,000 vines growing Cabernet Franc, Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay, Concord, Chambourcin, and Traminette grapes. It takes three years to plant and yield the fruit, so these varieties are carefully chosen based on Cassel’s unique soil and growing conditions.

Cassel Vineyards makes 22 types of wine, including dry and sweet reds, whites, rosé, and port – something for every wine drinker palate. Cassel’s Reserve wines are stored in French oak barrels for two years, yielding complex flavors. Fumé Blanc is a Vidal Blanc oak-aged for one year in Chambourcin barrels which give it a unique fire-red color. Cassel’s port wines also are oak-aged and then fortified with brandy to generate that rich, smooth flavor. Chocolate Ruby Royale, or Chocolate Port, reminds us of chocolate-covered cherries and is the perfect treat for chocolate lovers visiting Hershey!

The Cassel Family Farm

For more than a century, the Cassels have used their 135-acre property for agriculture including purebred Chester White swine, Golden Guernsey cattle, and Shetland ponies. Today’s Cassel family cultivators are the fifth generation to harvest the land to produce 40,000 bottles of wine a year.

The sights and sounds on your visit extend beyond the grapevines and clinking wine glasses. Just outside the tasting room, you’ll see a few of the Cassels’ horses. In addition to the vineyard, the Cassels use the property as a thoroughbred horse training facility with a turf course, a dirt track, and a swimming facility. The friendly horses you see are retired or active racehorses and broodmares who often come up to the fence to say hello. You might also see (and hear) the farm’s roaming peacocks, guinea hens, ducks, geese, and show chickens.