110825-WPVI-FYI-JOHNROBERTCELLARS

Cheers. There is a new spot for wine lovers in Delaware County. Welcome to John Roberts Cellars. The tasting room in media pairs its locally made wine with a menu of tapas dishes. This is our sparkling Rosetta. It's a starter wine recommended with the charcuterie board. This is one of my favorites. That's the winery's flagship Cabernet Reserve. This is a bold red. We have here our Maritage. This is a Bordeaux style blend made from the five noble grapes. The red wine goes great with their Margarita flatbread. And for those who like something fruity. We have a Pinot Grigio. Couple that with the Bikini Shrimp. It is a full size shrimp, lightly marinated in lime juice, grilled. John Irving and Robert Goodwin are the engineers behind the business. All the wine that we serve here is made in Essington. The grapes are sourced from all over the world. They opened the Essington Winery in 2019. It's wine, it's not juice anymore. And added the second location over the summer. It's a nice place just to kick back, enjoy some wine. Or you can sit at the bar and watch the sports events. The two best friends have known each other for over 50 years. Our families spent many holidays together. Both had careers in engineering. We retired this year, both of us. But winemaking was a hobby that became a passion. Once I returned from college, Bob was well into his winemaking stage. I actually went to school for it. And you can smell the fermentation of it. Robert learned the trade at Missouri State University and the University of California. I did it all online because I had a full-time engineering job. That's how it started about 35 years ago. Once John got a taste of the business. I just got a little bit more involved every year. Eventually it led to the winery and a second act for the engineers. Advice from family and friends encouraged us to sell it rather than give it away. They make a variety of wines. It's a 2020 South African Cabernet. The newest creation is a sweet style called Delco. Everybody's got to try it, you know, if you're from here. Bravo! It's a fitting tribute to the community that has embraced their locally made wine. This was our goal seven years ago, was to get to a point that we could retire and then do this for our retirement fund.