Starr
Hill Winery and Vineyard
Story and Photos
by Kathleen Walls
Starr Hill Winery is more than a winery and vineyard. It’s
almost a one-stop-for-all place. The vineyard sits atop a hill
in Curwensville in the Pennsylvania Wilds. We visited recently
on a press trip and met with Kenn Starr who told us a little
about Starr Hill Winery. It began with his father’s dream. He
started making wine in the ‘50s when he returned from Germany
where he had been stationed in the Air Force. He saw how they
made wine over in Germany and started making wine in 1967. Kenn
told us, “We have the original bottles here at the winery.”
He explained that in the early ‘90s they
planted 12 vines to see if they would grow in Curwensville.
Those 12 did well and now they have over 3000 vines. They’re
the 23rd largest producer of wine in the state of Pennsylvania
producing over 40 varieties of wine.
Kenn took us through the facility and
showed us the state-of-the-art machinery they use process their
wine. After we did a tasting, they presented us with a bottle
of our very own wine. That is wine with our names on the label.
How cool is that?
More than a Winery
They have their claim to fame. An episode
of the TV show, Fireball Run, was filmed at Starr
Winery. Plus, one of their wines is named for Rock House in
honor of the Cleveland County native, Roland Welker, who spent
100 days surviving in the frigid Canadian wilderness to win on
the season’s seventh episode of Alone. More about the
Rock House here.
But it’s more than a winery. They recently
began producing, Bumbershoot, a canned fermented fruit that is
available in apple, raspberry, peach, and blackberry.
If you’re looking for a place to stay in
Clearfield County, Starr Hill Winery is that too. Kenn showed
us a lovely one-bedroom attic apartment with a queen bed in the
bedroom and a couple of spare beds for a family stay. It has a
full kitchen so you can prepare you own meal to go with some of
the great wine. The apartment is named Juju's Inn. Juju is what
Kenns’ kids call their grandmother.
If you’re an RVer, Starr Hill is a Harvest
Host property, so you can park your RV there for free. What
more can you ask. I said it was more than a winery.