At Country Creek Winery, a Bottle of Wine Speaks for Itself

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Country Creek Winery Owners: The Klein Family

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Town and Country Newspaper (Published 4/10/08 Edition; Volume 109, No. 2)

By Sergei Blair-Town and Country Correspondent

If an auto mechanic and a dental hygienist were to offer someone a word of advice about wine, their credibility would not come across strongly to many. But that’s not so in the case of Doug and Joy Klein, the husband and wife team who own and operate the Country Creek Winery on Cressman Road in Salford Township. The couple takes pride in offering great-tasting wines to the region.

The winery, which is built along the bank of the east branch of the Perkiomen Creek, stands on a 72-acre property with one acre used as a vineyard to grow all natural French American hybrid grapes.

The history of Country Creek Winery dates back to 1859, when the Moyer family first built it as a dairy farm and remained there until 1968. Following the sale of the parcel, the Shiddel family moved onto the property during the 1970’s, grew fruit and berries there and also built a greenhouse. They were the original family who turned the property into today’s winery. 

According to the current owners, at the time, the Shiddel family was among a handful in the state to own and operate a private winery.

In summer of 1995, Doug and Joy Klein opened the doors to the Country Creek Winery and have been operating the business for 13 successful years. Doug, who also owns his own auto repair shop in Horsham, and Joy, a dental hygienist, say their professional careers don't conflict with the winery.

“We always find time to do things here,” said Joy.

Klein’s daughters, Kelly, 17, and Jackie, 13, also lend their parents a hand by bottling and labeling the wine and help in setting the area for various activities and events. Jackie uses the barn’s main stage to play drums in her own 5-girl band the “Personage,” which entertains guests. The barn, which holds up to 80 people, is available to rent for special occasions. “We’re now getting a lot of people coming and having their affairs here with bridal showers, surprise parties and birthday celebrations,” said Doug.

The couple, who live in the old dairy farm next to their family business, say they have noticed a steady increase in their business each year as new customers learn about their products and regulars come back for more quality wine.

The winery offers a wide selection of homemade red, white and fruit wines with country-style farmstead cheeses. According to the Klein family, white wines such as Niagara and Cayuga, and red wine like Concord, make the list of popular drinks on their menu. The fruit wines, made of locally-grown apples, strawberries or blueberries, are carefully fermented and stored for six months before are served.

In order to learn more about pruning vineyards and the wine-making process, Doug and Joy have immersed themselves in rigorous book studies and took an additional course offered by Penn State University. They also attended workshops presented by local wineries to educate themselves about growing techniques for grapes and fruits.

In the 1980’s, the Kleins traveled to Germany where they visited relatives there and took tours of wineries and vineyards.

“We know a lot of people that know a lot about wines and I’m not afraid to ask questions,” explained Doug.

Since the summer of 1995, the winery was been open all year long except the dreary months of February and March. Now, Doug and Joy say they are open all 12 months of the year. As the result, both expressed a strong interest in operating the winery full-time in the future.

“We don’t ever see ourselves actually retiring because as long as we have a place like this, we never going to retire,” said Joy.

For more information on pricing, wine tasting and upcoming events such as the 8th Annual XFEST music festival, please visit www.countrycreekwinery.com