Centre County winery’s new tasting room, production facility aims to bring a ‘wow factor’
University Wine Company recently welcomed patrons to a new tasting room and production facility in Boalsburg. The location has been a work in progress for the nearly decade-old company since 2018 and this year’s COVID-19 pandemic added new obstacles and challenges to the process.
But Jeff Proch, president, said those challenges haven’t stood in the way of creating a location with serious “wow factor.” The location’s expansive grounds opened for outdoor use in late October, with the indoor tasting room opening later in the season.
Having a full tasting room and on-site production facility was a goal from the beginning, Proch said.
“We knew this piece of property was available so we started thinking about it and looking at it. We thought this was a beautiful setting and a great location,” he said.
After purchasing the property in 2018, work on building design began immediately and they broke ground in November 2019.
But then the pandemic hit and brought a number of challenges.
For one, the company lost a main source of revenue by wine festivals being canceled. And when it came to working on the building, Proch said there were questions about how to open safely and by following COVID-19 protocols.
“For purchasing furniture in the building, do I buy for 20% capacity or 50% capacity or 100% capacity? If you can’t use it, you don’t want to spend the money on it now,” he said. “There were a lot of uncertainties and you kind of just had to feel your way through it and do the best you could.”
However, some pandemic-related challenges resulted in positive business changes that Proch says benefit the customer, such as the requirements for Pennsylvania bars and restaurants to serve food with alcohol. While Proch said it was assumed the tasting room would serve food later down the road, the new regulations meant University Wine Company would need to offer food immediately upon opening.
“It was another hoop you had to jump through and something else to think about, and make sure people were purchasing food when they were getting their alcohol, which necessitated the food trucks and when we don’t have food trucks, we have other food available. We’re doing wine and food flights now, so you can make one purchase and you’re done,” he said. “We’re doing things we probably wouldn’t have done without the pandemic, but it might make for a better experience for the customer.”
Creating a positive experience for customers heavily influenced the new location’s design, with its cathedral ceilings and expansive outdoor space, and that design just so happens to allow for a large amount of social distancing. So far, Proch said, the response to the new location has been positive.
“Our philosophy kind of is, what’s in the bottle is very important and you need to have a good product, but what’s going on around the bottle is just as important — the food, your friends, who you’re with, the conversation and the atmosphere,” he said. “It’s just as important. Our goal was really to design and build a first-class facility and when people walk in, you can see it on their faces. There’s a wow factor to the building.”
And there’s more to the building than meets the eye. Underneath the tasting room, University Wine Company houses its full production facility, which Proch said is his favorite spot on the property. The central winemaking location and increased tank capacity will result in increased production volume, as well as a few new products to be rolled out over the course of the next year.
The new facility is located at 540 Misty Hill Drive. Follow University Wine Company on Facebook and Instagram for details on upcoming promotions; food truck appearances; and holiday gift boxes, merchandise such as wine bottle tote bags and masks and seasonal beverages like warm mulled wines.