Grandfather's Grapes

It’s time again to check the fruit. Nick Mobilia loves driving his pickup truck over the winding, hard-packed roads that run through his orchards and vineyards in North East, Pa. He talks about soil and grass like a man who knows the land — and has for a long time.

Mobilia is descended from a long line of farmers that stretches back to Italy. In 1925, his grandfather, Carmello, was virtually penniless when he left Sicily for the United States. After working at area farms for many years, he had saved enough money to bring his wife to the United States and to buy 80 acres in North East, where he began raising his own fruit. He planted apple and cherry orchards and grape vines then sold the produce and fruit juice to area residents and businesses.

Now, 85 years later, Mobilia is still selling produce and fruit juice. But the family farm has morphed into Arrowhead Wine Cellars, a 250-acre spread that grows 15 types of grapes used to produce about 30,000 gallons of wine each year. The winery also sells 150,000 gallons of wine juice a year to dozens of wineries located east of the Mississippi River. The operation may be large, but Mobilia and his wife, Kathy, run it like a small business.

On this warm spring day, Mobilia rolls down the windows and slows his truck as he gives a cursory inspection to rows of red and black raspberry bushes. He smiles at the bright buds popping out to ripen in the sun. Farther down the road, just over the train tracks that bisect his property, he points out the fields that Carmello planted in the 1940s, then stops to scrutinize a vineyard.

“Those 2 acres of cabernet grapes are my problem child,” he says with a sigh. “They’re just not happy. At Cornell [University], they’re developing a deep, dark cabernet-like grape that shows promise. I might try it.”

Driving back to the winery, he muses, “Growing grapes is a lot of fun. When you’re a farmer, you’re your own boss. And it’s interesting to track the cycle of your produce for a whole year.”

Although the Mobilia family has been selling wine juice to wineries for decades, it wasn’t until 1999 that Nick decided to enter the winemaking business. He hired Robert Green, who teaches in Mercyhurst College’s culinary arts program, to be his winemaker because “I’d rather hire someone to figure out the chemistry for me,” he says. “Even in high school, chemistry was not my bag. I just like my wines to be fruity.”

Today, the winery produces about 12,000 cases a year, and his varietals have won gold medals in Pennsylvania and Florida competitions.

Florida?

“I don’t like to compete against our neighbors,” Mobilia says. “I’d rather see how well we’re doing against wines produced around the world.”

Visitors are invited to taste those wines in the spacious yet comfortable gift shop, which offers artistic items like hand-painted wine glasses; food items like jams, jellies and a delicious Port chocolate wine sauce; and wine-themed tchotchkes from around the world, such as the Wine-opoly board game.

And from July 1 through Thanksgiving, the Mobilia Fruit Market is open for visitors to buy produce from the stand or go into the orchards to pick fruit off the trees.

“Lots of families come by to have a picnic and then pick cherries off the trees,” Mobilia says, gazing toward his grandfather’s orchards. In the bright sunshine, Mobilia raises his hand to shade his eyes. Or perhaps he’s acknowledging his grandfather’s spirit. Salute!

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Info to Go

Arrowhead Wine Cellars

12073 E. Main Road

North East, Pa.

814-725-5509

arrowheadwine.com

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Perfect Pairings

Nick Mobilia, owner of Arrowhead Wine Cellars,
recommends these wines to go with the following entrees:

• Niagara ($8.99/bottle): This semisweet white wine
recalls a sauvignon blanc and has a fresh, crisp taste.
The Niagara complements just about any fish dish.

• Fredonia ($8.99): This semisweet red is a “fun wine.” It is light and fruity, and can be served with hamburgers, spaghetti or pizza.

• Chambourcin ($11.99): This dry red wine, with a hint of spice and flavors that evoke black cherries and raspberries, accompanies “serious” food like prime rib and steaks.