A Westmoreland County farming collective has the best barley in the state, according to the judges at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
Allegheny Mountain Malt’s barley entry brought home a gold medal this week in the show’s grain competition.
“It’s a beauty contest without the fancy question at the end,” said Crabtree farmer Vince Mangini, who initially partnered with Hempfield farmer Alquin Heinnickel in 2022 to grow grain that went to All Saints Brewing to create a beer for a local church festival.
By 2023, they’d brought more farmers into the fold, growing about 100 acres of two-row barley. Last year, they supplied it to about 30 regional breweries, and their competition entry at the farm show was Violetta barley, a German-bred variety that matures early and was designed to create high-quality malt.
Mangini said farm show judges use a visual test when making their determinations.
“They’re looking at the healthiness of the grain, the color to see if it’s bright and vibrant, and the plumpness of the kernels,” he said. “They’re also looking for how clean the product is presented, whether there are any weeds or seeds mixed in.”
Mangini said Allegheny Mountain Malt’s goal for 2025 is to grow another 100 acres of barley, and while the group would like to expand, its members want to make sure the market is there.
“Until we can get a company with a lot of demand, like a Pittsburgh Brewing or Stoney, we’ll probably keep the same acreage,” Mangini said.
Only now, he’ll be able to market it as Pennsylvania’s best barley.
Western Pennsylvania has been well represented so far at the farm show, which will wrap up Saturday in Harrisburg.
Another local entry with top bragging rights is Indiana Township’s Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy, whose “More Cowbell” mountain-style cheese won best-in-show in the cheese category. Goat Rodeo’s cheeses also took three of the top four spots in the mixed-milk category, with its Wild Rosemary taking the gold medal; it earned another gold in the goat cheese category with its Fresh Chevre.
Owner India Loevner and her husband, Steve, run the 130-acre family farm that is home to about 150 Alpine, Nubian and La Mancha goats. In addition to their in-house dairy, they also bring in milk from other area farms to create their blended cheeses.
Goat Rodeo is no stranger to farm show accolades, having topped out in several categories the past few years, in addition to having one of its cheese named among the best in the world at the 2022 World Cheese Championships.
Pleasant Lane Farms in Unity also is among the winners, earning a bronze in the cheddar category with its 1795 Signature Cheddar; fourth place in the cow’s milk semi-soft/semi-hard/hard category with its 1976 Signature Gouda; a bronze in the flavored category with its roasted garlic cheese curds; and a silver in the cow/soft/unripened category with its Quark Cheese.
Both Goat Rodeo and Pleasant Lane have taken advantage of the state’s Dairy Investment program, receiving grants to expand their operations in the past few years.
Sarver’s La Vigneta Winery earned a best-in-show in the dessert wine category with its Mango Amore.
“It has a very clean, fresh mango flavor,” said La Vigneta owner Francesa Howden of Sarver. “We blend a Pennsylvania wine with a mango puree to get that true-to-the-fruit flavor, and we keep our process very simple — we use minimum additive and don’t overwork the wine.”
La Vigneta’s fruit-filled profiles got the judges’ attention — its Artisan Blush, Bianco Delizioso and Limonata earned silver medals, and its Dolce Maria, Peachberry, Apple Pie Amore, Rosso Delizioso, Sangria del Mercato and Chocolate Raspberry earned bronze.
“We started out making dry red wines and then more Italian-style wines,” Howden said. “What we found was a lot of consumers in Pennsylvania like sweet, fruity wines, so we’ve come up with different flavor profiles we like — but which also sort of tip the hat to our Italian heritage.”
Howden said it’s an honor to have done so well since first entering the farm show’s competition in 2023. In the first year, La Vigneta’s Artisan Blush won best-of-show in the dessert wine category, and last year its Rosso Delizioso took the top spot in the American wine category.
“Out of everything we do all year, this is what we’re most proud of,” Howden said. “There’s more than 200 wines entered ever year. We’re judged against our peers, and they’re making good wine. So when you win awards like this, it makes you feel good.”
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Other local winners at the farm show:
• Mazzotta Winery in Richland received silver medals for its Concord, Niagara and Fredonia, and bronze medals for its Traminette and Catawba wines.
• Allusion Brewing in Vandergrift earned a gold medal in the sour and wild beers category for its Gose, as well as a silver in the amber-and-dark-German beer category for its Munich Dunkel.
• Threadbare Cider House in Pittsburgh took best in show overall and a gold medal in the modern dry cider category with its Farmhouse cider.
• Arsenal Cider House in Pittsburgh earned two silver medals, for its Grimes Gold in the modern/sweet cider category and its Grant’s Flying Pumpkin in the spiced cider category.
• KingView Mead, Wine & Cider in Mt. Lebanon won best of class in the mead category for its 2024 Purple & Gold mead, along with gold medals for the Purple & Gold and Golden varieties.
• Blackdog Wine Co. in Oakdale won a silver medal for its 2023 Pinot Gris, and bronze for its 2023 Big Beaver Plush and Happy Puppy varieties.
For a complete list of winners, go to PA.gov/agencies/farmshow/pa-farm-show.