We sat down with Dean Kinney, owner of August Falls Winery, to talk about his business based in a 130 year old barn, his handmade wines, and gorgeous property–perfect for primitive camping, waterfall viewing, outdoor events, and hiking.
Can you introduce yourselves and talk about how August Falls Winery started?
My name is Dean Kinney. My wife, Kara, and I run the winery with the occasional help of our kids, Kennedy and Kendrick. I have worked in the healthcare field for several years, which led me to North Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio. I had always wanted to move back home. When I did, I decided I was going to start my own business. I decided to try making wine and opening a winery. My inspiration comes from my dad and my uncle. My dad used to make homemade wine; I made my first batch when I was 12. My uncle had lived above the Finger Lakes. The aromas of the area really stuck with me. I think these formative experiences are what led me to start.
What year did August Falls open?
I got my winery license in 2017. We tabled at festivals for about the first year and a half or so. After that, we were open for appointments only for about a year while I worked on the business. We then opened it to the public for on-site tasting.
Tell us more about the history of the barn
The winery is located in a barn that was built around 1895, which has had many uses. There have been many transformations since then. At times, I have the occasional customer that remembers playing basketball here many years ago.
Can you tell me what August Falls is named after?
The winery was named after my dog August, who was more like my child at the time– and the beautiful waterfall located behind the winery. All the wine blends are named in memorial to dogs that have been a part of my life.
How large is the August Falls property?
The August Falls property is 21 acres. It has a beautiful waterfall, a very big hill for watching sunsets, a large, mowed area behind the woods, and a stream that we usually stock with trout.
What are 3-5 unique features that make August Falls special?
We treat everyone like family and want to make sure you have a wonderful time that you won’t forget. We want you to feel at peace while you’re here.
We are pet-friendly, kid-friendly, and very family oriented. Our property allows our customers to walk to the waterfalls with their family — even their four-legged friends.
One of the unique features of our winery, notable for Pennsylvania wines, is the premium dry wines that we make. Most of ours are made from grapes grown in California and made right here in Clarion County. The process involves hand de-stemming, fermenting the whole berry, and barrel aging for at least 2 years.
When visitors bring their kids, what can they do?
We normally have popcorn and drinks for the kids to enjoy, as well as darts and yard/board? games. Kids are welcome to play in the creek or go see the falls with proper parental supervision.
When visitors bring their dogs, what can they do with their four-legged friends?
Dogs are welcome inside of the winery and on our property. Oftentimes, dogs love to play in the falls to cool off. There’s also a wide-open field in the back where owners can take their dog out and play.
What can you find or see on the trail?
There are all sorts of wildlife, including turkeys, deer, rabbits, squirrels, foxes — even the occasional bear.
How can visitors get to the waterfall?
If you arrive on a side-by-side or four-wheeler, you are welcome to ride these around our property and down to the falls. By foot, it is only about 150 yards to the falls. If it’s been raining, you may want to bring some boots for hiking.
How do you make your wine?
We make all of our wine on-site and hand-crafted in oak barrels or stainless-steel tanks. All of our dry wines are made from grapes mostly grown in California. We even hand de-stem our grapes. This way, we can get rid of any bad ones. This allows us to minimize the use of sulfites in our wines, and to make the best taste possible. For wines, like our Cabernet Sauvignon, we use different yeasts for different batches. These wines are punched down at least six times a day until fermentation is over. They stay on the grape skins for months as I turn them daily to get every flavor we can from the grape. Once we finally lightly press them, we put them in an oak barrel for six months or more, then we will combine the different must from each yeast strand. They go back into the barrel for at least another year and a half. All our dry wines are normally barreled aged for a total of two years.
All our sweet and semi-sweet wines are made from specific vineyards, specially picked for each wine. This took years of experimenting to make the best wine for each variety. All of our sweet wines are made in stainless steel tanks, go through cold stabilization, racked, fined, and filtered to make sure no sediment occurs in the bottle.
What types of wine do you sell?
We make premium hand-crafted dry wines made from the actual grapes. We also make semi-dry to sweet wines. We have various dry and sweet blends that customers really love.
What types of events do you host at the winery?
We have live music at the winery, paint and sips, and karaoke. Each year, we have a Christmas tree light up night, too. This consists of three bands throughout the day and the Cousins Maine Lobster truck. Later in the day, we light up our fifteen-foot Christmas tree and have customers guess the number of lights on it. The closest wins a basket of wine, glasses, shirts, and other August Falls merchandise. Visitors to the winery during this event always have a spectacular time celebrating the season.
What sorts of events take place in the open field?
From time to time, we have concerts with multiple full-size bands out in the field past the waterfall. We’ll take hay wagons or invite side-by-side riders to join us on the trip back there. It’s a rustic, secluded experience surrounded by pine trees.
Can you talk about what you’re excited about for the future of August Falls?
I hope to enlarge the winery so we have enough stock to keep up with the demand. We also hope this will allow us to open additional locations. Another goal for the property is to make cabins available for rent in the private field. We should be able to fit at least three to five that will be very secluded and peaceful.
Check out our video feature on August Falls Winery here.