Stargazers Vineyard

Written in the stars, Coatesville Vineyard is a Chester County destination

By Ashley Pierce

“Wine is an art,” Michael Vorauer said. “Wine is my art.” Michael, co-owner of Stargazer’s Vineyard alongside Jason Kirkpatrick, comes from a family of winemaking. Originally from Texas, Michael has spent time in Germany, learning unique wine techniques and gaining experience and knowledge about winemaking. In 2012, Jason and Michael made the move up to Gettysburg, PA, while working at another winery. Here, Jason was the Tasting Room Manager and, together, they helped build the wine program from the ground up. After, they relocated to Berks County in 2015 and eventually Chester County in 2019. Between 2012 and 2019, Michael garnished about 53 awards between the two wineries.

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INVESTED IN CHESTER COUNTY

Contributing to the communities we serve is integral to our business. Whether it be investing millions in our infrastructure; protecting our watersheds; or assisting customers with their water bill, we seek to improve the quality of life of those we touch.

When they came across the previous owner of Stargazer’s Vineyard, who was interested in selling the business, Jason and Michael agreed to come out and take a look at the property. “It was an okay place, but we were trying to see the potential.” Jason said. Jason and Michael then moved onto the property to manage the vineyard under the previous ownership, with the agreement that they would purchase the vineyard by the year’s end. “We signed the papers, bought the winery, and took over.” Michael said. From there, Stargazer’s Vineyard was reborn under Jason and Michael’s ownership.

“Michael is working on some new wines, getting ready to bottle and I’m working on our event calendar. I just scheduled a food vendor for two weekends a month, I’m getting music booked, and working on getting our wines to local restaurants - so look out for our Stargazer’s label.” Jason said. Jason, an artist by trade, is also going to be holding different art classes at the vineyard, as a part of their event lineup. “The wines we produce here are on the drier side, compared to other Pennsylvania wineries, which makes us unique in this area.” Michael said. While Stargazer’s will always offer sweet and semi-sweet wines in their lineup, their take on such wines is nuanced and mature. “Michael’s sweet wine production is nuanced because of the flavor profile, not necessarily because of residual added sugar.” Jason said. Stargazer’s does not utilize artificial sugar in their wine but rather reserved grape juice that is set aside and later merried with the wine, so that it is sweetened naturally, with fruit sugar.

The winemaking process is a complex one, with two different processes for red and white wine. “We harvest all of our grapes by hand here, which improves the fruit quality compared to machine harvesting.” Michael said. “Machine harvesting can extract more bitter and astringent flavors.” Setting Stargazer’s apart even further, Michael does not produce any wines that are from American or French American grapes. “We grow our own vinifera grapes here and all of our wine comes from vinifera.” The winemaking process takes weeks of hard work and patience, but the quality is key to Jason and Michael.

As for the atmosphere of Stargazer’s Vineyard, Jason and Michael work to make their winery accessible and comfortable for everyone. “I don’t want wine to be a super pretentious thing - I want wine to be something everyone can enjoy and have it be a part of the human experience.” Michael

explained. “At Stargazer’s, you can come here and be served by the winemaker, which is uncommon.” Jason said. While Stargazer’s is a place for everyone, Jason and Michael also offer curated experiences for those who are looking for a little more. This year, they will be offering private tasting experiences. “You’re always being served by the winemaker, but with the private experience, we can talk one-on-one about each wine that’s being sampled.” Jason said. “For the spring, we’re planning on having more wine dinners. We have a curated experience, with 25 guests and they’re sitting down to a meal that is paired with the wine, prepared by one of our vendors.”

Stargazer’s relies on their unique ability to create something that people want to come back to time and time again. With Michael’s wine techniques and Jason’s keen eye for events and charm, Stargazer’s Vineyard is a destination spot. “For me, I run Stargazer’s as the wine calls for me to run it.” Michael said, while Jason added, “And the people.”