Central Pennsylvania native and winery owner Daren Miller is taking one more swing through the “neighborhood” this week before heading back to Bordeaux, France.
The owner and winemaker of Allochtone Wine Co., which produces its wines in one of the world’s most famous grape growing regions, is scheduled to hold a tasting from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July, 2, at one of his American distributors: Cedar Valley Pizzeria in New Park, York County.
Snack foods will be available in addition to what visitors can purchase off the regular menu.
It’s a relationship that took months to arrange as Joanne Wilson, the pizza shop owner, patiently waited for approval from the Pa. Liquor Control Board (PLCB).
That came last summer, and Miller had his first tasting in mid-August at what would seem like an unlikely location to sell dry wines made in France in a rural section of York County, about a 20-minute drive from Shrewsbury and the last I-83 exit before it crosses into Maryland.
It has worked out that way because Wilson, who has known Miller for years as he was raised in that area, came to the rescue and offered her family-owned and run pizza shop as a place to sell his wines.
PennLive first bumped into Miller and wife Emmanuelle at a Fine Wine & Good Spirits tasting organized by wine specialist Kirt Heintzelman at the West Shore Plaza in Lemoyne in 2018. You can view the interview with them at this link.
By 2021, Miller had started his own line of wines under the label Allochtone, which means nonnative in French.
For several years, customers could pick up the wines inside the tasting room at Allegro Winery, ironically at the same site where Miller met his wife while he was working there and she came as an intern. Allegro bought Naylor Wine Cellars in 2020. The couple met and moved to Bordeaux more than 25 years ago, where her family operates several wineries.
Miller lost his space at Allegro early last year, as owners Carl Helrich and Kris Miller began making plans to use that space for a brewery.
Daren Miller, left, and his brother stock an Allochtone display at Saubel’s Market in Shrewsbury.Daren Miller
He features close to a dozen wines, from sparklings to dry whites and reds, to several higher-end blends. In addition, he has introduced a slightly sweet rose (15 grams residual sugar) called La Plume des Tourtes.
In addition to selling his wines at Cedar Valley, Miller said he has added another Saubel’s Market in Shrewsbury as another Allochtone retainer. He has also been selling his wines to South County Brewing Co., which is located in York and recently opened a new location in Lancaster.
Miller told PennLive that he recently held a wine dinner at the Glen Rock Mill Inn and has another one planned this fall.
“Wednesday, we’ll be tasting a few new vintages that arrived on my most recent shipment,” he said on Monday. “I had to top up on some of the wines before the anticipated tariffs were put into place! But it looks as if they are negotiating, and hopefully we’ll find some common ground to a solution that won’t penalize European producers.”
The prices for his wines run from $16 to $35.
As for Wilson, the addition of Allochtone to the menu gives customers another reason to visit what is now a BYOB that has evolved since her parents, Mervin and Mae, opened the place 49 years ago.
For a time, she said, it was a full-service grocery store that eventually added hardware, hunting and fishing supplies, only to see Walmart take that business away when it opened down the road in the early 1980s.
Since then, it has been an ice cream parlor and then sold video rentals, and her dad added another dimension when he created Wilson’s Funnel Cakes.
In addition to bottles of wine, Daren Miller brought some canned wines to the Aug. 16, 2024, tasting at Cedar Valley Pizzeria.Paul Vigna
Today, the shop at 2560 New Park Road sells pizza, subs, wings and other comfort fare in addition to soft-serve ice cream and cookies. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday, featuring several special discount days.
Cedar Valley provides the glasses and bottle openers for any wine purchases. Customers are not required to eat to buy a bottle of wine.