Red Bandana Winery Brings Subtle Hints of Cafe Life to Clarion County

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Published July 11, 2012 4:45 am
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Red Bandana Winery is owned and operated by Kathleen Hall (pictured above) along her husband, Mike.Leeper, PA – Enjoy a variety of classic American fruit and grape wines, coffee and cigars on a panoramic porch, and the work of a seasoned artist who has made Northwestern Pennsylvania her home, as the Red Bandana Winery holds its Grand Opening on Friday, July 13 from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Red Bandana Winery brings a distinctly American sophistication to the edge of Cook Forest. It features “country wines” made from strawberry, blueberry, apple and other fruits, plus cabernets, concords and semi-sweet Red Bandana Red, made with juices from locally grown fruit. Owners Kate and Mike Hall are also developing signature wines flavored with coffee and chai tea that can be enjoyed warm or cold, all sold in bottles adorned with Kate’s original artwork.

Kate, who markets her art under the name Kathleen Flaherty, has been a professional painter for 23 years and had a gallery on Pittsburgh’s Northside. A frequent visitor to Clarion County since age 2, she met Mike here in 2007 and they married. Initially concerned that Kate would have a tough time marketing her paintings in the area, they were inspired by trips through the Lake Erie area’s vineyards to combine art with wine making. “My vision is to have my art gallery, make wine and sell wine, and have an atmosphere that is akin to the art,” says Kate.

Red Bandana Winery is currently open Wednesday thru Sunday and will hold their grand opening on July 13, 2012, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Live entertainment will be provided by local, talented singer, Robin Culp.

Red Bandana Winery is currently open Wednesday thru Sunday and will hold their grand opening on July 13, 2012, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Live entertainment will be provided by local, talented singer, Robin Culp.

That vision became real because a team of non-profit business boosters stepped in when banks wouldn’t.

“I would approach my bank, my husband’s bank, other banks,” says Kate. “Before I even finished my sentence, they said, ‘No. … We do not give loans to start-up businesses.’”

The Clarion University Small Business Development Center helped with a business plan. The Clarion Chamber of Commerce connected the Halls to The Progress Fund. The Progress Fund saw that the Red Bandana Winery supported its goals of boosting tourism and local food production, and loaned $125,000. Along with equity from the Halls, that paid for construction of a winery with local labor and timber, equipment, inventory and other start-up costs.

Red Bandana Winery’s goal is, as Kate puts it, “Filling one’s soul through all of their senses.” Come fashionably dressed or casual, grab a couch or deck chair, sip Pennsylvania wine or French press coffee, listen to gentle music or take in Kate’s art.

The interior of Red Bandana Winery features artwork from owner Kathleen Flaherty who has been a professional painter for 23 years and had a gallery on Pittsburgh's Northside.

The interior of Red Bandana Winery features artwork from owner Kathleen Flaherty who has been a professional painter for 23 years and had a gallery on Pittsburgh's Northside.

Leave your pretentions behind. “We want to be the type of redneck winery where we’re proud of who we are,” says Kate. The winery is named for the signature red bandana worn by coal miners who made a stand on Blair Mountain in West Virginia, where hundreds died fighting against their slave driven employers in 1919 and first earned the honorable nickname ‘rednecks’.”

Red Bandana Winery brings a new flavor of attraction to an area rich in natural beauty and outdoor adventure. As Kate says, it’s “a tremendous addition to a unique, special place.”

For interviews or directions to Red Bandana Winery, call (814) 744-9631 or email kateflahertyhall@aol.com. For more information, go to www.redbandanawinery.com.

For further information on The Progress Fund, call (724) 216-9160, or visit www.progressfund.org.

The Progress Fund is a vigorous non-profit loan fund that creates jobs and improves communities by providing entrepreneurial coaching and capital to small businesses in the travel & tourism industry. The Progress Fund serves 40 counties of Pennsylvania, the State of West Virginia, Mountain Maryland, and Appalachian Ohio. The Progress Fund was founded in 1997, and has made 391 loans totaling more than $43.3 million to 236 enterprises, creating or preserving more than 2,706 jobs. The Progress Fund is an Equal Opportunity Lender.

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