Fall 2019 Issue

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
 

WELCOME TO THE DRINKS ISSUE.
 

Ahead you’ll find stories about all things quaffable, but we take a particularly deep dive with two special features this month.

In her piece “The Jewel of the Valley,” wine writer Robin Shreeves tells the story of one hybrid grape that has come to define the wines of Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. (Fear not, my fellow city slickers: We’ll tell you where to taste some nearby!)

And we’ve got an update on local craft cider—a story we first covered in our inaugural issue back in 2013. Katherine Rapin wrote our cider piece, which makes it extra hard to tell you that, after serving as our associate editor for the past three years, this is her final issue in that role.

Katherine has been with us since January 2016, and she’s penned some of my favorite stories. She wrote about private supper clubs in “Dinner Under the Radar” that year, back before those secret suppers were a thing. In 2017, she wrote a piece about Function Coffee Labs, a case study about why that particular café would succeed on a corner where many others had failed. And she was right—Function Coffee Labs is still there.

But my favorite of all her pieces was “Know Your Neighbors,” a feature about South Philly’s most beloved block party, an event that welcomes an impressive cross section of generations and heritages. The happy ending for that piece came after it was published, though: Thanks to a tip from someone who lives on that block, Katherine bought her first home there.

It has been such a delight to work with her, and I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

It’s not all beverages and goodbyes in this fall issue. We also have a look behind the scenes of the YouTube smash hit How Does it Grow? If you are already missing the beach, writer Devra Ferst will take you back there in her essay, “What I Learned from Smitty’s.” (Trust me, you’ll want to refer to that next summer!) And in our Road Trip column, we are going to Media, PA! Writer Sarah Maiellano has the inside scoop.

Cheers!
Joy Manning
Editor

FALL 2019 FEATURES