​John Crouch, the quiet but lovable musician-turned-vintner who founded Allegro Vineyards in Brogue, Pa., died on March 2.

Crouch held a special place in the hearts of wine lovers in this tiny hamlet 50 miles north of Baltimore. Friends will gather on Sunday in York to pay tribute to the late vintner.

Crouch, an oboist, started the winery in 1980 with his elder brother, Tim, a violinist. They began their winemaking careers using a wine kit that John had received as a Christmas gift. They then took an old overgrown vineyard and nursed it back to health. In 1980, they built a winery, which opened on Halloween in 1981. Wine lovers in and around Brogue came to appreciate the brothers' fascination with classic French varieties, such as Cabernet and Chardonnay, along with their offbeat fruit specialty wines.

 I'd never heard of the Crouches or their wines until we were brought together by a quirk of fate.
Twenty years ago, I wrote a story about the naming of the first wine from the joint venture of Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild. Mondavi and Rothschild agreed to give Wine Spectator the exclusive on the naming of their "Napamedoc" -- a wine which no one outside the winery had tasted -- which they proudly called Opus One.

After reading the article, Crouch wrote me a letter, followed by a phone call, politely informing me that -- surprise -- residents of Brogue had been drinking Opus 1, a wine he and his brother made, for close to a year. It cost $5.95 a bottle and could be purchased by the case at the local grocery store.

You can imagine their shock and glee at the irony. The high-profile, aristocratic Mondavi-Rothschild venture had chosen the same name for its prestigious $50 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon as Allegro's hybrid blend of peach juice and Seyval Blanc.

It turned out that both Allegro and Mondavi-Rothschild had applied for the same name at about the same time. But the Crouches didn't bother with a patent and did not secure a registered trademark. Reluctantly they gave up the name.

In the years since, I've often wondered what happened to the Crouches and Allegro.

On March 4, I learned of John Crouch's death, due to heart and kidney failure, at the age of 55.

Two years ago, when his brother Tim died, John became something of a recluse and decided to sell the winery. Along came Kris Miller and Carl Helrich, an energetic couple from upstate Pennsylvania smitten with a love of wine.

Miller, 32, had been a graduate teaching assistant at Penn State, working in humanities and literature. But she found herself increasingly more interested in vineyard work than in academia. Helrich, 33, showed even more excitement about winemaking. "When I saw Carl catch his passion, I realized I hadn't caught mine," says Miller. But she's getting closer.

This husband-and-wife team had been working at Mount Nittany upstate and were eager to own a winery. They met Crouch and, according to Miller, hit it off from the day they met. "Carl had this terrible cold, and we came into this humble building, and John pulled out the 1997 Cadenza," Miller recalls. "It was absolutely stunning, an amazing discovery for us." Cadenza was Crouch's homage to Bordeaux. While locals admired Allegro's French varietal wines, Miller says, they also respected Crouch for his palate, his appreciation of fine wine and for bringing winegrowing to their community.

For the 2001 vintage, Crouch, Miller and Helrich teamed up for harvest and winemaking and then worked out a deal to transfer ownership of the winery. "What excites everyone is the continuity of Carl and John's winemaking," says Miller. "We're very happy that this overlap happened, that he and Carl were excited about the same wines."

"I never dreamed I could work with grapes like this on the East Coast," admits Helrich. But the climate and soil provide a good interplay for the grapes that are grown on the rolling hill vineyard. "What influences the vineyard the most is it's a low-vigor site."

In 2002, Miller and Helrich faced a drought, followed by a bird invasion that wiped out much of their grape crop, leaving them with one barrel of Chardonnay. And the vineyard posts, now 20 years old, need fixing, too. But the dessert wines turned out well, including a new wine called Aria, made in an ice-wine style from the Traminette grape, a descendant of Gewürztraminer.

The couple is more determined than ever to make Allegro a success. "We scraped by last year," Miller says, but things are looking up. "We're buying bird nets this year, by the way."

The service for Crouch is slated for 1:30 p.m. on March 9 at the Industrial and Agricultural Museum in York, Pa., at 217 W. Princess St.

Many of you know some of the history of Allegro Vineyards, but I would like to meander over it just one more time. Tim and I bought the run down vineyard at the end of 1978, I was 31 and Tim was 38 years old at the time. We struggled to bring back the vines that had not succumbed to neglect. Tim was awakening at 5:30 each morning to commute to his electrical project managerial work. We lived along with our mother, Marguerite in the old mobile homes which we had made livable. I worked in the vineyard for some long hours in those days. In 1980 we had the 40 by 100 ft. winery built. It was strictly utilitarian! The grand opening of our new winery was on Halloween of 1981. We sold our first commercial vintage (1980) of Premium White, Vin Rose, and Chardonnay, followed shortly by our double-gold winning Cabernet Sauvignon. We almost ran out of money in 1983, but were saved by a quick loan from our mother who also devoted most of her time to the winery now. In 1981 we pioneered the use of French oak barrel aging in Pennsylvania if not in the entire East. We also developed an international reputation for fine Cabernet Sauvignon grown here in the East, heretofore thought almost impossible in this climate. We pioneered methode champenoise sparkling wine made with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. We won over 80 international, national and state medals in our first 15 years. Along the way we built a small house on the property in 1987. The very day we moved in, we saw a propitious double rainbow after a shower. Tim was able to start work full time at Allegro that same year. He learned rapidly and came to enjoy working in the vineyard most of all. In the early 90's, my health went downhill with an undetected heart attack. Tim then started assuming more and more of the tough vineyard and winery work. By the 1995 vintage, he had become the finest viticulture man around. The beautiful 95, 97, 98 vintages were primarily his efforts. Our mother passed away at the end of 1996. It was a dismal vintage and an unhappy time for us. We continued on with more outstanding wines and our wildly popular Chef Series along with other great dinners and spotlight weekends. Tim and I finally made the decision to retire in 2002, but in the end of 2000, Tim complained of a pain in his side. He was put through a battery of tests and was diagnosed with cancer of the colon about dec. 1. Then, the evening prior to his scheduled surgery to remove the tumor, he suffered a massive stroke. It proved too much for him and he passed away on Dec 31, 2000.

Unable to run Allegro by myself, I entertained the idea of depleting the inventory, selling the equipment and closing. Serendipitously, the grape ag agent, Mark Chien, told Carl Helrich and Kris Miller...that the winery and vineyards might be for sale. We have negotiated the sale and will finalize it in the near future. Carl is 31, Kris is 30, and they have the energy to continue the dream that Tim and I envisioned.... Come down and meet them soon! I'll still be "haunting" the winery and will hope to see you too. The future of Allegro looks bright.

Residents of Brogue, Pa., have been drinking "Opus 1" for close to a year now. It costs $5.95 a bottle and can be purchased by the case at the local grocery store.

The wine is produced by John and Tim Crouch, owners of Allegro Vineyards in Brogue, a small rural community 50 miles north of Baltimore.

Your can imagine their surprise then when they read about another winery in California that planned to use the name "Opus One" as their wine brand.

In November, the Crouch brothers learned that Robert Mondavi, chairman of Robert Mondavi Winery, and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of ​Château Mouton Rothschild, partners in a Napa Valley winery, planned to call their joint venture "Opus One" too.

"We came up with the name Opus 1 about a year ago, but it has taken about six months to a year to get it approved by the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms)," said John, 36, the winemaker. "At first I wondered if the ATF would approve both labels. Now I imagine we may have to drop ours."

It is a very popular wine this time of year, said John. Made from peaches and seyval blanc grapes, Opus 1 goes great with desserts, he said. His brother Tim, 42, is the "money man" behind Allegro Vineyards, which produces several thousand cases of "award winning" wine each year.

The revelation that another Opus One existed as a wine brand sent a mild shock wave through the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville, Calif.

"Isn't that funny," said Harvey Posert, public relations director for the Mondavi winery, when informed of the coincidence.

Mondavi and Rothschild have spent more than two years and a considerable sum of money to ensure the uniqueness of their label.

Clifford Adams, general counsel for the Mondavi-Rothschild winery, said they had secured the registered trademark for Opus One through the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office in January of this year.

Allegro Vineyards' Opus 1 was approved as a label by the ATF in February, according to John Crouch.

However, they never bothered to get a patent on the label.

"Now it looks like we may have to give it up," he sighed. "I just hope to be able to sell the wine at Christmas. We'd hate to lose the Christmas sales. It's very popular here during the holidays."

Crouch said Opus 1 is a wine that "simulates botrytisized riesling."

"The peaches give it a peachy nose, and the seyval gives the wine a vinous quality."

Adams said he believed the Mondavi-Rothschild winery could block Allegro Vineyards from using their Opus 1 label.

But he doubted it would come to that.

"What I understand is they sell a few hundred cases strictly in Pennsylvania," Adams said, "so I don't think there's going to be a problem.

"We have the right, I think, to have them cease and desist, but I think we can work things out."

Adams, who was involved in the Mondavi-Rothschild selection of Opus One, a blend of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, admitted it was a strange coincidence the two distant wineries had chosen the same name.

He added he would not mind owning a bottle of Opus 1, which at $5.95 is considerable less expensive than Opus One, which may retail for about $50 a bottle.

"I've gone back trying to figure out how this could have evolved," said Adams. "You know we looked at several hundred names before deciding on this one. It is interesting they came up with essentially the same name."

Mr. Laube,

     Concerning your Mondavi-Rothchild "Opus One" article, here is our label approved by BATF on Feb 8, 1983 for a very popular fruit specialty wine which we make called "Opus 1". I wonder if the BATF will approve both labels? I have had several people write to me about the label since your article appeared. Maybe you could pursue this further.

                                                                                                  Yours
​                                                                                                     John Crouch