Wine in the Woods Preview

The first Maryland wine festival of the year will take place May 19th and 20th in Columbia's Symphony Woods, adjacent to Merriweather Post Pavilion. Last year's festival was attended by record crowds whcih lead to long lines at the tasting tents. We recommend arriving early and once the lines form, select a few wineries that you haven't experienced before.

The following wineries will be participating at the event:
Basignani Winery, Boordy Vineyards, Cove Point Winery, Cygnus Wine Cellars, Deep Creek Cellars, Elk Run Vineyards, Fiore Winery, Frederick Cellars, Fridays Creek Winery, Linganore Wine Cellars, Little Ashby Vineyards, Loew Vineyards, Penn Oaks Winery, Solomons Island Winery, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, St. Michaels Winery, Tilmon's Island Winery, Woodhall Wine Cellars.

The first winery we plan to visit is Fridays Creek Winery, a new winery located in southern Maryland. We look forward to trying this winery's wide array of wines from Gewürztraminer and Riesling to Syrah and old Vine Zinfandel. Sugar Loaf Mountain is also a relatively new winery that you shouldn't miss. We will then stop by Deep Creek Cellars, the farthest winery from the Washington DC area. This is usually our only chance to taste their wines and we hope their Ursa Major (5% Cynthiana, 35% Zinfandel, 30% Grenache blend) will be available. After that, we will see which tent has the shortest lines. In the last two years Linganore Cellars and Frederick Cellars have won the Governors Cup for their Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon - so they are both worth visits. Fiore Winery makes excellent Chambourcin, Loew Vineyards Chardonnay, Basignani Winery's Marisa (Foch, Chambourcin and Chancelor), Solomons Island Winery's Marytage, and Woodhall Wine Cellars' Cabernet. Plus, Penn Oaks Winery makes several excellent whites from German grapes and all the wines from Elk Run Vineyards are worth trying. You make the call.

As for entertainment, your best bet Saturday is to see the boogie blues of the Daryl Davis Band. He learned the piano from the great Pinetop Perkins and always performs a great show. On Sunday, don't miss Charles 'Big Daddy' Stallings. Stalling's most recent hit "4x4 Woman" reached #1 @ XM Radio (Bluesville).

Besides a wide variety of craft vendors, the festival will provide wine demonstrations each day. At 1:00 pm - Yogi Barrett, Wayne Peppers and Paul Bresson of the Tasters Guild International, will guide you through the wine tasting experience. At 2:00 pm - Maryland’s White Wines will be introduced by Yogi Barrett, Wayne Peppers and Paul Bresson. At 3:00 pm - Maryland’s Red Wines will be introduced by Yogi Barrett, Wayne Peppers and Paul Bresson. And at 4:00 pm - Maryland’s Sweet and Dessert Wines will be introduced by Yogi Barrett, Wayne Peppers and Paul Bresson.

See you there.

Best in State 2006

Every year the wineries in several states participate in competitions to determine the best wines produced in that state. Here are a list of the Governor Cup winners in a few states. We have tried the Frederick Cellars 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon and the Rappahannock Cellars 2005 Reserve Viognier; both are excellent.

Illinois: Owl Creek Vineyard Bald Knob 2005
Maryland: Frederick Cellars 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon
Michigan: Peninsula Cellars 2005 Gewurztraminer - Manigold Vineyard
Missouri: Augusta Winery 2004 Vignoles
New Jersey: Tomasello Atlantic County Vidal Blanc Ice Wine 2005
New York: Hermann J. Wiemer 2005 Reserve Riesling
North Carolina: Childress Vineyards Syrah
Pennsylvania: Pinnacle Ridge Winery 2004 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine
Virginia: Rappahannock Cellars 2005 Reserve Viognier

Frederick Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Recently we were able to visit the newly opened Maryland winery, Frederick Cellars. Just before opening, the winery was able to purchase Catoctin Vineyards and hire Robert Lyons as their new winemaker. This was a major coup since Mr. Lyons is noted as being perhaps Maryland's best winemaker. He produced several award winning wines under the Catoctin label - including the 2004 Governors Cup for his 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon. Now, two years later, Lyons and Frederick Cellars repeated this feat with the 2006 Governors Cup for their 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. Made from grapes grown in the Mountain Creek Vineyards in the Catoctin AVA, this is a full bodied wine with a slight peppery finish. But why the award? The wine's complexity; balance; I don't know. Maybe because this wine has character – a tangible that can’t be described accurately but makes this an excellent wine. The downside; this wine isn't cheap - at least for Maryland wines. Priced at $30, the benefit of being a cup winner has definitely been factored into the price. We thought it worth the price; but you make the call.

Wine Fest at the Beach - Ocean City Maryland

On September 28th-29th several mid-Atlantic wineries will participate in the Thirteenth Annual Wine Fest at the Beach. This event will take place at the Inlet Park - right on the boardwalk and will include a couple micro-breweries and local food\craft vendors. As for the wineries, this is a great opportunity to sample various vinifera, labrusca, and hybrid wines from some of the best wineries from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The New York contingent includes America's oldest continually operating winery, Brotherhood Winery. Make sure you sample their Catawba and Pinot Noir. There will also be excellent Riesling from the three Finger Lake wineries: Goosewatch Vineyards, Swedish Hill Winery, and Hazlitt Vineyards. Hopefully these wineries will bring samples of their labrusca wines made from the Diamond, Delaware, and Isabella grapes.

There will be one winery representing Pennsyvania: Chaddsford Winery. Red wine drinkers should enjoy their Chambourcin and Due Rossi - made from Sangiovese and Barbera - while white wine drinkers will enjoy their Chardonnay.

Maryland will be represented by the 2005 and 2006 Governors Cup winners, Linganore Winecellars and Frederick Cellars. These wineries will probably not bring their award winning Maryland Merlot and Frederick Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, but will provide excellent alternatives. Linganore also makes a great Chambourcin wine as well as their Terrapin White and several great fruit wines. Frederick Cellars should be pouring their Riesling and Eye of the Oriole, which are great summer wines - perfect for those trying to hang on to a few more weeks of warm weather.

Two of Virginia's better known wineries will be attending, Williamsburg Winery and Horton Vineyards. Not too long ago Horton was listed as one of America's top 40 wineries and is one of the best vinifera wine-makers in the state. Hopefully they will provide samples of their Viognier, Malbec, Tannat, Nebbiolo or Marsanne. Plus they may have on hand their excellent Norton and fruit wines. Williamsburg Winery is best know for their Chardonnay and hopefully the will bring their Blackberry Merlot.

Finally, two little known, but excellent wineries from West Virginia will make the trip to the shore. West-Whitehill Winery makes excellent wines from the hybrid grapes: Aurore, Chambourcin, and Seyval Blanc. Make sure you don't leave the festival without trying their Aurore wines. Then there's Forks of Cheat Winery, from picturesque Morgantown. The Deal family has won us over with their colorful labels, charming personalities, and of course - good wine. They make wine from many interesting varietals including Van Buren, Villard Blanc, Villard Noir, Leon Millot, DeChaunac, Marechal Foch, Catawba, Chambourcin, and Niagara. This list doesn't include their vinifera and fruit wine offerings. From this large selection there is a gift waiting for anyone.

We are looking forward to this year's Wine Fest at the Beach. The weather may even be warm and with the excellent wine and beer - so what if it's a little chilly. Plus, this may be you last opportunity for summer crabs.

2nd Annual #CabernetDay: Frederick Cellars 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon

Rick Bakas has scheduled this Thursday September 1st as 2011 #CabernetDay, where all are encouraged to consume and tweet about one or more Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon wines. After perusing the cellar, we will open our last bottle of the Frederick Cellars 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was crafted by Robert Lyons just before his Catoctin Vineyards was purchased by Frederick Cellars. Mr. Lyons has a long history of crafting award winning wines as his 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon joined the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon as winners of the Maryland Governors Cup. The grapes for all their Cabernet is local, from Mountain Creek Vineyards in the Catoctin AVA. You can follow our feed on Thursday using the #CabernetDay and #mdwine hash tags. Cheers.

Regional Wine Week: How many of the 47 have you visited?

While smack in the middle of Regional Wine Week I decided to see how many of the 47 states we have visited wineries. And the answer was rather disappointing - I really thought we had visited wineries in more states - but the sum was only 17. That's poor. DrinkLocalWine.com and WineCompass stress the availability of wines from all states and I personally believe the best method to enjoy these wines is to visit the winery. Why? Usually, you get to meet the winemakers, discover new grape varieties, enjoy local terrain, and learn some regional history. We need to get out on the road more often. How about you? I'm sure there are many who have visited wineries in more states than us. Let us know.

Here is the list of wineries we have visited, excluding the 100 or so from Virginia - home field advantage on that one.

Maine
Blacksmiths Winery
Cellardoor Winery
Savage Oakes Vineyard and Winery

New York
Applewood Winery
Brotherhood America's Oldest Winery
Demarest Hill Winery
Loughlin Vineyards
Warwick Valley Winery

New Jersey
Alba Vineyard
Cream Ridge Winery
Silver Decoy Winery
Tomasello Winery

Pennsylvania
Adams County Winery
Glades Pike Winery
Hauser Estate Winery
Reid's Orchard & Winery
Rose Bank Winery
Stone Villa Wine Cellar

Delaware
Nassau Valley Vineyards

Maryland
Black Ankle Vineyards
Cove Point Winery
Deep Creek Cellars
Elk Run Vineyards
Frederick Cellars
Linganore Wine Cellars
Loew Vineyards
Orchid Cellar Winery
Solomons Island Winery
Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard

West Virginia
Forks of Cheat Winery
West-Whitehill Winery

Virginia
....

North Carolina
A Secret Garden Winery
The Biltmore Estate Winery
Chatham Hill Winery
Laurel Gray Vineyards
Moonrise Bay Vineyard
RagApple Lassie Vineyards

Tennessee
Corey Ippolito Winery
Countryside Vineyards & Winery

South Carolina
September Oaks Vineyards

Florida
Eden Vineyards
Rosa Fiorelli Winery & Vineyard
San Sebastian Winery
Schnebly Redland's Winery

Missouri
Bynum Winery
Pirtle Winery
Stonehaus Farms Winery

Kansas
Davenport Winery
Heimhof Winery
Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery
Kugler's Vineyard

Texas
Dry Comal Creek Vineyards & Winery

Colorado
Carlson Vineyards
Minturn Cellars
Plum Creek Cellars

South Dakota
Prairie Berry Winery

2009 Washington D.C. Food & Wine Expo

We attended another year of the Washington D.C. Food & Wine Expo which showcases wines made in practically every region of the globe. When entering the expo it wasn't difficult to start with wines from close to home since Loudoun County was allocated a prime location. Among others there was a fruit forward Cabernet Franc from Corcoran Vineyards, a creamy Viognier from Tarara Vineyard & Winery, and a sweet Raspberry Merlot from Fabbioli Cellars. Nearby a few other Virginia wineries poured wines: Orange County's Horton Vineyards and Barboursville Vineyards as well as Kluge Estate Winery. There were several other East Coast wineries such as the Maryland's Frederick Cellars, Running Hare Vineyards, and Linganore Wine Cellars. The Finger Lakes were represented by a smaller contingent than last year Standing Stone Vineyards, Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars, and Fox Run Vineyards. We liked the Riesling from Standing Stone and Dr.Frank's and the Lemberger from Fox Run. There was a surprise east coast winery, Connecticut's Sharpe Hill Winery, that was pouring a couple wines - most notably the semi-dry Ballet of Angels.

Moving west, there was sadly just one Oregon winery, Evergreen Vineyards - which carries a brand of wines named after the Howard Hughes’ famous airplane: the Spruce Goose. The winery had brought several wines which included a dry rose, an excellent Riesling, and several smooth Pinot Noirs. California was well represented and by several wineries we have become fans of over the years. Alexander Valley Vineyards was pouring several wines; Four Vines Winery had several Zinfandel based wines; and JK Estates - the new winery opened by Mark Gendron formerly of JanKris Winery had several excellent wines. We liked the Petite Sirah from Peltier Station as well as wines from Carr Vineyards & Winery, Brassfield Estate Winery and Hall Winery. But a new favorite emerged with Lockwood Vineyard. This winery produced several wines from estate grown grapes - at extremely affordable prices.

Another great value came from Australia, where Ballast Stone Estate Wines was pouring from a couple brands. This family owned winery has been growing premium grapes for decades in the McLaren Vale and Currency Creek regions. The Ballast Stone refers for the stones that ships used to maintain buoyancy with while sailing with an empty cargo. Once in Australia, the rocks would be off-loaded and whatever products exported were loaded. The stones was then used for construction. The winery's brands represent this heritage with the Steeple Jacks, the Stonemason, and the Ballast Stone brands. The Steeple Jacks Chardonnay and Merlot - which our entire party enjoyed - retails for around $6 a bottle. Good wines at bargain prices: I don't know how they do it. The Ballast Stone Estate brand wines retail for a "staggering" $15. There was an excellent Grenache, Petite Verdot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon - all great values.

European wineries were everywhere - from France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Spain. We didn't get a chance to sample the Spanish wines, but made up for it in the other countries. The Cotes du Rhone wines were excellent and will force us to research this area more. You can't go wrong with blends made from Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and Mourvedre. Plus all their wines retailed for under $15. The dollar can't be in that bad shape. Moving on, we sampled interesting Pinot Noirs from Hungary and Austria - which were good, but much different from the west coast American versions. The other Hungarian wines imported by Monarchia International and Matt Brothers included two fine Torley sparkling wines and a few Craftsman and Monarchia wines. We particularly liked two whites made from the native Cserszegi Fuszeres and Olivier grapes. The Austrian wines included the aforementioned Pinot Noir plus a nice Zweigelt blend - an offspring of Blaufränkisch and most widely-grown red grape variety in Austria. Those who prefer sweeter wines flocked to the German wines and we liked a few - even the cheaper Scheurebe.

But then there were the Italian varietals. Dezel from My Virginia Vine Spot joined me on a tour of these wines - starting with an American winery - Domenico Wines. Why start with an American winery, when tasting Italian varietals? Well, for one, Domenico Wines was at the same table. But, two, Dominick Chirichillo makes wines based on his Italian heritage and his family's wine making tradition. In fact Dominick learned about wine making over fifty years ago when his grandfather showed him how to use the family wine press in the basement of their New York home. Over time he moved from amateur competitions to commercial wine making after moving west to California. He still assists amateurs through the Bacchus Winemaking Club, which enables people to create their own wines with custom labels. Dominick's commercial wines have won close to 200 awards and both of us enjoyed his Miscela (blend in Italian), a Bordeaux styled concoction of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petite Verdot. Along with this French styled wine, Domenico Wines offers many Italian varietals such as Nebbiolo, Aglianico, Malvasia Bianca, and of course Pinot Grigio. From there we moved down the table trying Italian wines from various regions - all the while increasing our appreciation for that country's grapes. From the north in the Piedmont we enjoyed the Vilanna Langhe Rosso, made from Nebbiolo and Barbera and the Roero Arneis made from 100% Arneis, a native variety cultivated in the Roero area. We traveled east into Trentino-Alto Adige and the Barone Fini wines, then south through Tuscany and Abruzzo to Sicily, home of Nero d'Avola - our favorite Sicilian grape. What a ride.

While Dezel called it a day, we returned to old habits: Georgian wines. In the past few years we have become infatuated with the ancient grapes from this country and The Georgian House always have several wines available at the expo. These wines are primarily made from indigenous grapes in different styles: dry reds from Saperavi; semi-sweet reds from Mujuretuli, Aleksandrouli, and Ojaleshi; and dry whites from Rkatsiteli, Tsolikouri, and Mtsvane. These grapes that have been cultivated for thousands of years and even though they are not household names - they make excellent wines.

By chance we also stumbled upon another portfolio from an old world region, the wines from Corvus Vineyards - a Turkish winery located on the island of Bozcaada. Grapes have been cultivated on this island (located across from the Trojan coast) for over three thousand years. Turkish architect Resit Soley resurrected several vineyards planting indigenous as well as more familiar vinifera grapes. The flagship wine is The Corvus Corpus, an elderberry flavor blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah with a smooth vanilla tail. They also produce a varietal Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as a several wines from native grapes: Karalahna, Bogazkere, Okuzgozu, and Kuntra. These wines were very impressive - they have found a home in European cellars and are slowly making their way into the states. We can't wait to find an outlet.

With so many wines - we can't describe each. But the Washington D.C. Food & Wine Expo shows that there are excellent wines made throughout the world. Your responsibility is to be adventurous and try them. Oh yea, I forgot about the food. The expo should really think about removing "Food" from the title for there really wasn't any. Yes there are cooking demonstrations. But where are the Washington D.C. Restaurants? If not for the Divine Chocolates and Gerbs Pumpkin Seeds.....

Additional photos are available at the Wine-Compass.com Compass Tours section and the Facebook WineCompass page.

Is WineCompass.com Really Ten Years Old?

2005 Veramar Vineyard, VA

Facebook reminded me today that I had a seven year anniversary with my wine buddy Dezel from My Vine Spot. That got me thinking, if I've known Dezel for that long, how long has WineCompass.com been around? And the answer is 10 years. I created the website in order to learn Microsoft's .Net 1.0 technology and the site is still running on that 10 year old platform. Sadly, it requires a major upgrade that was delayed in order to launch theCompass mobile app.

2015 Trois Clochers, QC

At the time of the website's launch it only covered wineries as the craft brewery craze hadn't exploded yet.( I believe I started adding breweries in 2010, with distilleries and cideries as separated categories a little later.) In the initial launch, the site contained a Gallery section which described my visits to wineries and festivals - usually with my infant son in tow. (I learned to spit right away.)  Ironically the first post was on a Memorial Day 2005 trip to Tarara Winery which I just happened to visit yesterday. I'd say their wines have improved since that visit. And it was a lot easier taking Matthew to wineries back then being belted to a carrier. Now a days it requires a side trip to an aquarium or zoo in order for him to come along peacefully.  Here's a ten year look at Matthew enjoying trips to wineries.

2005	Rappahannock Cellars, VA	Silver Decoy Winery, NJ
2006	Carlson Vineyards, CO	First Colony Winery, VA
2007	Hartwood Winery, VA	Bluemont Vineyard, VA
2008	Lytton Springs, CA	Barrel Oak Winery, VA
2009	Stone Villa Wine Cellars, PA	Birthday at Corcoran Vineyards, VA
2010	2010 Schnebly's, FL	September Oaks, SC
2011	Applewood Winery, NY	Vynecrest Winery, PA
2012	CrossKeys Vineyards, VA	Palaia Vineyards, NY
2013	SMV, MD	Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, VA
2014	Briar Valley Vineyards, PA	Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, VA
2015	2015 Duplin Winery, NC	Vignoble de L'Orpailleur, QC

I wonder how he's going to look back on these trips? And there were a lot. I've guestimated that during the past ten years I've visited 270 wineries, 160 breweries and a dozen distilleries in 29 states and provinces. Matthew's probably been to a third. Sadly some of these are long gone such as Farfelu, Piedmont Vineyards, Oasis, and Frederick Cellars\Catoctin Vineyards. Many others have changed owners and names.

DLW at Carlson Vineyards, CO

I've also had memorable excursion to lesser known wine regions such as the Hudson Valley & Adirondack Coast in New York, the Grand Valley in Colorado, and more recently the Brome-Missisquoi Wine Route in Quebec. Along the way I've sampled countless Midwest Norton, Muscadine, labrusca, hybrids, even avocado wine from the Continental U.S.'s southernmost winery Schnebly Redland's Winery.  And lately our annual Washington Nationals road trip provides opportunities to taste excellent craft beer and spirits.

RPBDB at Foggy Ridge Cider, VA

WineCompass.com opened doors to segue into other media, partnering with my talented cousin David, with MyJoogTV and VirginiaWineTV.  Yea, many of those early videos were way too long, but what fun hanging out with Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Flying Dog Brewery or Dangermuffin at Sugarloaf Vineyard. And who can forget the classic Episode #9 with Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band at Foggy Ridge Cider with proprietor Diane Flynt. One day these two media outlets may resurface from hibernation.

All that being said, the best part of the past 10 years is the relationships that I've made with other bloggers, owners, winemakers, brewers, industry reps, etc. Dezel was the first blogger I met way back in 2006 but through the Wine Bloggers Conference and other events I can communicate with friends from across the U.S. from Vermont to Washington State, down to San Diego across to Florida via Texas and of course, DC. As for owners and winemakers I can't thank Jim and Lori Corcoran (Corcoran Vineyards & Cider) enough on the many times they have assisted me along the way.  And Jordan Harris (Tarara Winery) is always helpful. Thank you all for helping me over the years, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and cheers to the next 10 years.

Upcoming Festivals and Events

Here are a few local festivals and events that we plan on attending this summer. You can suggest events that we should attend in the comments section.

Beer Bourbon, and BBQ at National Harbor
National Harbor, Maryland
Saturday, June 20, 2009

Northern Virginia Summer BrewFest
Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia
From Saturday, June 27, 2009 To Sunday, June 28, 2009

Trent Wagler & the Steel Wheels
Blue Mountain Brewery
From Sunday, June 28, 2009 To Sunday, June 28, 2009

Summer Concert Series: Skyla Burrell Blues Band
Adams County Winery
From Saturday, July 04, 2009
or
The Floyd Fandango Beer and Wine Festival!
Floyd, Virginia
From Saturday, July 04, 2009 To Sunday, July 05, 2009

DC's Wine Country - Food and Wine Festival
Whitehall Manor in Bluemont, Virginia
From Friday, July 10, 2009 To Sunday, July 12, 2009

Afternoon in Tuscany
Three Fox Vineyards
Sunday, July 12, 2009

Seth Fromal - Live Music!
Notaviva Vineyards
Friday, July 17, 2009

2009 REGGAE FESTIVAL
Linganore Wine Cellars
From Saturday, July 18, 2009 To Sunday, July 19, 2009

14th Anniversary Party!!!!!
Stewart's Brewing Company
From Saturday, July 25, 2009

LIVE in the Cellar! - Bo Weevil
Frederick Cellars
Saturday, August 01, 2009

17th Annual Wine & Food Festival
Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Seven Springs, PA
From Saturday, August 15, 2009 To Sunday, August 16, 2009
or
Bluemont Vineyard's 2nd Annual Peaches and Dogs Festival
Bluemont Vineyards
From Saturday, August 15, 2009 To Sunday, August 16, 2009

6th Annual Celtic Festival
Spyglass Ridge Winery
From Saturday, August 22, 2009

2009 SWINGIN' BLUES
Linganore Wine Cellars
Saturday, August 29, 2009 To Sunday, August 30, 2009

Music @ Wineries: Virginia & Maryland

While viewing winery events at WineCompass and MyJoog we have seen a literal explosion in the number of wineries that provide live music in Maryland and Virginia. In the past you could count on the summer concert series at Tarara Vineyard & Winery, Linganore Wine Cellars, and Chateau Morrisette as well as a few random shows at several wineries; but now there are good shows every weekend. Particularly in Loudoun County.

Notaviva Vineyards is the most appropriate place to start since the winery was specifically designed as a live music venue. The winery provides year round entertainment on weekends in this spring they are hosting several talented local and regional artists: Ken Wenzel, Luke Brindley, Todd Wright, David LaFleur, and Mary Ann Redmond. Neighboring Loudoun Valley Vineyards is also providing Ken Wenzel a steady gig on Saturdays. And Bluemont Vineyards and Quattro Goomba’s Winery showcases local artists on weekends. Expect to see Lenny Burridge Saturdays at Bluemont and Dave Pepper and co-owner David Gaetani's band Swiftkick on Sundays or during special events at QCW.

For those living in other counties in northern Virginia, there are other options. In Fauquier County, Barrel Oak Winery provides live music on Friday nights and Saturdays which include our favorites Robbie Limon and farmDoubt. And nearby, Fox Meadow Vineyards hosts a few artists this spring. Along the 95 corridor, try Potomac Point Winery. Besides good wine and a incredible chateau, don't miss Dave Goodrich, who plays a few times this in the coming months.

In the rest of the state, Friday night Barren Ridge Vineyards hosts Jimmy O and look out in June when William Walter comes to the winery. You also don't want to miss Robyn Dobbyns at
Blue Ridge Vineyard or Eli Cook at Blue Mountain Brewery (yea, not a winery - but close to many).

Maryland does not provide as many options as Virginia, but there are still good opportunities particularly at Frederick Cellars. Their neighbors are trying to beat them down, but let's hope they fail. Otherwise where else could you sip award winning Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon while listening to Bo Weevil and Karyn Oliver. Besides their annual festivals, Linganore Wine Cellars opens its doors on Sunday's for local artists.

These are examples of regular scheduled music. There are even more opportunities to listen to live music at wineries when festivals are factored in. Plus you get to drink good wine.