A Trio of Wine for Old Westminster's 2021 Festival of Saint Vincent

"Each January in Burgundy, France, locals celebrate the Festival of Saint Vincent, the patron saint of winegrowers. The celebration takes place in a different winegrowing village each year. Saint Vincent celebrations attract tens of thousands of people over the weekend. Visitors pay to tour the village where local winegrowers have opened their cellars for wine tasting, and join in the fun. In the town square, the houses are decorated with paper mache flowers and many of the locals dress up in costumes from eras past. It's quirky. And beautiful. Winemakers pour special bottles of wine and offer samples of future vintages straight from the barrel."  Old Westminster Winery

 

For 2021, Old Westminster Winery moved their annual Festival of Saint Vincent to a virtual setting with the release of a trio of wines.  These were the 2018 Cabernet Franc, 2019 Syrah, and 2020 Blaufrankish -- pulled young from the barrel and available for purchase for $75.   The wines were delivered with no labels or corks and basically, just the bare fruit. The winery also release a short video (below) 

2018 Cabernet Franc
This was a miserable year rain-wise in the Mid-Atlantic with many wineries completely dumping their red grape harvest. That didn't stop Old Westminster as Drew Baker explains, "Looking ahead, we are mostly concerned about the reds -- ripening is going to be tricky… As a result, we're switching up our program to focus more on carbonic/juicy style reds this season. These styles are much better suited to fruit with lower phenolic ripeness, lower sugar content and higher natural acidity. We've even got a new 1,500 gal foeder to break in with whole-cluster CF next week. " And that was the beginnings of this wine and, yes, it is juicy, with bright red cherries, but there's also backbone with noticeable tannins. I wouldn't say they salvaged these grapes, I'd say Old Westminster made a remarkable wine in its own right.

2019 Syrah
The grapes for this wine were grown in Rising Sun, Maryland - located northeast of Baltimore near the Pennsylvania border.  The juice was fermented with whole cluster fermentation and native yeast with the formal proving more tannins than the whole berry fermentation of the Cabernet Franc. The Syrah starts with big voluptuous dark fruit, then black pepper and the beginnings of structure and tannins - but is not well integrated. Feels like two distinct wines but additional oak aging will enhance the structure and integrate the tannins with the fruit.

2020 Blaufrankish
These grapes were grown in Washington County Maryland - near Hagerstown and fermented using small bins and whole cluster. The wine was aged just three months in barrel before bottling, shows great fruit expression, and is very representative of the grape. Extremely fruit forward right now and appropriate body and spice. Possesses more than enough tannins and acids to grow and fortify in Hungarian or American oak. The whole cluster fermentation was a good choice. 

Cheers to Old Westminster, Maryland Wine, and the Festival of Saint Vincent.

Natural Wine at the Old Westminster Winery's Summer Solstice Festival

"Natural Wine is farmed organically (biodynamically, using permaculture or the like) and made (or rather transformed) without adding or removing anything in the cellar. No additives or processing aids are used, and ‘intervention’ in the naturally occurring fermentation process is kept to a minimum. As such neither fining nor (tight) filtration are used. The result is a living wine – wholesome and full of naturally occurring microbiology." -- Raw Wine

On June 22nd, Maryland's Old Westminster Winery hosted the inaugural Summer Solstice Festival featuring natural wines from across the globe. The event was held at the winery's Burnt Hill Farm which is their second vineyard but the first farmed using biodynamic practices. Once mature, the harvested grapes will be processed with little or no intervention in the cellar and Old Westminster will produce Maryland's first natural wines.

But what is Natural Wine? When asked, representatives at the festival provided multiple definitions starting with either organically or biodynamically farmed grapes and finishing with various levels of winemaking intervention. Some stressed the importance of using zero sulfites which are used as a preservative and stabilizer. Others believe that a minimal amount of sulfites are allowable right before bottling but not during other stages of the winemaking process. Most representatives stressed the use of native yeast although some were inoculated with yeast cultures. Many of the natural wines were cloudy as a result of non-filtering whereas others were clean which suggest the use of a clarifying agent such as egg whites or isinglass (made from fish bladders).

As a result of these various practices, the wines were quite diverse ranging from cloudy and funky to clean and very traditional. I tended to prefer the latter as I felt the funkier styles provided excuses for traditional winemaking faults such as volatile acidity and reduction. These "faults" are counter-intuitive in the same wine since reduced winemaking is a method to prevent volatile acidity by reducing the amount of oxygen available for bacteria to create acetic acid.  However, in some cases, the reduced notes did not blow off after swirling and remained in tandem with the vinegar notes. In other wines where the effects of reduction did blow off, the funkiness sometimes overwhelmed the fruit flavors. But in the natural wine world, when the fruit and funk mingle more gracefully, the wines are greeted with acclaim.

During a pre-festival #WineStudio Twitter tasting that ran through June, we sampled the contrasting styles with the Old Westminster 2017 Home Vineyard Cabernet Franc and their 2018 Heirloom. Whereas both were bottled unfined and unfiltered the Cab Franc provided a more traditional profile full of fruit flavors with balanced tannins and acidity. I wish more East Coast wineries could replicate this excellent wine. On the other hand, the 77% Chardonnay, 12% Albarino, and 11% Muscat blend in the Heirloom was funkier in style perhaps from fermenting with native yeast and took quite a few sips to comprehend. I am well acclimated with this style in cider and beer - but not so much with wine.

So quite naturally at the Summer Solstice, I drifted towards the more traditional wines starting with Oregon's Brooks Winery. The Estate Vineyard for this Williamette Valley winery was certified by Demeter for Biodynamic farming principles in 2012. And in the cellar, they utilize low intervention winemaking practices but release very clean and traditional wines as evident by the Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Pinot Noir. These wines are delicious and represent the grape profiles perfectly. Brooks also provides an original profile indicator on their website which displays color-coded bar charts representing aroma and flavor.

Nearby, the Georgian Wine House was pouring similarly delicious wines from this ancient country located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The Georgian winemaking tradition is known for using qvevri vessels to ferment and age the wine. If a white wine is aged with prolonged skin contact then the resulting wine becomes light orange in color with more depth in flavor. Naotari Winery specializes in this technique and the family operation (Koba Kvatchrelishvili and his two sons, Rezo and Alex) releases the Khikhvi Blend 2016 natural wine. This blend of Rkatsiteli, Kisi, and Khikhvi is fermented with native yeast, is unfiltered, and undergoes zero intervention or added sulfite. Yet it is full of stone fruit aromas and flavors with no traces of volatile acidy or reduction.

Similarly, Chona’s Marani Winery is another family venture producing natural wines like the Rkatsiteli 2017 and Mtsvane-Rkatsiteli Blend 2017. Pure, clean, and delicious wines. Finally, sisters Baia and Gvanca showed two excellent wines in the Baia's Wine and Gvanca's Wine with Baia focusing on white wine and Gvanca red. The Gvanca's Wine Otskhanuri Sapere 2017 exudes sour cherries and not in a funky way. The Baia's Wine Tsolikouri 2018 is also fermented with wild yeast, unfiltered, and uses very low levels of sulfites that provides clean citrus and apple flavors with refreshing acidity.

Traveling towards the Mediterranean there was another brilliant natural wine from Turkey imported by Siema Wines. Mustafa Çamlica founded Chamlija Winery in "2000 in the small Thracian town of Büyükkarıştıran, and planted his vineyards throughout the decomposed granite soils of the Strandja Massif, near where Turkey meets Bulgaria". At the festival, Siema poured this winery's Papaskarasi Rosé - a rare indigenous Turkish grape variety. This delicate wine provides a soft texture to its strawberry profile finishing with refreshing clean acids. And the distinct label was drawn by Çamlica's daughter Irem - a renowned artist in Turkey.


Siema poured another clean and textured wine, this time from the Friuli region of Italy. Borgo San Daniele is operated by the brother and sister team of Mauro and Alessandra who do not use chemical products in their vineyard and minimalistic techniques during vinification. Their Mauri Vignaioli Friulano (formerly called Tocai Friulano) is complex with a soft fruit and almond profile and finishing with elegance.

So cheers to these clean and fresh natural wines and Old Westminster Winery for hosting a fantastic event. 

Old Westminster Winery, Burnt Hill Farm, & The Summer Solstice Festival

“We’re going to challenge current beliefs with unique and transparent wines – wines that offer balance, nuance, and character. We’re going to farm thoughtfully, using biodiverse cover crops, biodynamic principles and incorporating animals. And then, in the winery, we’re going to craft wines with a light hand, ferment with indigenous yeast, and bottle it all without fining or filtration. These wines will be made without makeup – a pure reflection of the time and place where they’re grown and the people who guided the process." Drew Baker.

Photo Courtesy of
Old Westminster Winery

This is the guiding principle behind the next phase of Maryland's Old Westminster Winery as this accomplished and innovative winery attempts to challenge contemporary winemaking through The Burnt Hill Project. The Baker family has been very successful in their previous endeavors, first by immediately impressing consumers and critics after an initial launch of Old Westminster Winery, being the first to can and successfully market Maryland wine, and creating a custom crush facility for other aspiring winemakers.  So there's little reason to conclude this next phase will not be as successful.

Burnt Hill Farm is located in northwestern Montgomery County and its name comes from the late 1800s, when the owners "despaired of growing crops in the nutrient-poor soils and made money by burning trees and brush to make charcoal, potash, and lye". The farm has the ideal gradient and clay-limestone soils congruent for Gamay and Pinot Noir, grapes normally not planted in the Free State. But why stop there. They are also planting "90 experimental varieties bred by Cliff Ambers, an iconoclastic viticulturist who pollinates native grape vines with pollen from European vinifera varieties” Dave McIntyre Washington Post.

The Bakers will continue the viticulture philosophy from their Home Vineyard in Westminster, all work done by hand, sustainable farming, minimalist winemaking, and fermenting with native yeast. They have also incorporated bio-dynamic vineyard practices at Burnt Hill Farm  -- starting two years before planting their first vines - in order to create a living organism. Biodynamic farms generate their own fertility through composting, integrating animals, and cover cropping. This effort at Burnt Hill includes rotating cover crops like wheat and daikon radish, planting manure filled bull horns that will eventually fertilize the vineyard, and introducing sheep next year.

"We choose to think of our farm as a living, breathing organism. Like a human body with a system of organs, our farm is a complex system of interacting substances and processes...> biodynamics." Drew Baker

Consumers can discover Old Westminster's minimalist approach to winemaking as well as taste a preview of what should come from Burnt Hill at their Summer Solstice Festival on June 22, 2019. Under a circus tent at Burnt Hill Farm, low-intervention winemakers from across the globe will pour 100+ unique wines. The lineup includes Broc Cellars, Hiyu Wine Farm, Zafa Wines, Floral Terranes, Margins Wine, Methode Sauvage, Iapetus Wine, Wild Arc Farm, Inconnu Wine, Johan Vineyards, The Scholium Project, Fable Farm, Purity Wine, En Cavale, Fausse Piste, Old Westminster, Lightwell Survey, Liten Buffel, Maitre de Chai, Old World Winery, Les Lunes, Ruth Lewandowski, Brooks, Art+Science, Native Selections, Zev Rovine, Williams Corner, Plant Wines, MFW, Domestique, Wines of Georgia, Revel Wine, and more...

And to learn more about the festival and Old Westminster Winery tune to #Winestudio on Twitter Tuesdays in June at 9PM E.T. Cheers and hope to see you at the Summer Solstice.

USBevX 2018: #Wine Writers, What Are They Looking For?

Photo Courtesy of  Kathy Lang Wiedermann -Virginia Made

A huge thanks to Jenn Nelson of Wine Antics for live blogging the Wine Writers, What Are They Looking For? session at the 2018 US Wine & Beverage Conference. This two-day conference in Washington D.C. is targeted towards wineries to provide education in the fields of vineyard management, wine-making, and marketing.  The Wine Writers session was one of a few that were very relevant to content providers and fortunately I was able to watch the proceedings live via Jenn's video.  This session was moderated by Eric Guerra, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer Terravant Wine Company, and featured Carlo DeVito Owner Hudson-Chatham Winery  plus three wine writers: Lenn Thompson, Frank Morgan, and Paul Vigna. A stellar cast.  I would strongly encourage interested readers to watch the entire video, but here are my comments on what was discussed and what was omitted. Cheers.

Educate Tasting Room Staff
This dictum should be obvious but even the organizers of USBevX realized it's lacking since they created a session on this very topic. Perhaps, turnover is a contributing factor, but I continue to witness this irritating display of ignorance.  On one extreme, I remember Dezel Quillen's (MyVineSpot) story how he mispronounced Virginia's signature grape Vee-og-ney for a substantial period because that's how a staff member pronounced it during his introduction to the grape. On the lesser extreme I've engaged staff who are unfamiliar with where a vinifera grape originated, a blend composition, or even what grapes are planted in the estate vineyard.  Simply unacceptable. And staff should be honest if they do not know the answer to a question. Do not guess. One tip that Lenn Thompson suggested was not only sending writers technical sheets, but post that information on your website. I would expand that and suggest having technical sheets available at the tasting room. At the very least, it would assist educating the staff and more importantly it can be distributed to wine geeks who ask more probing questions.

Tell a Story
How can wineries differentiate their brand from the hundreds or even thousands of competing options? That question not only was raised during this session, but has been overarching dilemma of the craft wine explosion.  In addition to producing the best wine possible, a common answer is to create compelling stories behind your establishment. Frank Morgan mentioned Old Westminster Winery as an example with their family story and social media engagement.  However, the story doesn't have to revolve solely around the family.  The region's history can be stressed as is the case at The Winery at Bull Run who display Civil War artifacts in their tasting room.  Another option is highlighting a particular grape variety. Hudson-Chatham's story revolves around Baco Noir -- although their Chelois is just as intriguing.  If you produce an Albarino, focus on the grape's Galicia home as well as how your wine differs from those from Riax Baixas - perhaps through annual comparative tastings. Even normally pedestrian grapes such as Pinot Gris can be a focal point. Recently I tasted a rather noteworthy Pinot Gris from Boordy Vineyards. When I mentioned this to Dr. Joe Fiola, his eyes gleamed as he enthusiastically discussed the specific vineyard block that produced that wine. Boordy should share that knowledge - perhaps present samples of dirt in the tasting room and explain how the soil and sunlight affect the wine. Provide us a reason to visit.

Expand Beyond Experienced Content Providers
A valid question was raised during the seminar on how to differentiate between the bloggers, particularly when new content providers seem to be appearing overnight. The panelists gave two equally valid responses. First, look for content providers who have organically written about your area as this demonstrates a degree of excitement towards your location. Paul Vigna's Penn Live is a nice example of an outlet that reports on winery tours in underrepresented locations. At the very least any state or regional winery board worth their salt should have a list of content providers that have written about that area.  The second response was to seek content providers who have large audiences. Now in some instances, these audiences may simply be the result of longevity, but at least the blogger\writer has sustained a passion for covering the wine industry.

However, I would caution about relying solely on these more experienced bloggers. You could easily overlook many talented and engaging content providers with small but growing readership. Being in the longevity camp, it is refreshing to encounter younger and perhaps more enthusiastic content providers who are not just seeking free samples. And in the DMV region there is no shortage of groups that you can contact to locate these individuals. A few Facebook examples are the Young Wino's of DC, Black Wine Lovers, and I have to include the more senior Virginia Wine Mafia.

Finally, the discussion was exclusively focused on print.  Yet there's a large array of media that are covering  craft beverage industries. Wine Antics is one example of live video blogging. There are also podcasters, social media providers, and others outside my realm. Try something different such as Winemaker's Drinking Beer. There are numerous outlets beyond experienced print bloggers.

Maryland's Old Westminster Winery Opens New Tasting Room

Since it's inception, visitors to Old Westminster Winery were constricted to the winery's crush pad and a small area in the winery. In order to alleviate this situation the winery built a new spacious tasting facility with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating as well as unique oak tables and counter tops. And this weekend the winery is ready to celebrate the grand opening of this building.


On Thursday the winery held a Vine Cutting ceremony in order to give thanks to state and federal officials who facilitated its construction and to provide friends in the industry a sneak peak. Through several speeches, two facts became readily apparent. First, Carroll County Maryland understands that farm wineries and breweries are important facets to the county's economic development, housing values, and land preservation. Second, Old Westminster is gaining a wide reputation as one of the top producers in Maryland. Al Spoler, Cellar Notes on 88.1FM WYPR, is obviously a huge fan but so is Andrew Stover, who has been pimping their Albarino for the past year. I've had my share of samples and readily agree with this assessment, from Chardonnay at the 2013 DrinkLocalWine.com Conference to Thursday's samples of Greentone and Revelry, First Edition. The Revelry is an easy drinking blend of five Bordeaux varieties whereas the Greentone is a blend of 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Viognier - both grown in the foothills of Maryland’s South Mountain. Dr. Joe Fiola mentioned that it's extremely rare in Maryland to produce a blend with Sauvignon Blanc (as it can overwhelm the other grapes), but Old Westminster exceeded so much this wine was awarded the Best White Blend at the 2015 Governor's Cup. Needless to say a visit to the winery is highly recommended. And as usual, theCompass Winery Brewery Distiller Locator app can guide your there. Cheers.

#DLW13 - What's the Best Wine Grape for Maryland?

Last weekend I was fortunate to be included in a two day celebration of local wine, particularly, Maryland wine, at the 2013 Drink Local Wine Conference. During these two days of tours, tasting, and seminars; a common question was posed: "what is the best wine grape for Maryland?". That's a tough question considering the diversity of wine we sampled; from traditional Bordeaux varieties, to Chambourcin and Vidal, Chardonnay and Chardonel, Pinot Grigio and Noir, Albarino and Syrah, Sangiovese and Zinfandel, Gruner and Gewurztraminer and even Pinotage and Barbera. And that's not even listing blends.

During one seminar, Al Spoler, co-host of Cellar Notes, stated that Maryland should follow the road of Oregon (Pinot Noir), New Zealand (Sauvignon Blanc), and Virginia (Viognier) and hang its hat on Cabernet Franc.  And I tasted several tasty Cab Francs over the course of the weekend, in particular from Boordy Vineyards, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, and Old Westminster Winery. Heck, Thanksgiving Farm even poured a white Cabernet Franc - made in the saignee style with all pigment removed. I would say Cabernet Franc has a future in the state.

However, during the next panel, Ed Boyce, from Black Ankle Vineyards, disagreed stressing that Maryland's best grape is a red blend, particularly when the state experiences unusual weather. Just look at 2011 when an "unscheduled irrigation event" occurred and most wineries experienced over 25 consecutive days of rain from late August through September. In these situations, Boyce believes the sub-par grapes can be blended and "declassified" into a lesser brand so that quantity becomes the problem, not quality. On the other hand, when conditions are more Californian, then the grapes can be blended into a reserve classification. And we tasted quite a few fabulous blends, starting with the standard portfolio from Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard (EVOE, Circe, Comus) and Black Ankle Vineyards (Crumbling Rock & Rolling Hills) to the Landmark Series from Boordy Vineyards (harvested from the Piedmont's South Mountain), the Thanksgiving Farm Meritage, and Big Cork Vineyards future wines. There's no doubt that red wine blends are solid offerings in the Free State. 

But there are other red varietal wines worth noting. Boordy and Black Ankle bother offer excellent Syrah and then there's the old champion Chambourcin. The Fiore Winery Reserve Chambourcin was the first Maryland wine I ever tasted - at least a dozen years ago - and today is still a favorite. I think I was one of a couple people who voted for it in the Twitter taste-off. Let's not forget the Knob Hall Winery Chambourcin and on two occasions our group was poured the Port of Leonardtown Winery Chambourcin and just as tasty as the Fiore.

Then there's the suggestions from Dr. Joe Fiola (UofM) who, for the past decade, has been assisting Maryland vineyards determine which grapes best suit their site. (Here's a brief video of his presentation.) For the the warmer southern region, where the diurnal fluctuation may reach a lackluster 15 degrees in the summer, he suggests southern Spanish and Italian varieties that are characterized by higher acids and tannins. One of these was the Slack Winery Barbera - a juicy, yet silky wine - as well as the Woodhall Wine Cellars Pinotage, harvested from the Schmidt Vineyard in the Eastern Shore, and more pinot than "tage" - very smooth. 

What about the  white wines?  Black Ankle wowed us with their Gruner Veltliner and Albarino. I look forward to trips to the beach to grab some Bordeleau Pinot Grigio or I'll just travel closer to home for some from SMV. Chardonnay is a stable in all Maryland regions as we tasted several very nice brands; and where that grape can't grow, Slack Winery proved that Chardonnel is a decent alternative. Port of Leonardtown also poured a refreshingly acidic dry Vidal and another favorites was the Gewurztraminer from Elk Run Vineyards.

So which grape may be the best wine grape for Maryland?  I don't know; maybe its this diversity which will strengthen and expand the industry. Or maybe its none of these grapes at all. We tasted several experimental wines being produced from Dr. Joe's research vineyards which included Colombard, Marsanne, Verdejo, Barbera, and most interesting a slew of hybrids from the former Soviet Union. These cold hardy grapes were actually planted in his southern Maryland vineyard and showed some promising results. Maybe the future of Maryland wine is SK 7753 or  SK 771099. Here's Dr. Joe leading us through a tasting of these wines.

Drink Local Wine Session IV: Tasting Maryland's Future

Plenty of #mdwine to sample at #dlw13

I'm looking forward to heading to Baltimore for the 2013 DrinkLocalWine Conference Friday and spent some time last night reviewing past posts on Maryland Wine, particularly The Wine Grapes of Maryland (a little outdated) as well as our trips to Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard and Old Westminster.  And looking at this map reminds me that Maryland is home to several excellent breweries in addition to Blackwater Distilling. Hope to be able to taste these as well over the weekend.

Participating wineries and wines I hope they are pouring:

• Basignani Winery - Vidal Blanc
• Big Cork Vineyards
• Black Ankle Vineyards - Crumbling Rock & Gruner Veltliner
• Boordy Vineyards - Landmark Reserve
• Catoctin Breeze Vineyard
• Cygnus Wine Cellars - Cygnus Red
• Distillery Lane Ciderworks
• Elk Run Vineyards - Pinot Noir
• Fiore Winery - Proprietor's Reserve Chambourcin & Zinnavo
• Galloping Goose Vineyards
• Knob Hall Winery - Chambourcin
• Linganore Winecellar - Terrapin White & Bacioni
• Millstone Cellars
• Old Westminster Winery - Cabernet Franc
• Port of Leonardtown - Chambourcin Rose
• Royal Rabbit Vineyards
• Serpent Ridge Vineyard - Basilisk & Vintner's Reserve Cabernet
• Slack Winery
• Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard - Circe & Comus
• Thanksgiving Farm - Meritage
• The Vineyards at Dodon
• Woodhall Wine Cellars - Gunpowder Falls Red & White

Maryland Wine & Charm City Land 5th Annual DrinkLocalWine Conference

This week DrinkLocalWine officially announced the site for the 5th annual DrinkLocalWine Conference and the winner is a historic wine region as well as a rising player in the local wine industry: Maryland. I say historic, because Philip and Jocelyn Wagner, founder of Boordy Vineyards, were instrumental in the resuscitation of the East Coast wine industry by propagating French-American hybrids in their Maryland nursery.  To learn more about this story we recommend Maryland Wine: A Full-Bodied History written by Regina McCarthy, former marketing coordinator for the Maryland Wineries Association.  I mention rising wine industry because the Free State is currently home to over 50 wineries and cideries and about a dozen more in the pipeline. The state is also diverse in its topography from vineyards located in the sandy southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore to the rolling hills of the Catoctin & Linganore AVAs near Frederick, and the mountainous Cumberland Valley AVA to the extreme West. The conference takes place April 12-14th 2013 in Baltimore and count us in - get ready for some crab cakes and wine.  Here is the official press release. And below that are three videos we filmed at Maryland wineries. Cheers.

Nov. 19, 2012 - DrinkLocalWine will hold its fifth annual conference April 12-14, 2013 in Baltimore, focusing on Maryland wine. The state's industry is one of the fastest growing in the country, nearly doubling in size over the past two years with more than 60 wineries.

The state's four growing regions produce a variety of wines, including the classic European varietals, but also some that are distinctly New World in style. The Maryland Winery Association is the conference's primary sponsor.

“We're growing a world of wine styles and varieties throughout Maryland, and we're excited to share them through DrinkLocalWine,” says Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wine Association.

DLW 2013 will include a Maryland Twitter Taste-off featuring two dozen of the state’s best wineries, plus three seminars featuring some of the top names in Maryland and regional wine.

Maryland's modern wine history dates to the 1970s, but grapes have been planted in the area since the 17th century. Most of the state's wineries are in the Piedmont Plateau in central Maryland, but grapes also thrive in the Eastern Shore, Southern Plain, and Western Mountains.

DLW 2013 follows the success of the first four conferences - the inaugural conference in Dallas featuring Texas wine in 2009, in Loudoun County featuring Virginia wine in 2010, in St. Louis featuring Missouri wine in 2011, and in Denver featuring Colorado wine in 2012. DLW also holds an annual Regional Wine Week in the fall, in which more than 40 wine bloggers, writers and columnists from the U.S. and Canada write about their favorite regional wines, ranging from Ontario to New York to Florida to Texas to Colorado.

DrinkLocalWine.com's goal is to spotlight wine made in the 47 states and Canada that aren't California, Washington, and Oregon. It's the brainchild of Washington Post wine columnist Dave McIntyre and wine blogger Jeff Siegel, The Wine Curmudgeon.

For information, call (469) 554-9463 or email drinklocalwine@gmail.com.

Winemaker Series: Old Westminster Winery

Dangermuffin at Sugarloaf Mountain Winery

Uncle Dave Huber @ Black Ankle Vineyards

More Opportunities to Drink Local Wine: Maryland Wine Week

Opportunities to Drink Local Wine continue next month as the Maryland Wineries Association announces Maryland Wine Week, running June 8-17. During this week several Maryland restaurants and wine shops will "celebrate local wine and produce by hosting a range of events themed around Maryland wine, including wine maker dinners, tastings, wine flights, and more!"

Never tried a Maryland wine? Don't know much about the industry? Then check out a few videos featuring Maryland wineries (Black Ankle Vineyards, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, and Old Westminster Winery. Or better yet, check out the 20th Wine in the Woods festival this weekend (5/19-20) in Columbia and sample wines from over thirty Maryland wineries. That will prepare you for the Annapolis Arts & Crafts Festival held June 9th and 10th. Here are the restaurants and wine shops participating in Maryland Wine Week. Hope to see you at one of their events or follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Wine Shops
Annebeth’s Specialty Shop • Annapolis
College Square Liquors • Carroll County
Frederick Basket Company • Frederick
Friendship Wine & Liquor • Abingdon
Mill’s Fine Wine & Spirits • Annapolis
Nick’s of Calvert • Calvert County
Wine Loft • Baltimore County

Restaurants
Alexandra’s Restaurant • Ellicott City
Beans in the Belfry • Brunswick
Clementine • Baltimore
Drovers Grill & Wine Co. • Mount Airy
Patrick’s Retaurant & Pub • Cockeysville
The County Cork Wine Pub • Eldersburg
The Gourmet Goat & GG’s Restaurant & Martini Bar • Hagerstown
RANAZUL Tapas Wine Bistro • Howard County

Old Westminster Winery: Bringing Youthful Vigor to the Old Line State

Maryland Wine is receiving a youthful boost with the entry of Old Westminster Winery into the industry. The winery is owned and operated by the Baker Family, with siblings Drew, Lisa, and Ashli managing the vineyard, wine making, and marketing respectively. And evidently the housing crash of 2008 lead to the creation of the winery. Wanting to sell the winery, and seeing reduced property values, the family investigated alternative uses for the land and decided, why not a vineyard and winery. They then planted seven acres of grapes, some unique to Maryland: Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay, Albariño, and Sauvignon Blanc. The first harvest from these vines occurred during the Autumn of 2011, so they will need to wait two more years until they can utilize estate fruit. In the meantime, they are sourcing fruit from other Maryland vineyards, Chatham Vineyards in the eastern shore of Virginia, and from California.

As their name suggests, the winery is located just outside of Westminster, Maryland and expects wine sales to be driven through their tasting room. They are located only twenty miles from the Baltimore Beltway. They also plan to follow the wine style modeled by neighboring Black Ankle Vineyards and eschew the sweet wine market and concentrate on premium dry wines. Currently the winery is not open to the public (expect a Spring 2013 opening) but are allowing 100 Century Club members to receive lifetime access to the facility in order to taste the wines as they progress from barrel to bottle.

Lisa Baker invited me to visit the winery and sample the wines from barrel. While planning the trip I realized their story may be interesting to viewers of VirginiaWineTV, so we also filmed an episode which will be available in early April. How interesting? Well, how often to 20-something year old siblings start a winery. Drew, the elder, is 26 and could not join us since he is on sabbatical in New Zealand, learning from the southern harvest. Ashli, the youngest, will graduation college this year take over all marketing functionality. And Lisa, 23, is the full time wine maker. Her Chemistry degree is an obvious advantage in her new vocation and there are plenty of consultants available to instruct through each phase of wine making. However, my initial skepticism was how has she developed a palette for noticing the nuances in different wines. She acknowledges this potential handicap and described to me how she and Drew have tasted hundreds of wines trying to identify missing structure or imperfections. They will continue this crash course in order to improve both their palettes. And Lisa is getting plenty of practice in the winery. Last year the Maryland Assembly passed a law legalizing the equivalent of a custom crush. So this year, Old Westminster Winery became such a facility and Lisa assisted consultant John Levenberg in making wine for two other Maryland start-ups, Crow Vineyard and Winery and Vineyards At Dodon.

I arrived at the winery to find their first bottled wine, the 2011 Maryland Rosé, produced from the bleeding of their Maryland sourced Merlot. The also bottled a Rosé from the Chatham grapes, keeping that juice separate so they could enter the Maryland Rosé into state competitions. Since their red wines will remain in barrel for another 12-14 months, the saignée rosés provide the Bakers with quick proof that there infant enterprise is truly a functioning winery.

Before we sampled the wines, Lisa described how each stage in the wine making process is dictated by their core philosophy: producing high quality wines. These include hand sorting the grapes, separate heating and cooling systems built into the fermentation tanks, and close oversight with the winery's consultants (initially John Levenberg, now Carl DiManno).

We started our tasting with the Merlot from Chatham and it was quickly evident that another to creating quality wine was obtaining quality fruit. And this lot contained solid fruit. After only two months in new French oak, the wine retaining a fruit forward character and a little harsh tannins from the stems and skin. Over time these tannins will mellow and change as tannins from the wood are imparted into the wine. Yet this wine is really drinkable now - a solid wine that hopefully will retain its fruit during the next 14 months in barrel.

The next two wines were sourced from California and will be used to supplement the Maryland and Virginia lots. The fruit from both barrels, one Merlot, the other Syrah, were lighter than the Chatham Merlot and will need more time in barrel to generate more body and structure. The wines will also benefit from barrel aging to introduce more tannins. Ironically, these batches will test Lisa's wine making skills.

The final wine was a Maryland Cabernet Franc, where they grapes were sourced from a vineyard in Thurmont Maryland. In general, this wine is coming along nicely. It had as much fruit flavor as the Chatham Merlot, but with less tannins. Evidently the tannins are mellowing quickly because Lisa noticed a change since the last taste a week ago. And paired with a proprietary chocolate, the tannins disappeared completely. Maybe that's how they will market dry wines to a sweet wine market.

I look forward to returning to Old Westminster in six or seven months when they start crushing and fermenting their white wine. And hopefully at that time Drew will be available to navigate us through their second year of harvest. Check out their Century Club video below and I'll be adding the link to the Virginia Wine TV episode soon. Cheers.