Maryland Wineries Association

Archives for September 2020

“How one Maryland winery evolves for COVID-19 survival, finds success” – Delmarva Now

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September 24, 2020

Matthew Prensky

Delmarva Now

Brittany Mariner pours some wine for customers to taste during a wine tasting on September 16, 2020. Mariner and her family run Windmill Creek Vineyard and Winery in Worcester County, Maryland. (Photo by Kaisha Young, via Delmarva Now)

BERLIN, Md. — It was 2015. Jeannie Mariner and her husband had just inherited a 12-acre farm in Worcester County but weren’t sure what to do with the land.

The couple still hadn’t made up their minds when they went to visit their daughter, Brittany, who was studying viticulture — the study of wine and growing grapes — at college in North Carolina.

It was while the Mariners were visiting Brittany that they had a “light bulb moment,” Jeannie said. They would turn their farm into a winery.

“We were all in. We sold off a business and assets and things like that to get this started,” Jeannie said. Once opened, “people (were starting to) find out that we’re here, and things were humming along — and then all of the sudden it comes to a screeching halt. It’s very scary when you’ve got so much invested.”

To continue reading this Delmarva Now article, please follow this link.

 

 

“At 75, Boordy Vineyards nears end of ‘strangest year we’ve ever had’ feeling better than ever about future” – PennLive

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September 23, 2020

Paul Vigna

PennLive

An aerial view of the Boordy Vineyards property in Hydes, located in Maryland’s Baltimore County. Wine sales are available every day until 4:30 pm. Wine flights are available on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on weekends until 2 p.m. (Photo via PennLive_

This was to be the year that Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, in Maryland’s Baltimore County, would enhance its already elevated profile among regional wine consumers by combining a series of small events with a fall gala and a social-media and marketing blitz to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

Then COVID hit.

Amid the closures and restrictions, the oldest winery in Maryland and among the oldest still operating on the East Coast has wound up with “a very modest recognition” of a milestone birthday, said Rob Deford, the owner and president. The Eastern Winery Expo recognized Deford and Boordy with its Lifetime Achievement Award in early March, at the onset of the pandemic.

To continue reading this article from PennLive, click here.

“Just in time for Rosh Hashanah, mead makes a comeback” – Forward

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September 16, 2020

Stacey Pfeffer

Forward

Loew Vineyards’ mead

Mead is back.

Rachel Lipman, a fifth-generation winemaker at Loew Vineyards, believes that the honey wine’s heyday is just around the corner.

It’s a “very underrated” beverage, said Lipman, at the Mount Airy, Maryland winery owned by her grandfather Bill Loew.

Before World War II, Lvov (formerly part of Poland, currently now part of Ukraine) was an epicenter of mead wine production. In fact, the city was once dotted with distilleries, breweries and meaderies. Holocaust survivor Bill Loew’s family was at the helm of one of the most successful meaderies in the region, producing and distributing the beloved wine throughout Europe as far back as 1870.

 

To continue reading this feature from Forward, please click here.

“Celebrate Frederick launches inaugural Craft Beverage Week” – LocalDVM

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September 8, 2020

Jasmine Pelaez

LocalDVM

FREDERICK, Md. (WDVM) — After having to cancel a lineup of beloved summer events this year, Celebrate Frederick is back with a new experience.

On Saturday, the non-profit is launching the first-ever Craft Beverage Week. The idea is to replace much-anticipated fall events that have traditionally highlighted the growing local craft beverage industry.

“In the Streets is one of our events where we really highlight these businesses, and also the Great Frederick Fair is a great opportunity for them to show the community where they are and how they’ve grown,” explained Celebrate Frederick Director Jen Martin, “with both of those events canceled this year, we were looking for a way to still highlight those businesses.”

To continue reading, please visit LocalDVM here.

“For regional beverage producers, Labor Day weekend might be as good as it’s going to get for awhile” – PennLive

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September 5, 2020

Paul Vigna

PennLive

The outdoor patio at Black Ankle Vineyards in Mt. Airy, Maryland. It’s open seven days a week, Monday through Thursday from 11a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. (Photo via PennLive)

Kevin Atticks is the founder of Grow & Fortify, a company in the unique position of representing wine, beer and liquor producers in Maryland.

All these have seen their spring and summer altered significantly by the pandemic, starting with the full shutdown in March and the rollbacks that began in early summer. Heading into this Labor Day weekend, one that looks to be sunny and warm from start to finish, the potential for business won’t get any better.

In general around the mid-Atlantic, beverage producers are open and serving, using their outdoors as much as possible and requiring masks until customers reach their table. They continue to be limited on how many they can bring indoors and most are serving flights, getting away from the traditional tastings.

To continue reading, please visit PennLive here.

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