Wine Sediments

While Maryland might not be the first place you think of when you’re thinking about wine, wine-minded Marylanders were out in full force the weekend of October 7-8 to taste the offerings of some of Maryland’s finest wineries at the annual Riverside Winefest at Sotterly Plantation.

Eager tasters braved a deluge Saturday and lingering mud on Sunday to sample wines from ten different Maryland wineries, tour the plantation and enjoy the spectacular riverside view that the plantation has commanded for almost 400 years.

The wineries on hand were:
Basignani, Solomons Island Winery, Berrywine Plantations Linganore Winecellars, Woodhall Wine Cellars, Cygnus Wine Cellars, and Fiore Winery.

Many of the wineries import grapes from other regions to make Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling, but varietals like Seyval, Chardonnay and Chambourcin grow well in the region.

Unfortunately, Maryland is one of the seventeen states that still prohibits direct to consumer shipping, so wine lovers outside of Maryland will have a tough time finding these wines.

For more information about shipping laws and to help repeal the bans, visit the Free The Grapes! website at: www.freethegrapes.org.