What makes an exceptional winery? Do we have any here in Maryland? I hear people say there aren’t any good wines from Maryland. Obviously, they aren’t looking in the right places.
These days we have many very good options to find viniferous grapes being grown, blended and bottled, to make very, very good wines. I just spent some time looking at this year’s Comptroller’s Cup wines, from the latest competition (not sure what the difference is between Comptroller’s Cup, Winemaker’s Choice, and Governor’s Cup, but we seem to have many different competitions).
It prompted my husband wanting to take a trip to Boordy. Maryland’s oldest winery.
I actually wanted to go to Old Westminster, but they weren’t open during the day. They won the latest competition. For their Malbec.
We will get there sometime soon, as we haven’t been visiting for the past year or so.
As for Boordy, it was OK. Not great. They used to have a very good Chardonnay, but the latest vintage didn’t impress. We drove there to try the Albarino and the Viognier. Personally, Black Ankle makes a better Albarino and Big Cork, a much better Viognier.
It’s summer. White and pink wine season for us. Since I am a “locapour”, championing local wines, I try to stock my beverage refrigerator with light wines that do well in the heat of the summer.
In our experience so far, Black Ankle, Big Cork and Old Westminster are our closest wineries producing outstanding wine. And, right up there. Elk Run.
If you are into local foods, expand a bit and try local wines. You may be pleasantly surprised these days.
AnnieRie Unplugged 
Linganore is our favorite. Not sure if you’ve visited. It’s on the outskirts of Mt. Airy.
A very long time ago. They were just too busy for me. I like the quiet laid back wineries for visits. They have solid wines, but they aren’t wines for cellaring. We were looking for wines to keep for anniversaries back when we visited the local wineries.