• Saturday, April 23
• Zelaya Shoes
• 4940 St. Elmo Ave.
• Bethesda, MD
• www.zelayashoes.com

The shop carries a wide and eclectic selection of contemporary footwear by Michael Kors, United Nude and Frye, among others. 4940 St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda, 301-656-8550 www.zelayashoes.com

Great grapes! Growers report best harvest ever

Extreme weather created ideal growing conditions, winemakers say

by Chris Huntemann | Staff Writer

The extreme weather that has hammered the region over the last year created a headache for Marylanders but created a boon for the state’s grape growers and winemakers.

Grape growers from around Maryland are reporting “one of the best harvests on record” for 2010, officials with the Maryland Wineries Association said in a statement. This year was “certainly a great year in terms of fruit quality,” said Kevin Atticks, the association’s executive director.

“No year is predictable,” Atticks said, while adding that the “quality of the grapes was way up because of the heat and lack of rainfall.”

While Richard Seibert saw roughly the same amount of grapes per acre at his winery this year as he did in 2009, he doubled the amount of acres with grapes.

Seibert, managing partner of Knob Hall Winery in Clear Spring, had about two tons of grapes per acre at this winery in 2009 and again in 2010, he said. However, he increased his acreage in grapes to 16 this year from eight in 2009.

The winery’s grapes also had a high level of brix, which measures the amount of sugars in the liquid form of grapes used in winemaking. Seibert’s grapes had up to 31 brix this year, which was up from about 25 brix in 2009.

A batch of grapes used for the winery’s merlot wine came in at 31 brix, which was due to the grapes being hung on the vine longer while the winery waited to have new tanks set up, Seibert said.

“That’s phenomenal,” he said of the high brix level. “No one that I’ve heard of has heard of it.”

While the heavy snowfall that blanketed the region last winter protected the vines from wind damage, Seibert said, the extreme heat that made the area swelter this summer boosted the amount of sugars in the grapes.

Seibert said he’s “been pleasantly surprised that we’ve been able to beat our estimated sales figures.”

Seibert projected sales of $100,000 since May of this year, when Knob Hall bottled its first batch of wine, but said sales to date have actually reached $114,000.

Edward Boyce picked 58 tons of grapes this year at his winery, Black Ankle Vineyards in Mount Airy. That amount was up from the roughly 36 tons the winery picked in 2009.

The vineyard also plans to add 19 additional acres of grapes to the 22 already in place, said Boyce, Black Ankle’s co-owner. Although he acknowledged opening his winery “during the worst possible time” two years ago during the recession, the winery is “doing great,” he said.

“We’re selling our wine like crazy,” he said. Boyce added that on top of protecting vines from wind damage, last winter’s heavy snow also replenished the water supply in the ground, because “the vines have very deep roots,” he said.

But while Maryland wineries may have benefited from the high heat and snowfall, they had to combat an invasion of stinkbugs that swarmed the area over the summer, according to Atticks.

“They took a liking to our grapes,” he said of the stinkbugs, adding that wineries took extra steps to protect their grapes.

Atticks recently sampled some red wine from a winery in Anne Arundel County and said red grapes in Maryland “have turned out the best in memory.”

“It was super dark and super ripe,” Atticks said of the wine.

However, not all Maryland crops were as lucky as grapes.

The state’s corn and soybean crops yielded lower results than normal by 30 percent in 2010, said Earl F. Hance, Maryland’s secretary of agriculture. While grapes benefited from the hot and dry conditions, “it’s not so good for the other commodities,” he said.

State officials were able to receive federal drought assistance as a result of the decreased crops, including making emergency loans available that agriculture producers can apply for to purchase supplies such as feed, according to Hance.

The state’s wheat harvest was about average, Hance said, and while increases in commodity prices create the opportunity for producers to see profits in 2011, “Mother Nature impacts everything we do,” he said.

chuntemann@gazette.net

http://www.gazette.net/stories/12272010/businew155540_32552.php

When Richard Seibert began setting up his tent for the 27th annual Maryland Wine Festival Friday night, the managing partner of Knob Hall Winery had only 40 cases of wine with him.

The more-than-60-acre vineyard in Clear Spring, west of Hagerstown, is just one of four new wineries at this year’s festival. After watching the other wineries set up shop, Seibert quickly realized that he would need more cases.

“Well, I saw that everyone else brought about 200 cases,” Seibert said. “We knew we’d need to get more.”

His low initial estimate wasn’t entirely detrimental to the winery’s first go-around at the festival, as Seibert said that he had to drive back to his vineyard that night anyway.

When Seibert returned, he brought 190 additional cases of his vineyard’s award-winning chambourcin, vidal blanc and dry and semi-dry rose wines, and Saturday’s festival-goers at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster were certainly happy that he did.

“Wine’s a matter of taste,” said Gail Jones, of Westminster, while sampling Knob Hall’s Jealous Mistress wine. “I personally don’t like a merlot, but I like that one.”

The Jealous Mistress is a blend of merlot and chambourcin, Seibert said

“It’s a great red wine to open and drink with friends,” Seibert said. “I personally like it with pizza.”

What started out in 1984 with six wineries on the grounds of the Union Mills Homestead has grown into an immensely popular weekend featuring 37 wineries and an abundance of entertainment, according to Carroll County Farm Museum Director Dottie Freeman.

Last year, more than 22,000 people attended the festival. Freeman said she was expecting at least as many this year.

“At 10 a.m. you would’ve thought that we’ve been open for four hours already,” Freeman said. “We want everyone that visits and tastes the wine to have a good time and leave responsibly.”

Patrick Petitte, 26, traveled from Boston to attend the wine festival for the first time. He traveled to Arlington, Va., where he joined a group of friends, taking a bus to Westminster.

“I like hearing about all the different vineyards and learning how they make the different wines,” Petitte said.

While Petitte said that he was looking for a pinot grigio, after trying all of the wines at the Knob Hall Winery tent, he purchased a bottle of their vidal blanc.

Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association, said that travelers such as Petitte seem to be commonplace at the festival.

“This is a historic event and a great attraction,” Atticks said. “It’s crazy when you hear that there’s, you know, 30 people here from Boston. It’s like, what are these people doing here all the way from Boston?”

Atticks said that front gate staff members have attendees write down their ZIP code upon entering so they can keep a record of where people are coming in from.

Having out-of-towners attend the festival is just another great aspect of the event, Atticks said.

Reach Advocate Staff Writer Brett Lake at 410-857-3316 or brett.lake@westminsteradvocate.com.

Knob Hall Winery Wins Gold Medals at 2010 Maryland Governor’s Cup Competition; Winery Also Nabs “Best in Class”

(Hagerstown, MD) — The Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced that Washington County’s only winery has been awarded three separate Gold Medals in this year’s top wine awards. The medals were awarded for the winery’s first vintage wines (2009), and the winery won more Gold Medals than any other single winery.

“Knob Hall Winery is located near Clear Spring in Washington County, and it achieved the honor of winning three Gold Medals at The Maryland Governor’s Cup Competition with their 2009 vintage. We’re very proud of Washington County’s premier winery also winning a Best in Class award for its Rosé,” said Tom Riford, President and CEO of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Governor’s Cup Competition is the state’s longest-running competition of Maryland wines. Sponsored by the Maryland Wineries Association, the competition is held in August in time for the announcement of the Governor’s Cup winner at The Maryland Wine Festival. For a listing of all the winners, see: www.marylandwine.com/mwa/awards/govcup10.shtml.

The 2010 Governor’s Cup Competition marked the competition’s 21st anniversary. The Knob Hall Winery Gold Medal winners were its Chambourcin, Rosé (dry) and Rosé (Semi-dry).  The Rosé (dry) also won the prestigious “Best in Class.”

According to Kevin Atticks, Executive Director of the Maryland Wineries Association, “This year’s competition consisted of Maryland appellation wines only, and we had the most competitive Governor’s Cup round ever—15 incredible wines battling for the top spot.”  Atticks said it was terrific that Knob Hall Winery grabbed several top awards in its very first year, and the actual medals will be awarded at a special ceremony at the Maryland Wine Festival set for next month.

This is Knob Hall Winery’s first Governor’s Cup competition, and remarkable that Gold Medals were awarded for its very first vintage. Winemaker and co-owner Mary Beth Seibert is one of the state’s only female winemakers. “We are very proud of these three Gold Medals and our Best in Class award,” said Mrs. Seibert. Seibert said that the winery is looking forward to the upcoming Winestock event on September 11th at the winery, and is also participating in the Maryland Wine Festival scheduled for September 18 and 19 in Westminster. “We will be unveiling s several new red wines at the festival,” said Seibert.

Knob Hall Winery is Washington County’s only winery, and currently has 29 acres of land under grape production. The acreage includes the following grape varieties: Albarino, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Viognier, Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Petite Verdot. The winery is expanding and will have 60 acres of land planted with grape vines.

Earlier this year, the winery unveiled its first four wines. Knob Hall currently offers a dry French hybrid red wine called Chambourcin. The wine has a full body and a fruity taste. Knob Hall also is selling its Vidal Blanc white wine, a dry rosé and a semi-dry rosé. Other wines will be ready in September, including a Bordeaux-style blend, a merlot and a light-bodied red blend.

Knob Hall Winery is moving forward with plans for an official tasting room, and is working on refurbishing the farm’s old stone bank barn into an events facility to cater wedding receptions, corporate dinners and other events.

One of the newest wineries in Maryland, Knob Hall Winery is one of 42 wineries in the state. For more information about Maryland Wine, see: www.marylandwine.com.   

Knob Hall Winery is a member of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. For more information, see: www.marylandmemories.com.

For more information about the winery, contact:
Knob Hall Winery
14108 St. Paul Road
Clear Spring, MD 21722
301-842-2777 See the winery’s website: www.knobhallwinery.com.

Governor’s Cup Winner!

Knob Hall’s Semi-dry Rosé received a Gold Medal in the 2010 Maryland Governor’s Cup Competition!

The Seibert family has a long association with the farm known as Knob Hall in Washington County, Maryland. Now the latest generation is bringing estate-grown wines to the region, creating a vision for a new form of sustainable agriculture. We hope you enjoy what the earth, sun and our caring hands have created for you.

• Now available online for delivery within Maryland. Visit the Wine Shop »

For more information about finding or distributing Knob Hall Rosé you may call us at 301-842-2777.