When the boss asks you to drink wine at eleven o’clock on a Monday, you better listen to him.

Richard, Mary Beth, staff, and exclusive guests gathered Monday to decide our premier blends for this year. Tasting up to 16 wines is no small feat but a great sneak peek into the intricacies of wine making.

Starting with a Vidal varietal and ending in our Chambourcin, our job was to taste the single varietals in sequence and then taste varietals in blends of different proportions. The end goal? To produce premier white and red blends that will take home the Gold for Knob Hall for a consecutive year.

The new “White Oak” blend has the flesh of a Chardonnay with a nose of Vidal and Trimonette. The immediate sensations are of orange, orange blossom, butterscotch, and oak. Truly a beautiful wine, “White Oak” will be bottled in April.

Our new “Prestige” blend promises to be even more prestigious as last year’s. With the body and top notes of Chambourcin, blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc of different vintage, Prestige (according to one our of blending session guests) blows every other Maryland red out of the water– bottled in April.

Knob Hall Winery Wins Gold Medal at International Wine Competition; Maryland’s ONLY Gold Medal in Entire Event; 800 Wines Judged; Winemaker is Award-Winning Mary Beth Seibert

(Clear Spring, MD) – The Knob Hall Winery in Clear Spring, Maryland, received a Gold Medal at the recent 2012 International Eastern Wine Competition & Riesling Championship. The competition was for wines produced in the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada, and included over 800 wines. The competition took place March 5-7, 2012, and was held in Santa Rosa, California.

The 36^th Annual International Eastern Wine Competition (IEWC) is one of the oldest and largest professional wine competitions in the United States.

Knob Hall Winery also won a Bronze Medal with its Chambourcin.

According to Dr. Joseph Fiola, University of Maryland Extension Specialist in Viticulture and Small Fruit, “This is a fantastic award. To be the only Maryland wine awarded a gold medal is truly remarkable. Congratulations to Mary Beth Seibert for bringing home the Gold Medal for Knob Hall’s Le Rêve Rouge!”

The judges were comprised of the most experienced and unique pool of wine industry professionals. The wines were judged from a field of over 800 wines.

According to Maryland Wineries Association Executive Director Kevin Atticks, “Knob Hall Winery makes excellent wine, highlighting the superb grapes that are being grown in Washington County and Western Maryland. To win this award shows the excellence of Knob Hall Winery!”

Located on Saint Paul Road just outside of Clear Spring, Maryland, Knob Hall Winery is one of the few wineries in Maryland that has a female winemaker. Mary Beth Seibert has won the hearts, and taste buds, of wine-lovers throughout the Mid-Atlantic. In 2010, the winery won more gold medals than any other winery at the Maryland Wine Festival. The three gold medals turned out to be the most that any winery in Maryland had ever won. Knob Hall’s Rose was selected as Best in Class, as well. At the 2011 Maryland Wine festival, the winery had four silver medals and two bronze medals – another outstanding year!

Knob Hall Winery is currently Washington County’s only winery, and now has over 30 acres of land under grape production. The acreage includes the following grape varieties: Albariño, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Viognier, Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Petite Verdot. The winery continues to expand and will have 60 acres of land planted with grape vines. There are nearly 50 wineries in Maryland. For more information about Knob Hall Winery, see: www.knobhallwinery.com.  Also, call: 301-842-2777. For more information about the 2012 International Eastern Wine Competition & Riesling Championship see: http://www.vwm-online.com/wine_competitions/intl_eastern/index.asp.

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

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

Jealous Mistress is a semi-dry red.  Goes well especially with Asian or Mexican food.  A great wine to just sit around and enjoy with friends.

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.

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.