The 2017 Governor’s Cup Award Cool Ridge Red

As Terry mentioned in an earlier blog, last week we attended the 29th Annual 2017 Maryland Wine Governor’s Cup Awards event. Most of the award winning wines were produced by several of Maryland’s more recently opened wineries. If anyone wonders why the earlier Maryland wineries were not winning awards, the newer wineries understand that they are building these award winning wines based on the hard work, and research that the earlier wineries have done. So kudos to all of the Maryland wineries.

One of the speakers noted, “If you like high end local wines, this is a great spot . Our goal is to make the best wines possible.”

The wineries of Maryland range from the small boutique wineries to much larger wineries. We have discovered they are delightful to visit. In fact, we were asked to revisit Catoctin Breeze Vineyard due to all of the changes, this family owned and operated winery have made since our last visit. Upon arriving at the winery, we discovered a new winery tasting room with and new attached winery. The old tasting room and winery are now used for storage. The tasting room offers seating at the wine counter, a fireplace and large windows overlooking the countryside. In addition, for summer months they have a large pergola with tables and chairs. As far as the quality of wines, the 2015 Estate Syrah was named “Best Syrah on East Coast” by the Atlantic Seaboard Competition. Suggestions for foods to pair with this Estate Syrah were meats that were grilled or roasted.

While traveling to or from your holiday destinations in Maryland, be sure to stop by and purchase a bottle of wine to open and enjoy when you reach your destination. For a list of Maryland wineries, check out the Maryland Wine website.

Cheers!
Kathy