Harvest Ridge Winery
by
Kathy Sullivan
Summary: Harvest Ridge Winery, a recently established family winery and vineyard, is a dream come true for the Nunan family in Marydel, Delaware on the Eastern Shore. Harvest Ridge Winery is one of the few wineries with onsite vineyards extending between two states. The winery is located about 20 minutes from Dover, Delaware and just across the Maryland state line.
In 2005 prior to considering planting a vineyard and building a winery, Chuck Nunan, owner, purchased 120 acres of land along the border of Delaware and Maryland. At the time, his idea was to have land for future generations of the family. Chuck had successfully made wine at home starting in 1995. For Chuck it was a natural progression to plant grapevines and start a commercial winery.
The original Mason-Dixon survey marker 47 is on the property. A vintage sign posted on a tree reminds people to not move the stone marker. After a survey team re-surveyed the property, another marker was placed a few feet away indicating the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Delaware was not yet a state. The Harvest Ridge logo commemorates Marker 47. The logo shows a tree and its roots. Between the roots is a 47. The tree and roots represent the family and the 47 represents the historical significance of the land.
Today many of Chuck’s family members are a part of the Harvest Ridge Winery and its commitment to the future. Family members are involved in all aspects of the winery, vineyard and tasting room.
The winery and tasting/event buildings are located near each other. While similar in style the shape of the winery building reminds one of a barn. The tasting/event rooms building is an A-shaped structure; both buildings have red roofs. Visitors can view the vineyards in the distance.
Vineyards
Located on both sides of the Maryland and Delaware border, most of the 12 acres of grapes are in Maryland. The first grapevines were planted in 2010. Harvest Ridge is growing several varieties of wine grapes including Viognier, Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Merlot, Muscat, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin and Landot Noir. Grapes are also sourced from other local grape growers. The focus of the winery is on producing wines with locally grown fruit.
Harvest Ridge Tasting Room
Visitors to the Harvest Ridge Winery tasting room will discover the tasting room is located in a friendly, approachable one-story wood-sided building. Wine tasters enter directly into the tasting room. The tasting room has a long wood counter of honey tones adding to the comfortable style of the room.
Beyond the tasting room a second but much larger room is available for events. The carpeted event room with windows on three sides has eight large hanging lights. Wall lights add to the ambiance of the room. The room can easily accommodate 150 people.
The event room is available for private events including weddings, anniversaries, reunions and more. Harvest Ridge Winery events already include wine and cheese pairings as well as a wine and chocolate pairing events. An easy to use calendar is on the Harvest Ridge Winery website. We attended a dinner to mark the opening of the winery. The event room space was wonderful for this large gathering.
Harvest Ridge Wines
Currently Harvest Ridge produces several wines. We tasted wines at a wine dinner beginning with the Chenin Blanc Riesling. This light yellow wine offered floral notes of roses on the aroma and peach notes on the taste. The wine had some sweetness but dried on the finish. Chardonnay 2012 was a straw color with an aroma and taste of apple with a hint of pear. The finish was crisp and fruity. This wine was paired with baked oysters asiago with fennel and apple. The Viognier 2011 was a yellow color with floral notes of honeysuckle and roses. It was very earthy. This wine was served with parsnips and pear soup with brown-butter and almonds.
Merlot 2011 was a translucent red color with cherry and earthy notes. The finish was crisp with mild tannins. The Merlot was served with roasted quail with black garlic Romesco and pork belly hash. Malbec 2012 was a ruby color. The aroma was of dark fruits and the taste had notes of dark fruit and leather. The wine finish had bold tannins with fruit yielding to leather. The Malbec was enjoyed with a short rib cacciatore with sweet pepper ravioli.
The Vidal Blanc 2012 was a light straw color. The aroma was floral and the taste reminded one of daisies with a hint of honeysuckle. The finish was crisp and slightly sweet.
Visitors to Harvest Ridge Winery will enjoy a visit to one of the newest East Coast wineries. Harvest Ridge Winery is a friendly, family winery.
Harvest Ridge Winery
447 Westville Road
Marydel, Delaware 19964
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