Far Eastern Shore Winery
by
Kathy Sullivan
Summary: Far Eastern Shore Winery, a family-owned winery, is located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in Easton. The winery and tasting room are located on a main street passing through the small city. Visitors will discover a wide assortment of wines infused with fruit.
As soon as we entered the Far Eastern Shore Winery tasting room, we were greeted by an enthusiastic staff. A few minutes later we met Tien-Seng Chiu. We soon learned that before Tien-Seng became owner and winemaker at Far Eastern Shore Winery, he was an aerospace engineer.
Windows along the front of the room are frosted allowing plenty of light but a slight seclusion from the busy street. Comfortable seating with colorful green and red pillows provides a pleasant place to enjoy a glass of wine.
The winery building is aged but has been delightfully renovated. Earlier the location had been home to a hardware store, sporting goods store and a furniture store. Today the tasting room is at the front of the facility with the winery located in the back.
We first met Tien-Seng Chiu at the Maryland wine award ceremony in 2018. Far Eastern Shore Winery received a medal for its delicious Dream port-style wine. Tien-Seng Chiu and his wife, Tara Chiu, are the owners of the winery. Tara Chiu is a graphic designer and designed the artistic logo image of two graceful swans which is used on the wine bottles.
Far Eastern Shore Winery is a boutique family-owned winery. Currently the focus of the winery is on producing low alcohol fruit infused wines. The grape juice is sourced and fruit juice is added and the blend is fermented. Tien-Seng is also working on producing meads.
History of Far Eastern Shore Winery
Tien-Seng (pictured right) began his interest in winemaking when he started making mead while in college. He began making wine in 2008 as a hobby. Tien-Seng and Tara first served their wines at their wedding. The wines were a hit at the wedding with people asking to order the wines that were served. Over time the couple continued to receive requests for wine and eventually they decided to start a winery.
Nine years later, in 2017, the couple opened the tasting room in Easton. The tasting room includes a wine tasting counter with several seats. The other area of the room is decorated with Asian-style furniture that reflects the name of the winery.
In 2020 Tien-Seng wants the public to know, “We make wines we like drinking. We strive for well-balanced wines.” They focus on producing balanced wines by using precise measurements of sugar to bring out the fruit notes. In the future Tien-Seng would like to produce dry wines to add to the winery’s portfolio. He also intends to produce more meads.
The Wines
Currently Far Eastern Shore Winery is producing more than 2,000 cases.
Lotus was produced with strawberry, lychee and Gewürztraminer. The wine with 7.5% alcohol, was a light yellow color. The aroma was reminiscent of a flower bouquet with strawberries. The taste was of roses and strawberries. The finish was sweet and fruity with floral notes.
Autumn was a blend of cranberries and Pinot Gris. The 7% alcohol wine was a light yellow color. The aroma was sweet with a faint cranberry touch. The taste had cranberry with some tropical hints. The cranberry really came through on the finish.
Harvest, with 9.5% alcohol, was a yellow color. This wine was produced with cranberries and Vidal. The aroma was floral. The taste was sweet with notes of cranberries, roses, honeysuckle and citrus. The sweet finish was fruity with floral notes.
Dragonfly, with 7.5% alcohol, was an orange color with a sienna hue. The wine was a blend of raspberries, dragon fruit and a white Shiraz. The aroma reminds one of red raspberries. The sweet taste had raspberry notes. The finish was sweet with a lot of fruit.
Black had 7% alcohol. The wine was produced with blackberries and Cabernet. The color was a translucent ruby. The aroma was of blackberries. The taste was slightly sweet with intense blackberries. The finish was fruity followed by drying on the aftertaste.
Winter with 12% alcohol was a translucent dark ruby color. This wine was a spiced Zinfandel. The aroma was fruity with floral notes. The taste included baking spices, especially cinnamon, with black raspberries. The finish was a blend of fruit and baking spices.
Silver with 12% alcohol was a gold color. The wine was produced in an icewine-style with Riesling grapes. The aroma was floral and the taste included honeysuckle with jammy peach. The finish was of sweet fruit and then the wine dried on the aftertaste.
Far Eastern Shore Winery offers a Wine Club. The benefits of joining the wine club include: quarterly release of three bottles wines, free wine tastings for two, access to new wine releases and invitations to events at the winery.
While visiting Easton or traveling through the historic city, be sure to discover Far Eastern Shore winery.
Far Eastern Shore Winery
8370 Ocean Gateway
Easton, Maryland 21601
GPS: N38º 46.7354’ W76º 03.6524’
Article written February 2020.
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