Have you been hearing the grapevine news? The rural landscape is now graced with rows of splendid grapevines.
Funding from both State and local jurisdictions has been supporting grape growing for wines as a major priority since 2008, and the fruits of this forward-looking financing are growing up and down our shore. There are currently 10 Eastern Shore vineyards with wineries, 5 of which are on the Upper Shore.
Even more exciting…the vineyard and winery movement is nearly at Chestertownís doorstep. Today there are four vineyards in Kent County, two of which are poised to open wineries very soon. Perched along a beautiful arc in the Chester River with a magnificent view of Chestertown is Piney Grove, which boasts a history of growing fruit since the 1800ís. Harvesting wine grapes since 2008, the Lieber family is now planning a winery. Imagine sipping delicious, locally produced wine just as the schooner Sultana glides by the vineyards of this historic property! The second winery slated to open in the relatively near future is at Crow Farm at the northern end of Kent County in Kennedyville. Roy and Judy Crow have already opened their doors as a charming farmstay B&B and feature chef-created local food dinners and wine-tasting events. But the farm’s rich agricultural soils hold promise for distinctive wines, too. Judy Crow’s son, Brandon Hoy, will start making wine in the milk house this fall with a wine-making/tasting facility soon to follow. The opening of wineries for these two vineyards will likely spur the Crew Family, third-year growers of Plain Dealings Vineyard to take the steps to realize their own wine-making vision. Plain Dealings Vineyard lies along Morgnec Road where the land begins its slope down to the Chester River and offers well-drained soils for grape growing. And White House Farm on Route 213 just north of Chestertown boasts a small organic vineyard. Owner, Dolly Baker plans to offer U-Pick wine grapes sometime in August this year. 
Why grapevines? For one thing, the flowing rows of grapevines are certainly a beautiful sight, while wineries offer a compelling reason beyond the rural beauty of our region for tourists to visit — and spend. Additionally, grape growing is a viable economic niche for Upper Eastern Shore farms. The Maryland Grape Growers Association tracks grape growing/sales in the state and reports that the state continues to exist in a grape-deficit; for every one ton of Maryland-grown grapes used by Maryland wineries, another one and one-third tons must be imported from other states. So there is a demand for Maryland grapes and the opportunity for a grower to become and remain profitable after the initial investment. With this in mind, three years ago the Upper Shore Regional Council, charged with supporting the economic vitality of Cecil, Kent and Queen Anneís counties, took up the cause. Armed with grant funds, the council started investigating ways to bring more acres into grape growing production. Financial planning tools were produced, and support for vineyard management businesses was enacted along with a series of educational seminars that provide on-going advice from experts in the field.
This new economic initiative is distilled for both interested landowners and the community at large in shoreVines.com. Commissioned by the Upper Shore Regional Council and developed by Loblolly Multi-Media Productions in Still Pond, shoreVines.com is the visually-rich website that provides information and guidance for the farmer, landowner, or viticulturist, who is both interested in preserving the rural agricultural heritage of our beautiful Upper Eastern Shore and intrigued by the idea of establishing a vineyard. The shoreVines campaign also includes a series of 4 short 60 sec. broadcast video ads that have appeared on cable TV. Lush with Eastern Shore landscapes, each video is backed by the memorable, continuous drive of Chester River Run-off music. All end with this call to action: “grow grapes a vital option for the upper shore,” and prompt viewers to visit the shoreVines.com website for more information.
Through shoreVines, Loblolly Productions will help increase awareness of the economic tools available to potential grape growers and create awareness among landowners of the benefits of growing grapes in our region. Over the next months The Spy and the shoreVines.com site will showcase the ‘shoreVines pioneers’ and their individual reasons for starting their grape growing ventures: preserving an historic property, environmental sustainability, small parcel land use, keeping the next generation on the farm.
by Lotte Bowie
visit:
and watch for the shoreVines spots on QACTV ch 7 starting 3/28/11.
Lotte Bowie for shoreVines [email protected]
Upper Shore Regional Council
https://www.uppershoreregionalcouncil.org/
Loblolly Productions
https://www.qac.org/Docs/PublicInfo-TV/TV%20Schedule.pdf
Photos:”Early summer vines at Crow Farm” photo: Rob Crow
“Fall 2010 harvest at Piney Grove” photo: loblolly.biz
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