Vidal Blanc is a French Hybrid developed about 85 years ago. Its original purpose was for for use in making Cognac. It is wonderfully vigorous and the only variety that we planted on six-foot spacing. Vidal needs the additional space to "spread its wings". The wine produced from Vidal tends to be fruity with aroma notes resembling grapefruit and pineapple. It is also an absolute joy to work with in the vineyard. There are many who feel that the local Vidal is superior to that grown anywhere else in the world.

Cabernet Franc is another French variety; this one is from the Loire Valley. It is lighter and paler than either Cab Sav or Tannat and is frequently used as a blending variety due to its finesse and peppery notes. We make both unblended and use it to "round out" our Estate Red.

Cabernet Sauvignon is believed to be the random hybridization of the Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc grapes nearly 400 years ago. Because of its outstanding flavor, it is frequently the primary grape used in some of the worlds most sought after wines. Although it is considered difficult to grow in this area, we believe that our vineyard location is ideally suited allowing us to produce an outstanding red wine. 

 

Tannat is the most obscure of our varieties, however we feel that it has great potential. Tannat is a red wine variety that is native to south western France. The grape is very flexible to work with, in that you can produce wines ranging from a mild rose to a full bodied red. It seems to prefer higher elevations and since our vineyard elevation is between 700 and 800 feet, we believe that we have an ideal site. We were the first Maryland winery to plant Tannat and 50% of our vineyard is dedicated to it. Our 2017 vintage was awarded three silver medals in competitions. Notably it was judged the third-highest Tannat in the 2019 Atlantic Seaboard Winery Association annual competition.