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 ven in our quiet pastoral
setting, there is a lot happening! Here is the latest from Sugarloaf
Mountain Vineyard:
Second Anniversary Celebration
Join us on Saturday, May, 3, 12-6 pm for
our second annual Anniversary Celebration here on the grounds of
Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard. Admission is $10 for those aged 21 and
over, and includes a free wine glass and tastings of select wines
including our Pinot Grigio 06, Cabernet Sauvignon 06, Circe 06,
Comus 06, and our silver medal winning Chardonnay 05. Other than
tastings, we’ll have tours of the vineyard and winery, live music,
BBQ and ice cream vendors. We’ll also have children’s activities, so
bring a chair, blankets, frisbee and dog! We welcome Volunteers,
please contact us at 301-605-0130. Shifts will be from 12-3 pm and
3-6 pm.
Spring Bottling of New Wines
Beginning Monday, May 5, a truck
containing an assembly line style bottling machine will arrive at
our winery for our spring 2008 bottling effort. We will bottle eight
wines: our first vintages from the 2007 harvest (Pinot Grigio '07,
Circe '07, Independence Rose' 07), two reserve wines (a 16-month
barrel aged Maryland Chardonnay Reserve '06, and a 15-month barrel
aged Maryland Comus Reserve '06), our 2006 vintages of Chardonnay
and Merlot, and a new offering we’ve named Stomp!, from our fall
2007 Grape Stomp event. All of these new wines will be properly
bottle-aged and available for sale later in the summer or fall.
Check with us on availabilities of particular wines.
The bottling process is quite a scene:
from loading the empty bottles onto the line, to pumping wine from
our fermentation tanks into the bottles, inserting corks, applying
capsules and labels, quality assurance checks, and finally stacking
and storing in our Case Storage Room. Stop by and watch the show!
Two
Medals for SMV at the 2008 Grand Harvest Awards
In February 2008, the Grand Harvest Awards
were bestowed in Santa Rosa, California. SMV was awarded a Silver
medal for its 2006 Cabernet Franc, and a Bronze medal for its 2006
Chardonnay. This competition is unique in that it is the only one in
North America “based on terrior – a group of vineyards (or even
vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation,
and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and
wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific
personality to the wine.” This approach to judging allows for
greater consideration for “the complexities and nuances of regional
wines”. Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard was one of only two Maryland
vineyards to be awarded medals.
SMV’s Winery Architecture Honored at AIA Maryland Design Awards
In September 2007, the Society of the
American Institute of Architects, Maryland chapter, honored
recipients of their 2007 AIA Maryland Design Awards. SMV extends its
congratulations for the Citation Award given to Cunningham | Quill
Architects, PLLC for their work of notable accomplishment in
designing our winery. Among 48 firms participating from across the
state of Maryland, award recognition was given to only 25 of the 142
project entries. In addition to the professional categories, AIA
Maryland held its first annual Student Design Awards with both
winning entries featuring Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard as the
subject. Our congratulations also to architecture students Florence
Ho and Brian Essig, both of the University of Maryland, College Park
for this outstanding recognition from their professional peers.
St.
Patrick’s Weekend Celebration
Beannachtam na Feile Padraig! On Friday,
March 14 through Sunday, March 16 the Irish vintners of Sugarloaf
Mountain Vineyard celebrated St. Patrick's Weekend with a good crowd
of adopted Irish guests! The weather was very nice, and our guests
filled the tasting room, tent, and outdoor seating areas. Wines were
sipped and sales were brisk, Celtic music got people stepping, and
the authentic Irish bread and cheeses were a big hit! Slainte!
“Women in Wine” Celebration
In recognition of March as “Women
in History Month”, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard held a “Women in
Wine” celebration on Saturday, March 29. The women owners of SMV,
Carol McGarry, Lois McKenna, Kathy O’Donoghue and Randy O’Donoghue
shared the story of how they became vintners, and provided a barrel
tasting of select wines, and lunch for a select group.
2007 International Eastern Wine Competition
In June 2007, Sugarloaf Mountain
Vineyard’s 2005 Cabernet Franc won the rare and seldom awarded
DOUBLE GOLD medal at the prestigious 2007 "International Eastern
Wine Competition", held in the Finger Lakes region of New York
State. Only one other wine won double gold in the 07 competition,
and this included over 2,100 wines from 14 foreign countries
(including Chile and Australia) and 38 states of the United States
(California, Oregon and Washington among them). In the history of
the State of Maryland, there have only been 2 other wines so
honored. Adding to this crowning achievement, our 2005 Cabernet
Sauvignon Reserve, our 2005 Comus Reserve and our 2006 Circe each
won Silver medals. Finally, if that wasn't enough, our 2005 Cabernet
Sauvignon and our 2005 Merlot took away Bronze medals.
Grapes Stomped, Wines Enjoyed
 Our first annual
Grape Stomp held on Saturday and Sunday, October 13th and 14th was a
rousing success. We welcomed over 1,000 people, a number of whom were
brave enough to jump in with both feet and compete in our Grape Stomp
contest. Sales were brisk for all of our wines, and tastings of our
newest introductions Cabernet Franc '06, Cabernet Sauvignon '06, and
Comus '06 met with favorable reviews. Get your pedicures scheduled now
for 2008, and be ready to put your best foot forward.
International Eastern Wine Competition
We are extremely proud to announce our success in the recent most
prestigious "International Eastern Wine Competition", held in the
Finger Lakes region of New York State, which pitted our very new wines
against over two thousand one hundred wines from around the world,
including 38 states of the United States (numbered among which were
California, Oregon and Washington) and 14 foreign countries (including
Chile and Australia). Our 2005 Cabernet Franc won - along with a wine
from Chile and a wine from Lodi, Cal (a real wine hotbed) the rare and
seldom awarded DOUBLE GOLD. In the history of the State of Maryland,
there have only been 2 other wines so honored. Additionally, our 2005
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, our 2005 Comus Reserve and our 2006 Circe
(only bottled in April) won SILVER. Finally, if that wasn't enough, our
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon and our 2005 Merlot took away BRONZE. All this
with wine grown in 2005 and 2006. Imagine how great the wines will be
when the vines get a little older. Remember, they were only planted in
April, 2004.
Down from the
Mountain
 We have
been working diligently on our off-site sales since the fall of 2006,
bringing our wine down from the mountain and out into the community.
Our list of establishments where our wines are served
and sold has grown significantly in the past
year. We have focused attention on our neighbors in Frederick and
Montgomery Counties and the appeal for local wine. In our tasting room,
at regional festivals and at restaurants such as Le Vieux Logis in
Bethesda, our wines have been well-received.
To this end, we
entered our 2005 Comus in the prestigious American Vinifera
Association's East Coast Competition. This was an opportunity to be
compared to almost 300 wines from Maine to Florida. We were quite proud
to have been awarded a silver medal for our 2005 Comus; particularly
for a wine that is made from second year grapes and aged four months.
Looking ahead, our grapes will be more mature and our Comus will be
aged in barrels for one to two years. Hopefully, this will get us to
gold medal status!
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