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The history of Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard is enriched by these stories of interest about our vineyard and winery, events, wines, honors and recognitions and community relationships.
SMV Wines Win MORE Medals
SMV 2010 Comus brought home a gold medal from the 2012 Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition. SMV's 2011 Chardonnay and 2009 Evoe were awarded bronze medals. The ASWC competition is an annual event. This year 495 wines were entered from 17 states along the US Atlantic Seaboard and over 20 judges participated.
The 2012 U.S. National Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, California has awarded SMV's 2010 Comus and 2009 Evoe bronze medals. This competition's focus is on representing the multitude of grape varieties shore-to-shore that are unique to our nation's historical footprint.
Additionally, in the 2012 Maryland Winemasters Choice Awards, SMV's 2011 Chardonnay and 2009 Evoe both won silver medals, and 2010 Comus, 2011 Rosé, and 2011 Pinot Grigio all won bronze medals.
In the 2012 International Eastern Wine Competition, SMV's 2010 Chardonnay won a silver medal in the Chardonnay category, and the 2010 Comus and 2009 Evoe won silver medals in the Red Bordeaux type blends category. Over 800 wines were entered in the competition, which is the oldest, largest professional wine competition in the United States. All of the judges were professionals in the wine industry.
SMV Welcomes Groupon Customers
Our Daily Deal through Groupon – a $25 wine tasting for two, cheese platter, and two glasses of wine – sold out in the first few hours on Wednesday, November 10th! This is SMV's first partnership with Groupon, and if you were able to take advantage of the offer, we look forward to welcoming you to the Vineyard! If you missed it, don't worry, we'll have other offers coming in the near future.
If you're new to Groupon, it is a great way to find great deals at huge discounts in the coolest places in the Washington, DC area (and other cities, too!). Visit www.groupon.com to check it out!
More Medals Awarded to SMV Wines
Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard's wines won gold, silver and bronze medals in the 2010 MD Governor's Cup Competition. The SMV Evoe, a Bordeaux style blend, won a gold medal. Silver medals were awarded to SMV's Chardonnay Reserve 08, and to Circe 09 and Comus Reserve, both red blends. The SMV Pinot Grigio 09 won a bronze medal. Ninety three wines were entered in the competition; the 15 judges, all experienced in the various aspects of the wine industry, were divided into three panels. These awards bring the total number of awards Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard wines have won to over 70. We are proud of our accomplishments and invite you to come taste our award winning wines.
Dog Days of August Draws Quite a Pack
Thanks to the 60 dogs and their owners who came out on August 7, 2010 and making our first Dog Days event a success! We welcomed visitors of the two- and four-legged kind Including quite a spectrum of breeds from tiny Yorkies to Irish Wolfhounds. The dogs had a glorious time in the vineyard off leash with sprinklers and a kiddie pool.
Awards were given out for:
Friendliest Dog: Lizzie - Owner Brent Buccine from Rockville
Cutest Dog: Cameron Doggett from Chevy Chase
Most Well Behaved Dog: Shade - Owner Max from Gaithersburg
Biggest Trickster Dog: Bailey - Owners Matt and Amy Hennessy from Baltimore
Most Laid Back Dog: Kaos - Owner Don Keeter from Laurel
Smallest Dog: Sasha - Owner Alyssa Miller from Germantown
Largest Dog: Keegan - Owner Debbie from Mt. Airy and
Most Frequent Canine SMV Visitor: Rulo - Owners Jim and Karen Grafmyra from Germantown
It was truly a showcase of brushed coats, “good dog” biscuits, and the stupidest of pet tricks. We hope to schedule another Dog Days event coming up soon, so bookmark this news page, or sign up for our eNewsletter.
SMV Wins Best of Show and More at the
4th Annual Maryland Winemasters Choice Competition
On May 20th, fourteen winemakers and twelve other judges gathered for the 4th Annual Maryland Winemasters Choice Competition. After 140 wines were tasted and judged, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard came away with nine awards, including the top prize for our Comus Reserve 2007: the 2010 Winemasters Choice Award, Best in Show. In addition this, the Reserve also received Best of Class of Dry Red Blends, as well as a Gold Medal. And the stellar performances did not stop there! SMV was also awarded Gold Medals for Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2007 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, a Silver Medal for Evoe! 2007, and three Bronze Medals for Cabernet Franc 2008, Chardonnay 2007 and Pinot Grigio 2009. We are proud to share these achievements with you, and encourage you to come by to taste and enjoy these award winning wines!
SMV Joined June 6th Bethesda Central Farmers Market Event
Featured in Washington Post "All We Can Eat" Blog
On Sunday June 6th SMV joined the Bethesda Central Farm Market for a special event for winemakers and farmers markets. Mitch Berliner, co-founder of the BCFM and long-time champion of allowing wineries to participate in farmers markets, welcomed Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, Del. Brian Feldman, to commemorate and celebrate a new law just in effect June 1 which makes it easier for Maryland's wineries to sell at area farmers markets. Del. Feldman, Chair of the Montgomery County delegation to the State Legislature and the measure's local sponsor made a special presentation of the pen used to sign the Maryland Wine and Farm Market bill by Governor Martin O’Malley. SMV is the first winery to apply for this permit under the new law. Dave McIntyre, Washington Post writer and blogger, also promoted the event in his blog posting. To read Dave's full blog, click here.
Six Awards for SMV at the
2010 International Eastern Wine Competition
On May 19-21 the 2010 International Eastern Wine Competition was held in the Finger Lakes region of New York, and Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard was honored with six medals, including three Silvers for our Evoe! 2007, Comus Reserve 2007, and Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2007, and three Bronzes for our Pinot Grigio 2009, Cabernet Franc 2008 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. With over 2,200 wine entries from 16 countries and 34 states, the IEWC is one of the oldest and largest competitions in the United States, and the judges represent major east coast markets from Miami to Toronto. We are proud of another great showing at this year’s competition. Come by the vineyard and taste these award winning wines!
SMV Wins Two Silver Medals
Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard's 2007 Comus Reserve and 2007 Chardonnay both brought home silver medals in the 2010 Grand Harvest Wine Competition, an international wine competition held on February 24 - 25 in Sonoma Mountain Village, Rohnert Park, California.
SMV Wins 2 Gold, 1 Silver
at 2009 American Wine Society’s Commercial Wine Competition
Three Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard wines won medals at the American Wine Society’s
2009 Commercial Wine Competition held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in early October.
Our 2007 EVOE! – just released for sale on November 8 – won a Gold medal, as did our
2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve. Our 2008 Cabernet Franc – also just released on November 8 –
brought home a Silver medal.
Eighty-six wineries from across the United States, Canada, South Africa and as far away as Australia competed. Out of nearly 500 wines entered, only 30 Golds were awarded. We are greatly honored that SMV won two. We are one of eight wineries winning two gold medals in this competition; of this group only four are East Coast wineries.
SMV Paired with Top Chef at The Taste of Wheaton Event
GiraMondo Wine Adventures held their annual “Taste of Wheaton” Ethnic Food and Wine Tasting Event on Sunday May 17, 2009, in Wheaton Maryland. Hosted by Laurent Guinand of GiraMondo, the event had a unique touch by providing an ethnic food and wine experience with three tasting tables featuring Latin American, Asian and European cuisines. As an added treat at the European tasting table, Bravo’s ‘Top Chef: New York’ finalist Carla Hall created a dish that was paired with Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard’s own Comus Bordeaux blend! Additionally, Comus was featured as one of the premier wine tastings. The event was well attended and the tables were sold out within the first hour. Visit GiraMondo at www.giramondowine.com to learn more about their services and adventures.
SMV Architecture Included in "Design Excellence" Exhibit
The SMV Winery architecture was featured in the exhibition “Pitch Perfect: Design Excellence in the Region” held at the Virginia Center for Architecture in Richmond, Virginia from April through August 2009. The exhibition was sponsored by the VA Society of the American Institute of Architects and featured winners of the regional 2008 Awards for Excellence in Architecture. Between 2007 and 2008, five separate awards from AIA’s area chapters have been bestowed on SMV’s winery and its architects, Cunningham and Quill PLLC. The awards include two 2008 Awards of Excellence. For information about the Virginia Center for Architecture, visit www.virginiaarchitecture.org.
SMV Wines Served at The Kennedy Center
We are greatly honored that select wines from Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard have been included
on the wine menu at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Restaurant since 2007. SMV is the first local or Maryland winery to achieve this distinction. Our vintages are served by the bottle or glass in the restaurant and at the wine bars during performances. We hope The Kennedy Center patrons enjoy our award winning wines, and will develop a lengthy relationship with SMV.
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.
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