Maryland Wine Festival

Maryland

Wine region
Official name	State of Maryland
Type	U.S. state
Year established	1788
Years of wine industry	17th century - present
Country	United States
Sub-regions	, Cumberland Valley AVA, Linganore AVA
Climate region	Humid subtropical/continental
Total area	12,407 square miles (32,134 km2)
Size of planted vineyards	250 acres (101 ha)
Grapes produced	Albariño, Arneis, Auxerrois blanc, Barbera, Blaufränkisch, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Carménère, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Dolcetto, Gewürztraminer, Malbec, Malvasia, Marsanne, Merlot, Montepulciano, Mourvèdre, Müller-Thurgau, Muscat, Muscat of Alexandria, Muscat blanc, Nebbiolo, Nero d'Avola, Pais, Petit Manseng, Pinot Meunier, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Pinot blanc, Pinot grigio, Pinot noir, Pinotage, Riesling, Rkatsiteli, Roussanne, Ruby Cabernet, Rubired, Sauvignon blanc, Sangiovese, Sémillon, Sultana, Symphony, Syrah, Tannat, Tempranillo, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Trebbiano, Viognier, Zinfandel
No. of wineries	41

Maryland wine is wine made in the U.S. state of Maryland. The industry has grown rapidly since the first winery in Maryland, Boordy Vineyards, opened in 1945. It is estimated that the industry contributes $50 million annually to the Maryland economy.

The state’s history of viticulture begins in 1648 with the earliest recorded instance of winemaking in Maryland. Fourteen years later, the first European grapes planted in Maryland were deposited in 200 acres (80.9 ha) on the east bank of St. Marys River. It was not until the 1930s that Philip Wagner, a columnist with the Baltimore Sun, published American Wines and How to Make Them. The book was later revised as Grapes Into Wine and became the definitive book on winemaking in America.

The 1980s proved to be a definitive decade for the industry. In 1981, the Maryland Grape Growers Association was formed, followed by the Maryland Wineries Association in 1984. That same year, the Maryland Wine Festival was held for the first time and the Maryland Winery and Grape Growers Advisory Board was formed.

In 2000, the Maryland State Legislature passed Maryland House Bill 414, allowing state wineries to sell wine by the glass at the winery and to bring product onto retail licensed premises for promotional activities. A record crowd of more than 25,000 attended the Maryland Wine Festival and Maryland wineries sold a record 86,954 US gallons (329,157 l) of wine.

Throughout the years that followed, the industry saw many changes as well as growing success. The instigator of such success was the Maryland Wineries Association’s first-ever major cooperative marketing campaign, "Ask For Maryland Wine."

Maryland is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the west by West Virginia, on the east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by West Virginia and Virginia. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted on the Maryland side by Washington D.C.. The Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state, and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore.

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Wikipedia