Wineries offer homegrown taste

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland never will rival France, California or even Australia as a winemaking center, but the state does have a growing industry that includes 12 wineries producing about 573,000 bottles a year.

To help promote the industry and to encourage Marylanders to drink wine from homegrown grapes, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. planted a cabernet sauvignon vine on the grounds of the governor’s mansion yesterday.

“Today is about a growth industry in the state of Maryland,” Mr. Ehrlich said at the ceremony on the front lawn, near a table displaying a bottle from each of the 12 wineries. “It is part of our past. It is part of our present. It is going to be a bigger part of our future.”

Mr. Ehrlich does not drink alcohol, but he said he is surrounded by wine drinkers, including first lady Kendel Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele. The governor said he and his wife also serve Maryland wines and Maryland beers at the governor’s mansion to support state businesses.

Rose Fiore, who with her husband operates a vineyard and winery in Harford County, said the family planted the first grape vines 24 years ago and began bottling wines 18 years ago.

Before that, the Fiores tried raising corn, pigs and other farm products, and “we were losing our shirts,” she said.

Fiore Winery increased production from 1,500 gallons the first year to about 20,000 gallons today.

When the winery first opened, the Fiores had trouble selling their wines, but that is not a problem now, Mrs. Fiore said.

Many liquor stores now have displays of Maryland wines “simply because people are asking for it,” she said.

The Fiores produce about 15 different wines from eight varieties of grapes. They grow many of their own grapes and buy others from farmers in Maryland. The demand for wine from in-state wineries is so great that some grapes must be brought in from other states, Mrs. Fiore said.

Sales for wines made in Maryland were estimated at about $5.6 million in 2003. More than 200 farmers are members of the Maryland grape growers association, but they produce only about 60 percent of the grapes used to make Maryland wines.

According to a fact sheet prepared by the Association of Maryland Wineries, the earliest recorded instance of wine making in Maryland was in 1648. In 1662, Gov. Charles Calvert planted 200 acres of European grapes on the east bank of the St. Mary’s River.

The first bonded Maryland winery, Boordy Vineyards, opened in 1945.

Agriculture Secretary Lewis Riley said the winemaking and grape-growing industry has increased dramatically in recent years.

“It generates a lot of acres and a lot of dollars,” he said.