2-28-2025 4:51am

31 DAYS OF

Jeff Barto Editor

Maryland Wine Month

What Is Maryland Wine Month?

Originally called “Maryland Wine Week” in 2011, Maryland’s wine industry introduced March as the inaugural “Maryland Wine Month” in 2017. Maryland Wine Month allows the Free State’s flourishing wine industry to showcase the innovation, diversity, and quality found in the wineries throughout the state.

This month-long promotion embraces the businesses and consumers that have supported Maryland’s growing wine industry since 1945 – help us celebrate Maryland wine all March long!

Today, Maryland is home to 100+ licensed wineries and dozens of specialized wine retailers. Throughout the state, the wineries and retailers participate by organizing Maryland Wine Month releases, festivities, and tastings. Whether you visit a winery to purchase local wine or tune in to a virtual wine tasting, there are many ways to revel with us.

To plan your Maryland Wine Month celebrations use the Maryland Craft Beverages App to plan your journey or check out the month’s event calendar below.

Maryland Wine Month Event Calendar

MARYLAND WINE TRAILS

History

1648 – Earliest recorded instance of winemaking in Maryland, by Tenis Palee

1662 – Governor Charles Calvert plants 200 acres of European grapes, the first European grapes in Maryland, on the east bank of St. Mary’s River

1823 – John Adlum of Havre de Grace writes the first book in America on viticulture and winemaking

1829 – Maryland Society for Promoting the Culture of the Vine is formed

1933 – Philip Wagner, a columnist with the Baltimore Sun, publishes American Wines and How to Make Them, later revised as Grapes Into Wine; it is the definitive book on winemaking in America

1945 – Boordy Vineyards opens in Riderwood, Maryland’s first bonded winery; Philip Wagner, proprietor

1981 – Maryland Grape Growers Association is formed

1983 – The Linganore AVA area is formed

1984 – Maryland Wineries Association is founded
– The first Maryland Wine Festival is held
– Maryland Winery and Grape Growers Advisory Board is formed

1985 – The Cumberland Valley AVA area is formed

1987 – The Catoctin AVA is formed

2000 – Maryland House Bill 414 passes, allowing state wineries to sell wine by the glass at the winery and to bring product onto retail licensed premises for promotional activities

2001 – Maryland Wineries Association launches its first-ever major cooperative marketing campaign, “Ask For Maryland Wine”

2004 – Governor Robert Ehrlich plants a grapevine at Government House in support of the Maryland wine industry. The Governor forms the Maryland Wine and Grape Advisory Committee to investigate ways of promoting growth in the industry

2005 – Wine and Grape Advisory Committee releases its report: “Maryland Wine: the Next Vintage”
– Maryland Wine & Grape Advisory Commission is formed through legislation, making permanent the previous advisory committee.

2010 – “The Maryland Winery Modernization Act” is signed into law, revising the laws affecting winery operations.

2011 – Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping is signed into law, allowing Marylanders the ability to order and receive wine by mail.

2012 – “History of Maryland Wine: A Full-Bodied History” – written by Regina McCarthy – is released

2013 – Law passed to allow wineries to attend farmers’ market

Maryland Wine’s Impact