Boordy Vineyards

Boordy Vineyards is a  67 year old winery that is located just north of Baltimore, in Jacksonville, Maryland. This is about five minutes from my house and ever since I was little I have always wanted to try their wine.

As I drove into the winery I saw the barn, outside amphitheatre, and the vast fields of vines that I have past on my way home so many times throughout high school. Then it was time for the tour. Unfortunately, the day we went was very cloudy and cold and since it was march and they had barely started their growing season if at all, the tour they gave us was a little half assed. 

The fields of vines runs about 15 to 20 acres and at this particular spot it is better for growing whites. They have a second location about an hour and half west of Baltimore that has a 2 week longer growing season making it better for reds. Unfortunately, there were no grapes on the vines and so they just sort of pointed out where they planted their Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, Chamourcin, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Grigio grapes.

As we made our way to the barn, they pointed out where the Chateau de Boordy (farm in this case) was. They also showed us where the amphitheatre is and where they have parties each week. We made our way into the upstairs of the barn where they showed us the several barrels that were stored and I forgot to take a picture which sucks.

As we made our way to the downstairs, however, they had a little shop set up with several wines and trinkets and as we made our way into the next room I finally saw it. The Tasting Room. The best part of the trip. Here we tried 10 or 11 of their 20 wines. Note before we start that they told us they do not have any heavy full-bodied reds because of their short growing season.

They have 3 different series. First is their Landmark series which are wines made from 100% Maryland grapes and mostly from Boordy. These are the wines that are made to show off the terroir and vintages of Maryland.

The next series is their icons of Maryland wines which are named after favorite animals icons in Maryland, like the oriole or rockfish.These are fun wines that pair well with food or just to enjoy while sitting on a porch drinking with friends.

The last is the fun wines. these are wines that they make just for fun. The let us try one so we picked the Spiced Wassail, which is the spicy red wine of "good cheer". Served heated to warm the soul. when we drank it was not heated, however it tasted like a mix between clove and pumpkin pie and it was awesome. it something to definitely drink during the holidays.

I went with my mom and she said she was the worst taster there was so as I was trying to pick out flavors I started asking her and she started doing better which was cool. My favorite wine was the Cabernet Franc, which is an elegant red with soft tannins and a silky finish with Aromas of cedar and raspberry and aged in French oak barrels. Her favorite was the Chardonnay.