Retired: Maryland's Best

"Maryland's Best" Limited Edition - Now Retired. 

"Maryland's Best" was captured at Black Ankle's Grand Opening, but is not our only Black Ankle image. Check out our store / website for other Maryland Winery art, including Black Ankle. 

New Release: BV Cubed

"BV Cubed"

New Release "BV Cubed" will be available at Wine in the Woods, May 19 & 20, 2012.

Found It!

The quest to replace the beloved everyday Barefoot wine is finally over.   After trying just about every high value wine from our local wine store we finally found it. It took a visit downtown to one of our favorite wine bars, VNO. I sampled Broad Bent, a Vinho Verde from Portugal.  And, well, hmmm, tasty!

The sun was shining and the air was warm so we grabbed an outdoor seat and ordered a bottle. Crisp, soft with a little effervescence. We grabbed a few extra to take home.

Once we got home we realized the wine was low octane, even better I thought, 9%. I can drink this with dinner on a school night and not feel guilty.  

We're still sampling other Vinho Verdes to find the best one. More to follow.

Decanter 2012

 Decanter

A Celebration of Wine & Racing at Pimlico Race Course. 

April 21-22, 2012

The weather was looking poor at best, hot and rainy for Saturday, cold and rainy on Sunday. Spring weather is unpredictable.  Even though the sunshine stayed with us until the end of the day on Saturday, the event coordinator Jade Oster, with Maryland Wineries Association, moved the event indoors the day before. It was for the best. Now there was a choice, hot or cold, sunny or rainy, indoors or out. The grandstand seating and food was available on both upper and lower levels.  The crowd both days was much bigger than last year.   I bet because it was indoors.

Saturday started with the hustle to set up vendors, a few new wineries, and well-seasoned ones, too. I was hoping I'd find some time to sneak away to sample. The music, Peter James, a solo act was working hard to get set up while we were finishing our final pricing of artwork.  My husband and exchanged the all too familiar glance, "how'd we get stuck by the band...again?". Well, at least he was easy on the eyes.

It was noon and the crowd started to filter in, slowly more and more. I studied the crowed.  I always do, who are they, why are they here? Is there a commonality among them? I started to notice it was a youthful group. There were several groups of ladies going solo and young couples out with friends.

Just then Peter James started to play. His tunes perfectly matched the crowd. His agent (and attorney) politely asked us if the music was too loud. Wow. That was a first. Of course it wasn't and even if it was I wasn't about to tell him to turn it down. I loved it! As the day went on the crowd got bigger. We took turns watching the races and sampling wines, some old favorites and a few new finds. I even placed a small bet but didn't fair well. As the day went on, people passed by and some stayed to chat, a few artists, marketing and sales folks, other vendors, and self-published author, Stacie Whitaker-Harris. There was an amazing energy that surround her. We talked with a few native Floridians, bikers, ex-military, and wine fans.  Each with their own story.  We closed out the day selling both the Wine Flight and a larger version of our featured "Decanter" piece (from the image at the top of this blog). We knew the weather was deteriorating, closed up for the day, and drove home in the rain, expecting worse weather on Sunday and low on attendance.

The next morning, but not too early, we packed up last minute supplies and head to the track. Rain. All we could think about was how horrible packing up was going to be in the rain. We made final adjustments on our display, hopeful, for a good day.   Peter James, unfortunately, was not scheduled to play on Sunday. However, the music seemed to match the crowd, a little old school country and Elvis. Really not my type but whatever; it worked for Sunday. 

The day started really slow, but with a surprise. A couple we met at Wine in the Woods that purchased art there, stopped by to let us know they still are enjoying their artwork. They left with something new. Not too soon after, another couple that purchased the first printing of Boordy Barrels at the Maryland Wine Festival that they later had the wine makers sign, stopped to chat. They too love their artwork and added to their collection.

There was lull and I decided I wanted to try my luck again. I placed my bet and proceeded outside. It was about two minutes to races on a sloppy track, and jokingly next to some sloppy guests. At least they had a good laugh.  They told me they really enjoyed this event. They love wine but this was their first time to see a horse race. They were glad they were able to experience something new with something familiar. As it seemed to be the same for most of the guests, too.

I fared better on this gamble. I was still down $4 but I had a full glass. And with that it was time to go back to work. Just in time, too. Rob was trying to process a sale and quickly turned the paperwork over to me. We always joke that he's "just the dumb artist" but this is why we make a good team. I quickly process the sale and sent Rob out to taste some wine hoping he'd return with something new. I was looking forward to wine with my crabby (patty) melt and Utz chips.

The crowd was thinning and the rain was picking up. Sunday crowds usually want to head home early, after all Monday is lurking around the corner. A sudden last minute groups sales kept us busy right to the end. Our last customer of the day, purchased multiple pieces, one, a gift for a bride that is getting married at a local winery, left us with a final thought "keep doing what your doing" - and this is why I'll bet on art over horses any day.


Thank you Maryland Wineries Association and Pimlico for another awesome event. I look forward to returning as a vendor next year, in the grandstands.
 
  

  

Barefoot Burn-Out

How long does it take for one to burn on a favorite, everyday wine?

About a year.

We love Barefoot wines, especially the pinot grigio. The price point is right. It's a perfect everyday wine but then something happened. We took a vacation back home to Florida. We got sick with an upper respiratory infection that left us thinking everything tasted funny.

We continued our vacation with our last stop on St. Augustine. We tried a few new wines and made our best attempt to enjoy the remaining days in Florida funny taste notwithstanding. It didn't work so well.

We returned home after a 16 hour uneventful drive. There was plenty Barefoot waiting for us to unwind, but we just couldn't enjoy it like before.

I was wondering "how could I be sure it was the sickness affecting me?" But the following two weekends Barefoot just didn't hold it's allure.

Now the quest begins to find a replacement.

2012 Show Schedule

Our 2012 show schedule:

Decanter at Pimlico, Baltimore City, MD, April 21-22, 2012

Wine In the Woods, Columbia, MD, May 19-20, 2012

Annapolis Arts & Crafts Festival, Annapolis MD June 9-10, 2012

Maryland Wine Festival, Westminster, MD, September 15-16, 2012

Tentative Events for 2012:

Canton Wine & Jazz, Baltimore, MD, September 2012

Wine on the Hill, Hanover PA, September 2012

Wine on the Beach, Ocean City, MD, October 2012

Autumn Wine Festival, Salisbury MD, October 2012

Holiday Mart, Columbia, MD, December 2012

Please check back events may change.

Canton Wine & Jazz

New Event for us, Canton Wine and Jazz Festival. We wanted to give it a try because it was downtown. That was good for me - sometimes it feels like I don't get into the city enough.

It was a small town feel. A party in the streets.  Local Wine and good local music. Nothing over powering or too loud. Jazz really is a great pairing with wine.

The only downside to this festival is the wineries were only allowed to sell wine by the glass.  I think that was determined by the hosting organization, The Canton Homeowners Association. As a result the lines were long; the crowd was frustrated.  At some point some of the wineries gave into the crowds or people purchased wine by the bottle to take it home but just opened it there instead. Some of the wineries sold out of wine, too. That helped us close up a little early....festivals are always really long days anyway.

Overall it was a great show. We've heard rumor it may not be held next year, but if it is we'll definitely return.