Maryland winemakers toast dry year, grape harvest

Drought meant sweeter fruit, tastier yield

At Black Ankle Vineyard near Mount Airy, owners Sara O’Heron and her husband, Ed Boyce, are hustling to build a public tasting room to open by next summer and welcomed the grape harvest as bringing interesting flavors for their flagship wine.

‘‘It was a hot, dry season and that is fabulous for grapes,” O’Heron said. ‘‘The benefit of a dry year is seen that year — in these exact berries. The vines are thirsty so there’s more fruit to taste.”

With 22 acres of planted vines, Black Ankle’s grape harvest began in phases Aug. 30 and drew sweet grapes that will strengthen the whites for next year and reds to be released in 2009. The winery plans to bottle 2,000 wines in the spring, including those made of red grapes from 2006 and white grapes from 2006 and 2007.

Instead of using ‘‘vintage” or ‘‘reserve” labeling yet, the couple rates each batch with one of three ratings; the 2007 harvest will receive the highest rating, O’Heron said.

‘‘My personal feeling is the red wines have the ability to benefit more from [a dry season],” O’Heron said. ‘‘A really fabulous red is much better than an average red. The range is really great on the reds.”

The Maryland Wineries Association, which has not yet calculated this year’s yields, is anticipating the best year yet for Maryland’s growing wine industry, according to its monthly newsletter.

On a break from bottling 2007 wines Tuesday at Deep Creek Cellars in Friendsville, co-owner Paul Roberts said this year will likely be ‘‘one of the greatest vintages in the history of Maryland wines.” It is the third consecutive year grapes have flourished with sunny summers and falls, he said.

‘‘The Maryland wine industry is really on a roll now,” said Roberts, who is president of the state wineries association. ‘‘In the eastern U.S., the closer we can get to replicating the Mediterranean climate, the better we are. And that’s what we did this year. ... There’s really no reason not to make a first-class wine in a year like this.”

A few Maryland vineyards, especially some on the Eastern Shore, may report a 10 percent to 12 percent decrease in yield this year, as dry conditions were severe enough to hurt the crops, Roberts said. For most vineyards, however, this year’s sunny skies positioned vineyards for a productive 2008, he said.

Maryland’s 29 licensed vineyards produce more than 240 varieties of wines sold at roughly 600 retailers and 100 restaurants. There are about 450 acres of grape vines planted in Maryland that, along with imported grapes, yielded 1.15 million bottles of Maryland wine in fiscal 2007, according to the wineries association.

‘‘I would expect full-bodied, rich, very mature flavors in red,” Roberts said. ‘‘In white, it should be excellent as well. Everybody who grows cabernet sauvignon should have been able to get it right.”

At Elk Run Vineyards near Mount Airy, co-owner Carol Wilson said grapes — including chardonnay and merlot — from her 25 acres were smaller, but sweeter, this year and will likely yield more expensive bottles. The vineyard will bottle 5,000 cases of 12 bottles each from its 2007 harvest, Wilson said.

‘‘It’s probably been one of the best seasons in 20 years,” Wilson said. ‘‘When it’s dry, we don’t have problems with fungus. ... You need a certain amount of heat and sunshine.”

Maryland’s wine industry

29 licensed wineries sold 1.15 million bottles in fiscal 2007, up nearly 20 percent from 2006.

Annual 2007 wine sales are estimated at $12.7 million, compared with $3.45 million in 1997.

Maryland’s wineries produce more than 240 varieties sold at roughly 600 retailers and 100 restaurants.

Boordy Vineyards, which opened in 1945, is Maryland’s oldest winery.

Maryland grape growers harvest an average of 800 tons per year.

Source: Maryland Wineries Association