Great Shoals Winery Brings Maryland Ciders to the Capital Region
Looking for a local winery that produces extravagant wines and ciders? Great Shoals Winery is the perfect winery for you. The winery has been in producing great wines for about five years now. Two years ago, Great Shoals moved to their location in Silver Spring, Maryland. Now that they do not have a remote location, business has been booming. It is tucked away in a local farmers market. You can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as, Maryland wine when you visit Great Shoals. Their tasting room has attracted wine lovers from all over.
In addition to their lovely wines, Great Shoals offers sweet ciders made from fresh whole fruits. Making their wines and ciders from whole fruits and not from concentrate or artificial flavors gives the wines at Great Shoals a distinct taste loved by all. The ciders Great Shoals produces ranges from very sweet to drier champagne style ciders. People who do not drink cider often tend to love the drier champagne style cider due to its rich bubbly flavor. Make sure to keep a close look on the new release for this summer. In just a few weeks, Great Shoals will be releasing they Strawberry draft and their Cherry cider.
Since they are conveniently located, join Great Shoals on Wednesday night for a night filled with live music and delicious wines. Sara Nuttle will be performing live and Great Shoals will be featuring their stainless steel chardonnay. Check out their Facebook page Great Shoals Winery for more information!
Handcrafted Wine Racks
Purchasing wine can be an investment. You want to make sure are properly storing your wine to maintain your investment. I have often dreamed about having a custom wine cellar. It is the ultimate in luxury. However, most of us do not have the disposable income to build a wine cellar and have it installed in our home.
Do not despair, we have an alternative solution. we can afford a handcrafted wine rack, or sports memorabilia made from vintage wood. A wine rack that is, in fact, compact and durable. Rich and Crystal Hill, the owners of Vintage Soul, have satisfied that need with their craftsmanship.
Vintage Soul, a company that began on a farm, has perfected in making durable wooden wine racks. Rich Hill has created masterpieces using his bare hands. You can customize your own wine rack to your own unique decor, beauty does come with a budget! For added flare, get the entire family involved with this project, it will create memories for generations to come along with a beautiful homemade wine rack!
If you are interested in getting a wine rack, or something for your man cave, you can contact him at: rcvintagesoul@gmail.com or 410-977-5575.
Contemporary Winery at Eat. Drink. Go Local Festival
In a competitive market wine companies are now going above and beyond their competitors to win over the crowd with unique twists to classic favorites. Most recently, wine vendors from around the local area came together at “Eat. Drink. Go local: North Beach,” to explore the different flavors of the robust Maryland area wineries.
The Winery at Olney won over the crowd with their exotic flavored wines expertly handcrafted to be the perfect balance of new and old flavors. In just three years, the have become the third largest producer of wine in the state. It must have something to do with their specialty fruity wines. At the Winery at Olney, they offer flavors such as peach chardonnay, blackberry merlot, and raspberry peach sangria. Who knew the perfect combination of those flavors would create such a delicious drink. 
In addition to their expertly crafted wines you have the power to create your own handcrafted masterpiece. Once you choose one of the thirty different wines they have to offer, you will mix, stir, and add yeast to your batch. You will then return four to five weeks later to create a label for your wines. Check out how to get started today!
Father’s Day Gifts and Suggestions
Most people view it as a day to celebrate dads and fatherhood. They want to acknowledge the sacrifices they gave for there kids large and small. People want their fathers to know that all those sacrifices are appreciated.
It is a day to honor them for teaching their children and others how to be hard working, self driven, brave, and confident. This Father’s Day we should cherish every moment we spend with them.
Being a father is one of the toughest jobs in the world, I mean it’s a 24/7 job, so you never really get a break. Well, what better way to celebrate than at a great winery, with fantastic staff, and even better wine! And for the wives that have absolutely no idea where to take their husbands on their special day, I can assure you that this is the perfect place to celebrate such a wonderful occasion. Great food, great music, great fathers and great wine! Come explore the abundance of wines Maryland wineries have to offer.
Here are a few ideas for spending time with your father on his special day.
- Fishing: spend the afternoon with your father trying to catch a few guppies.
- Visit a Winery: Take your father to a winery. Recently Vino 301 served Albarino 2013, Bodegas Gonzalez-Ruggiero (Rising Sun, MD), at a wine tasting event. It was a crowd favorite among the other wines. You do not get an opportunity to experience new Maryland wines, aside from going to wine tasting events, unless you visit the vineyards. Visiting vineyards is a great activity to enjoy with dad.
- Baseball Tickets: Take your father to a Washington Nationals game with the family.
- Hiking: Take your father to Sugarloaf Mountain! At the end of your hike, you can stop at Sugarloaf Mountain Winery for a glass of wine.
- Dining Out: Take your father out to his favorite restaurant.
- Relax: Spend Quality time with your father, maybe even take him out to the movies.
For more great ideas check out Vino 301 Wine Concierge Pinterest Boards. Click here Father’s Day Ideas
Wine, Ice Cream = A New Way to Enjoy Wine at the Great Grapes Wine and Food Festival
The Great Grapes Wine and Food Festival was a lively day filled with great opportunities to explore the vast world of food and wine. Located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the Great Grapes Wine and Food Festival was a huge success. Friends and families from across the state gathered together to taste the delicious food and wines the vendors had to offer. The food ranged from Caribbean beef patties to Good ol’ American burgers. And yes, they did have an ice cream station for the children. They also provided live music for everyone to enjoy. The music played consisted of classic rock to old school funk.
The vendor that stood out the most was WineCream. Man was it interesting! We all know that wine can be used for many purpose, like a base in a cocktail. Who knew that you could make wine ice cream?!? WineCream has done it! You may ask yourselves how does it work? Well, first, you pick your wine. Lets say mixed berry for example. Then you mix it with an Ice cream base. Once you have done that it is flashed frozen with liquid nitrogen. And there you have it! A delicious 6 ounce cup of wine ice cream that contains the same alcohol content as a normal glass of wine.
Crossroad Company, creators of WineCream, is a small family-run business of Baltimore, Maryland. They make their delicious creams made to order, so every serving of WineCream has a distinct twist and unique flavor loved by all. Check out Crossroad Company’s website to find out what festival their scrumptious WineCream will be next http://www.crossroadco.com/schedule/.
The combination of great food, delicious wines, and exhilarating music resulted in the Great Grapes Wine and Food Festival complete success. If you are interested in attending another event like this, visit the Maryland Wine Association Festival page for more Maryland festivals. Click here for details Maryland Wine Festivals.
Vino 301 appears on Behind the Mind Radio Show
Imagine my delight when Behind the Mind Radio Show (1480 am) asked me to talk about Maryland wine and its tourism industry (my favorite subjects). For those who are not familiar with this excellent show, Behind the Mind is a 1-hour bi-weekly talk show airing LIVE ON Friday 11am (EST) and Tuesday 7pm (EST), showcasing design thinkers, visionaries, game changers and innovators; while shedding light on designers of well-known and upcoming products and services both domestically and internationally. So you only can imagine how excited I was when they called.
Karen Baker, host and Anthony Leonard, co-host lead the interview. Our discussion ranged from the diverse landscape of Maryland wines to how Maryland wine has impacted the tourism industry. We discussed how wine is popular and has a growing following. The following is not limited to wine drinkers but grape growers and wine makers, known as vintner. People romanticized having a vineyard, but it takes a financial commitment not to mention a lot of time and patience. 
We ended the interview with Behind the Mind top three questions at least that is what I like to call them. A couple of the questions were: if you were a superhero what power would you posses, and if you could have lunch with someone living or dead who would that be? My favorite questions: as a child, what was your favorite toy? For the record, the Barbie Dream House was my favorite toy.
I had an amazing time. They let me sign their wall of fame. Thank you Karen and Anthony for making me feel at home. If you missed the interview, you can listen to it here
Old Friends Reunite on Vino 301 Wine Tour
What is a better way to spend Memorial Day weekend than sipping wine and enjoying the company of your friends? This past holiday weekend a group of childhood friends reunited through the full service tour provided by our company.
What does a full service tour include, you may ask yourselves? First and foremost, transportation! Here at Vino 301, we want our clients to fully indulge themselves in the taste of wine, without having to worry about the hassle of driving. For this particular tour, the tour bus took off from the Bowie Town Center and headed toward its first destination at the Running Hare Winery. At the Running Hare Winery our clients enjoyed the vibrant setting and contemporary atmosphere. In addition, our clients relived their glory days with the help of the live entertainment provided by the Running Hare Winery.
After leaving Running Hare Winery our guests departed on a journey to Thanksgiving Farm. While both guests loved the wines, their personal favorites were the drier wines found at Thanksgiving Farm.
