I thought long and hard about what to write this week. I’m serious.   The Maryland Wine Festival gave me enough options to fill out the rest of the year.  But like I said last week, this will likely not be done with a consecutive weeks stream of posts and then I move onto the next thing.   It will be spaced out.  That could happen starting next week for a few weeks from now.  Only time will tell.

The fun of festivals is sampling so many wines from local vineyards, without having to make the drive to the winery itself.  Does this sound like cheating?  No, I wouldn’t say so. This might be like the Cliffs Notes version of things.  But it’s the perfect introduction to wines we otherwise may have never heard of. They come to us, like so many good things do.  We pay a small cover charge ($25-$30) to enter and the world is our oyster (or our vineyard).

One such vineyard is Deep Creek Cellars.  You know in all my time on this Earth, I’ve never been to Deep Creek itself.  Maybe I drove past it once or twice, but never have actually hung out or spent a weekend there.  Dating back to high school up to the present, different groups of friends go all the time.  I’ve never had the opportunity.  More on that later.

It wasn’t until reading about the winery itself, that they are not your traditional wine provider.  They’re a purveyor of ‘natural wine’, and are environmentally conscious without it impeding on the tradition of enjoying wine with a delicious meal.

So it makes it harder to find the negatives on the wine, but our tastes are all different.

Like many other wineries at the festival, they brought a condensed version of the winery on the road.   Which likely meant sweet and approachable wines that most attendees would be likely to buy.

Of the four, I only had two, the 2014 Great Crossings and the 2013 Watershed. The 2014 Watershed and 2014 Pinot Noir were an extra $1 and with me usually not carrying cash, I chose to pass.  In hindsight, I wish I brought singles or stopped at an ATM.   That just means a visit is on the horizon, to try the rest.  A visit is meant to happen anyways.

The ’14 Great Crossings was the one I preferred over the two. The blend of Vidal Blanc and Pinot Gris was light and easy to drink.  I didn’t taste any almond.  I wasn’t trying too hard to find it but it never came to me.  Well maybe I did.  I don’t know.  And citrus flavors are usually a standard in these blends.  This wasn’t a wine I would actively seek, but it’s a perfect everyday wine.  I sense they left the best stuff at the vineyard.

The ’13 Watershed with its Black Cherry and Cab Blend doesn’t work for me.  However, I noticed this was a big seller.  As most folks attending this event love their sweet wine, this fits many of those boxes you’re looking to check.  This was just a bit too sweet for my palate.

As was the case throughout the day, the gentleman volunteering was easy to talk to and had plenty of knowledge of what he was pouring.  It’s not required but always a bonus.

Big picture wise, I must visit Deep Creek Cellars and Deep Creek itself.  There’s a lot of wines on their list I want to try, including many more of the grapes I prefer.

Contacting them is easy.  I’m liking these guys more and more.  They keep their social media presence limited, which is part of the mentality.  I appreciate that.

I see a road trip this fall or winter.  Who’s in?

Hey look, they got honey too!

Yay!

Ideen