![]() ![]() The Aellen family and staff are also wonderful hosts and provide an excellent service to local music lovers. The volunteers are extremely friendly and enthusiastic in introducing the visitors to their wines. Finally we liked two of their fruit wines the Strawberry tastes exactly like biting into a large ripe berry, while the Raspberry was a little less pronounced, but more satisfying.īesides the music and wines, Linganore is a great place to spend an afternoon. The Black Ravin is a good lighter style dry red wine whereas the Steeple Chase Red is an interesting sweet red wine that has hints of chocolate at the finish. For the rest of the afternoon, the Nighthawks entertained the crowd with their Chicago Blues and James Brown styled soul.ĭuring the Nighthawks session break, we ventured into the grand tasting tent to try their remaining wines. After Thackery moved on to a successful solo career, Pete Kanaras finally joined the band in 1995 and the same players have been performing over 200 shows a year since. ![]() favorite since the early 1970’s when the band was formed by front man\harmonica player Mark Wenner and guitarist Jimmy Thackery, and joined early on by bass player Jan Zukowski and drummer Pete Ragusa. The Nighthawks have been a Washington D.C. Like the German tradition, this wine is recommended for spring drinking, but like other seasonal wines, is worth drinking whenever.īy this time, the Nighthawks had started playing, so we quickly grabbed a bottle of Terrapin White, an off-dry Riesling and our favorite from Linganore, and found a seat in the terrace adjacent to the old tasting room. This is a semi-sweet wine (4%RS) flavored with Woodruff. Finally, the May wine was a pleasant surprise. ![]() The wine is also spicy – both in aroma and flavor – as compared to its Gewürztraminer “offspring”. The Traminette is a much sweeter white wine that was a favorite at this outdoor event. The fact that Linganore makes a good Chambourcin is not a surprise since the grape thrives in the mid-Atlantic region. The Chambourcin is a good full bodied dry red wine that has a slightly spicy finish. At this tasting, we tasted for the first time their Chambourcin, Traminette, and May wine. The tour ends with a wine tasting in the new Chambourcin Tasting Room with a sampling of several wines not available in the main tasting tent. Aellen encourages his audience to drink what they enjoy – you either like a particular wine – or you don’t. The tour is highly recommended you hear how Linganore started from a home wine making operation with a hand crusher to today’s automated processes. When we entered we stood near the stage to hear the last set of Kelly Bell, and then took the winery tour. We were already being directed to the back parking lot and we could see a literally a thousand people already picnicking, playing volleyball, and tasting wine. When we arrived at the festival, we realized we were too late to grab a good seat near the stage. The Aellen family is also moving into its third generation, as the current winemaker Anthony is starting to pass over tour responsibilities and future winemaking to his daughter. In 2005 their Merlot, made from grapes grown in southern Maryland, won the Governors Cup as the best wine made in the state that year. They produce a wide array of wines (31 total), from dry reds – sweet whites – fruit wines. Linganore is Maryland’s oldest and largest winery, growing from 6,000 bottles in 1976 to 600,000 today. This event included music by local legends the Kelly Bell Band and The Nighthawks as well as tours of the winery, crafts, seafood, and wine. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil-as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.Today we attended one of Maryland’s best wine events, Linganore Wine Cellars’ Swingin’ Blues Wine Festival. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.Ĭabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. ![]()
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