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almost every family in certain regions
of the country has their own vineyards,
yet not every family has their own
winery, their own facilities, their own
winemakers. It’s very common for
the countryside to be covered in
vineyards and every family to harvest
their grapes and to transport them into
the city center, where there’s a large
winery that is home to the production
of many wines. And it’s this model that
I saw as particularly interesting for our
region.”
Although Maryland Wine Cellars is a
new entity, started in 2016, Baker says
Old Westminster Winery had been
offering “custom crush”—producing
wine for other people—for a couple
of years. “Our client list, those other
farms that we were cooperating with,
was growing each year, and then at
some point we realized that, hey, you
know, there’s a real market for this
cooperation.”
Baker says Maryland Wine Cellars
is the first and only winery in Maryland
dedicated to custom crush and
alternating proprietorships. “I think
Maryland Wine Cellars is providing a
really important service to the growth of
our industry because, first and foremost,
it’s lowering barriers to entry,” he said.
“Winemaking on the East Coast in the
Mid-Atlantic was really a rich person’s
retirement game, because to go out and
acquire a farm, to plant and manage
a vineyard, to build a winery, hire a
winemaker, hire consultants, you can
imagine this takes millions of dollars,”
said Baker. “But today, because of
Maryland Wine Cellars and because of
this cooperative model, a farmer is able
to grow or source grapes and then bring
those grapes straight to Maryland Wine
Cellars, and we effectively share space,
equipment and expertise at a set rate fee,
so there’s really no capital up front.”
The model is attractive for both farmers
and non-farmers. Basically, anyone can
purchase grapes from another source,
bring them to Maryland Wine Cellars, and
create their own wine. “The idea of trading
or selling fruit has been done in Maryland
for a long, long time, but it’s really the
specialized equipment that is necessary
in my opinion to produce really beautiful
wines. That’s quite expensive and cost-
prohibitive for everyone to acquire for
themselves,” said Baker.
If you have the grapes, Maryland
Wine Cellars can help you with virtually
every other step in the process. “That’s
everything from pressing to processing…
P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y O F M A R Y L A N D W I N E C E L L A R S
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