When the Men Plan, We Get Maryland Wines
“Did you guys figure out what we’re doing this weekend?” This is the question I get from Michael when I get home from work on Thursday. The answer, in short, is NO. I WAS WORKING. So, he came up with his first ever plans - we were going to some vineyards in Maryland. I mean, I wanted to go boating or paddle boarding, but I’m not going to complain about someone else making plans for once (praise hands).
I don’t think I’m going to write this like a story - I might actually format this like the food post. Is that cool? Well, it’s my blog, so I’m doing what I want. And I need to get to work. And I don’t know if you read my longer posts. So.
When you come to visit DC, you probably don’t know that there are a TON of vineyards around here. Virginia has a seriously legit wine country. This weekend; however, we [Michael] decided we were going to try out the Maryland vineyard scene; Brandywine, MD to be specific. Spoiler alert: super fun day, not my favorite wine. So, here you go. My opinion of the three vineyards we visited!
Robin Hill Farm and Vineyards
Stop number one complete with New Orleans-style food truck and a troubadour. This vineyard and farm is ALSO a wedding venue. Cute. We were traveling with a pupper today (Walter) so we sat outside of the tasting room and were fortunate enough that the lovely Rosa did our tasting outside on the deck.
The designs on the wine bottles all had special designs and meanings related to the family and the history of the farm and vineyards. We tasted a LOT of wines. We had a rating card. Michael was using hand drawn emojis to rate each wine. I was staring across the table at my friend John trying not to make offensive faces, but none of these wines were for me. They were all so sweet. I grabbed fried oysters and jambalaya from the food truck because I was starving, and then we each suffered through another drink. My friends had sangria - oh my goodness can you imagine how mouth-puckeringly sweet a sangria made from already insanely sweet wine was? Everyone struggled.
Positives: tasting room was adorable, lots of seating, goats!!
Romano Vineyard and Winery
John and I decided to sit outside with Walter and skip this tasting. We were told that Romano was second only to Robin Hill which immediately turned us off. I ordered a glass of chambourcin and John ordered a frozen Bellini. We waited while Michael, Jennifer, and Daniel did their tastings. They left the building and confirmed that we had ordered the best options, and neither were stand-outs. We hung out for a bit and enjoyed the weather and the view of the vines.
While we were leaving, Daniel insisted on taking pictures of me and Michael walking through the vines. His recent engagement shoot with Jennifer clearly inspired him and he was calling out directions to us. Definitely a highlight of this stop, my sides hurt from laughing.
Janemark Winery and Vineyard
Oh man. After being told the first 2 vineyards were the only ones worth visiting in the Brandywine area, we were tempted to bail and just go home. But Michael had planned this day and we were already here, so…
What a pleasant surprise!! Janemark’s tasting room is in a barn-like building. Each wine has unique names like Mean Jane, Aviation, Rosie, Barbera, and Sweet Heidi. They were all really nice wines with interesting notes. We might have been biased after drinking some wines that really missed the mark for us, but this final stop was definitely worth it. We bought a couple of bottles, opened one while we sat outside and discussed our plans for the rest of the evening.
Other positive things to note: top five porta-potty experience of my life. It was so clean and didn’t smell bad. And there was a sink outside to wash up. (praise hands, again)
In conclusion - if you’re in the DMV, stick with Northern Virginia for your vineyard tours. Unless you love sweet wines, then Brandywine is the spot for you!
