61 vineyard

Named for the year the winery owners were born, claiming that was also a great vintage, this is a newer winery in Maryland that has already won awards for a lot of their wines. They planted their first vines in Montgomery County in 2013 and harvested their first grapes in 2015. They have won awards for a number of their wines, including their Pleasant Plains white blend, Drytown sparkling rose and merlot. Crediting their knowledge and success to both wine camp and domestic and international travel to other wineries, they have quickly become one of our favorites. We have had the pleasure of chatting with one of the owners, Pam Giganti, during a few of our visits and she is always full of information and hospitality. During our most recent visit, she told us about a trip her and her husband, Mark, took to Bordeaux where they saw barrels being made and toasted. The 2023 reds at 61 Vineyards are all aged in American and French oak. Our favorites from the flights we tasted were the chardonnay, merlot and the newly released cabernet franc. The chardonnay is oaked but in a very balanced way so that you still get some nice lemon and green apple. The merlot was similarly balanced with nice dark fruit, tannin and finish. The cabernet franc was medium-bodied with dark cherry and  pepper notes. Check out this winery if you haven't yet and keep an eye out for a new brewery opening up next door to start pulling together what they plan to call the tipsy trail! You can also try their wines at some of the Maryland wine festivals. They are usually in the explorer tent at the Maryland Wine Festival every September. They have been closed for their winter break since January 15th but are about to re-open this weekend February 8th.