Xella Vineyard & Winery

Xella Vineyard and Winery is a 9 acre property in Laurel Grove, Maryland. Les and Erin purchased the location in 2007 and bottled their first vintage in 2008. Xella is an acronym for the first letter of each member of their family and is representative of this family owned winery. They have perservered through a hurricane and rain soaked vines to make the great wine they are sharing today. Their newly renovated barn is beautiful and ready to host events. The vines are worked by the owners themselves and a few more rows of vines are planted each year so they are growing. Plus, they are farming with biodynamic and regenerative practices taking care of the vineyard. During our visit, we enjoyed chatting with Les while he poured our tastings and told us about the wines and winery. They have an earthy merlot and a red blend, Pax River Red, that is chambourcin based with notes of  strawberry, pepper and vanilla. The Boujie-Lay is a take on that light, French wine that is made with the gamay grape. Xella is making it with merlot, off-dry with a lot of blueberry flavor. Interestingly, they also have some more creative wine to taste like their rose on tap and the WinePA, which is hopped chardonnay that tastes like an IPA. We enjoyed our visit to one of Maryland's newer wineries. Check them out next time you're in Southern Maryland!