The summer of 2002 caused widespread casualties across Maryland farmlands. The hot, dry weather parched cornfields, desiccated apple orchards and caused severe crop damage throughout the Eastern United States -- but it did grow a very good grape.
"In 2002 it didn't rain, it was hot and dry over the summer, and we knew at the end of that vintage that we were going to make a good wine," said Rob Deford, the owner of Boordy Vineyards.
Deford's premonition was validated recently with the announcement of the Governor's Cup winners at the Maryland Wine Festival, where Boordy received two gold medals for its 2002 Barrel Select Chardonnay and 2002 Vidal. In addition, the chardonnay and the vidal were named the best dry white and semisweet wines of the festival, respectively.
The Governor's Cup is an annual competition of Maryland's wineries and vineyards. This year nine judges met in August at Corks restaurant in Baltimore to taste more than 90 wines from the 12 members of the Association of Maryland Wineries. They awarded points based on aroma, taste, aftertaste and overall quality. The award winners were divided into gold, silver and bronze medalists and for the first time, the association presented "best of" awards -- those included dry white, dessert, fruit, semisweet, and specialty. Basignani Winery in Sparks won the Governor's Cup and best dry red wine for its 1999 Lorenzino Reserve.
Boordy had not received a gold medal at the Governor's Cup until this year, although Deford has spent several years experimenting with his wines. Grape-growing is an imperfect science: It takes at least 10 years before a winery can determine whether a certain species of grape will adapt to the climate and soil, producing the right fruit.
In order to make the chardonnay, Deford uses grapes from the vineyard in Hydes and another vineyard Boordy owns in Burkittsville. He then ages the wine in oak -- French, not American -- and stainless steel barrels. He says Boordy's delicate use of oak is one of the keys to the chardonnay's success.
"If you age it all in oak barrels, it tastes like a finely cut piece of wood instead of a chardonnay," Deford said.
Kevin Atticks, managing director of the Association of Maryland Wineries, called Boordy's chardonnay "a California-comparable barrel select.
"For years they've tried to make a top-notch chardonnay, and they did it this year," he said.
