Maryland Wine Festival

The combination of music, food, seminars and a bit of the grape have kept the Maryland Wine Festival flowing for 18 years, and that same recipe will be on tap when the 2011 edition comes to the Carroll County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St., Westminster, on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18. Hours are Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 12 to 6 p.m. The festival is the statewide celebration of wine and wineries, and features tastings, seminars, amateur wine competition and the awarding of the Governor's Cup — awarded to the "best in show" wine at the festival.

John and Cindy Stevenson had the perfect set-up Saturday at the Maryland Wine Festival: topped-off glasses of vino, a cadre of friends and family, blankets and chairs spread out under a shade tree, crusty bread, caprese salad and two kinds of cheese. The Ellicott City wine connoisseurs were among thousands who attended the 29th annual event on the sprawling grounds of Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster. The two-day event continues Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The Stevensons said Napa Valley has nothing on Maryland's homegrown wines.

Marylanders and their out-of-town guests will flock to Westminster next weekend for one of the popular events of the fall season -- the Maryland Wine Festival. Always held on the third weekend of September, the festival attracts more than 20,000 visitors to the Carroll County Farm Museum. This year's event was selected as one of the favorite festivals in North America by TOURS!, a publication of the National Tour Association.The state's 10 commercial wineries will be there with their best wines.

Maryland's 60 wineries produce more than 400 delicious wines - from crisp dry whites to mid- and full-bodied reds, specially-crafted blends and delightful sparkling wines, luxuriously sweet dessert wines and wonderful specialty wines. Get to know 37 of them this weekend The 29th Maryland Wine Festival runs Saturday and Sunday at the Carroll County Farm Museum in  Westminster.  The event features live music, food from local restaurants, arts and crafts, wine education seminars and plenty of tastings from Maryland wineries.

The Maryland Wine Festival returns to the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster for the seventh consecutive year Saturday and next Sunday. Maryland's 11 commercial wineries will be represented. Wine experts will explain the art of wine tasting and festival-goers will have the opportunity to sample as many as 10 different wines, which are included in the price of admission.But all is not wine. A juggler and violinist will stroll through the crowd, while a continuous round of entertainment will be performed on the farm stage.

From Chardonnays to Cabernets, cycling tours to Maryland foods, artisans and music, the annual Maryland Wine Festival has something for everyone.Rated one of the five best festivals in North America by Tours Magazine, the wine festival opens tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Carroll County Farm Museum. This is the 11th year for the festival.All five phone lines at the museum have been busy all week, said Dottie Freeman, the museum's administrator."The one question I really enjoy answering is, 'Is this the Maryland Wine Festival?

The 11th annual Maryland Wine Festival will open tomorrow with a bounty of fine wines and gourmet cuisine.As many as 20,000 visitors are expected to attend the annual two-day event at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.Admission is $12 for those age 21 and older and includes a logo-engraved wine glass, tickets for 10 one-ounce samples of Maryland wines, attendance at the wine-tasting seminar, and self-guided tours of period craft exhibits and demonstrations.

You'll find an unusual number of events taking place around the state next weekend, from the Maryland Wine Festival in Carroll County to the Dorchester Showcase, a fall celebration in Baltimore County, lots of outdoor activity at Remington Farms near Chestertown and a Sunfest celebration in Ocean City.The Maryland Wine Festival at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster always attracts a large crowd. More than just a wine festival, this two-day event, Saturday and next Sunday, offers a wide assortment of entertainment, lots of food, farm tours and old-time craft demonstrations.

THE MARYLAND WINE FESTIVAL is Carroll County's most popular paying event, providing a big boost to tourism and a noticeable contribution ($75,000 or more) to the county's treasury.The Carroll County Farm Museum, where the event is held each September, gets a lot of public exposure that results in future visits. The American Bus Association, a tour operator group, lists the two-day festival as a Top 100 event in the United States. More than 25,000 people typically attend the two-day event.

Maryland's vineyards are tucked into the hills in the west, anchored near the Eastern Shore and have established roots throughout the rest of the state in between. Sampling the wares of all 40 of the state's wineries would take days, if not weeks, who knows how much mileage and a heck of a good map. Or you could simply hit the Maryland Wine Festival this weekend, where almost all of them will be pouring the best they have to offer. The 27th annual festival celebrating Maryland's grapes runs Saturday and Sunday in Westminster, spread across the grassy fields of the Carroll County Farm Museum.

Peggy Conrad vividly recalls attending the very first Maryland Wine Festival, held in September 1984, at the Shriver Homestead in Union Mills, on a whim. "I just heard about it and thought I would check it out and see how much I liked it," said Conrad, who worked for the county government for 31 years and is now retired. "I was not a big wine drinker back then. " Suffice it to say, it turned out that Conrad enjoyed that first festival quite a bit - and also ended up developing a fondness for white wines.

The combination of wine, food, music, crafts and vendors will flow across the landscape of the Carroll County Farm Museum on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15-16, for the 29th annual Maryland Wine Festival. The festival is always a popular event for grape lovers, but it also celebrates the wine industry in the state - this year, some 37 different wineries will be represented. Several winery or vineyard operations either in Carroll County, or immediately close by, will be represented, including Cygnus Wine Cellars in Manchester; Galloping Goose in Hampstead; Serpent Ridge Vineyards in Westminster; Detour Winery near Keymar; and Elk Run Vineyards and Linganore Winecellars in Mount Airy.

The Junior League of Baltimore will hold its annual Boutique Warehouse Sale Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18, at the Hunt Valley Towne Center, Next to DSW, at 118 Shawan Road. For this event, a bunch of popular local boutiques gather under one roof to raise money for charity. Hours are Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Visitors can shop before the crowds for $20 Friday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m. Go to http://www.jlbalt.org. RVs roll in The yearly Fall Maryland RV Show and Sale will roll into town Thursday through Sunday, Sept.

The combination of music, food, seminars and a bit of the grape have kept the Maryland Wine Festival flowing for 18 years, and that same recipe will be on tap when the 2011 edition comes to the Carroll County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St., Westminster, on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18. Hours are Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 12 to 6 p.m. The festival is the statewide celebration of wine and wineries, and features tastings, seminars, amateur wine competition and the awarding of the Governor's Cup — awarded to the "best in show" wine at the festival.

If you can't make it to this weekend's Maryland Wine Festival, there are a few smaller wine events coming up — at either end of the state. Riverside WineFest at Sotterley This festival in St. Mary's County is the weekend of Oct. 2-3. It runs from noon to 6 p.m. on the grounds of Historic Sotterley, 44300 Sotterley Lane in Hollywood. There will be crafts, food, live music and children's activities. Tickets are $20 and good for unlimited tastings. For more information, go to sotterley.

Maryland's vineyards are tucked into the hills in the west, anchored near the Eastern Shore and have established roots throughout the rest of the state in between. Sampling the wares of all 40 of the state's wineries would take days, if not weeks, who knows how much mileage and a heck of a good map. Or you could simply hit the Maryland Wine Festival this weekend, where almost all of them will be pouring the best they have to offer. The 27th annual festival celebrating Maryland's grapes runs Saturday and Sunday in Westminster, spread across the grassy fields of the Carroll County Farm Museum.

WESTMINSTER - On an achingly beautiful day that capped a tragic week, thousands of Marylanders sought refuge from the news yesterday at the Maryland Wine Festival. "It's a chance for people to relax and leave disaster behind for a few hours," said Barbara Israel, 53, of Columbia, a volunteer at the Woodhall Wine Cellars booth. "At times, we need to have a few moments of peace and sanity." Turnout on the first day of the two-day festival at the Carroll County Farm Museum seemed good. Traffic was heavy, the parking lots were full and the midways were alive with people.

Maryland Wine Festival for farm museumI wish to bring to your attention inaccuracies in your March 2 article "Restaurant Cash Trail May Lead to Costa Rica." The Maryland Wine Festival is not a Jerry Hardesty festival. It is a well-respected wine festival conducted by the Carroll County Farm Museum as a fund-raiser to help defray the operating costs of the museum.The Maryland Wine Festival receives the wholehearted support of the Association of Maryland Wineries. Virtually all Maryland wineries participate in the festival.

See pros putt Enjoy a day outdoors while watching well-known professional golfers, including Wayne Levi, Tom Watson, Peter Jacobsen and Raymond Floyd, as they compete in the Constellation Energy Classic today through Sunday. Proceeds will be distributed to charities that includeKennedy Krieger Institute, Living Classrooms Foundation and Maryland Special Olympics. Activities for spectators include the Cal Ripken Putting Contest and Dennis Walters Golf Show on Saturday and the $10,000 Power Putt Challenge on Sunday.

The 19th annual Maryland Wine Festival at the Carroll County Farm Museum will feature the best wines that the 11 Maryland wineries have to offer, along with on-stage entertainment by local musicians, handmade crafts and a selection of food for all palates. The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. Co-sponsors include the Association of Maryland Wineries, Maryland Grape Growers Association and American Wine Society. Admission is $15 for adults age 21 and older with ID and includes a logo-engraved wine glass, 10 1-ounce samples of Maryland wines, attendance at the wine education seminars, entertainment, farmhouse and building tours, and period artisan exhibits and demonstrations.