Hot News

4.19.05

BY CARYL VELISEK

To Ed Boyce and his wife, Sarah O’Herron, Black Ankle Vineyards on Black Ankle road near Mt. Airy, Md., is the realization of a dream they have had for many years while working as management consultants and living in Silver Spring, Md.
“We have both been interested in growing wine grapes and making wine for a long time and the more we learn about it, the more fascinating it is to us,” Boyce said.
“We have read books, attended seminars, surfed the Web, and bent the ears of many patient grape growers and wine makers in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, France, Italy and New Zealand. In 2002, after a year of looking, we found this farm of 146 acres with just what we were looking for.”
The land has an elevation of 650 feet on the west side of a ridge with a small valley. There is a farmhouse, barn and pond. The soil is well drained and is not particularly fertile without the addition of amendments, which are not necessary when growing wine grapes, according to Boyce.
“Soils are a big problem in viticulture,” he said. “It’s something like raising kids. You want the vines to put all their energy into the grapes not the vines.”
In May of 2002, they began planting with a mix of red and white grapes. In April of 2003, reds were planted including Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. In spring of 2004, Gruner Veltliner, Alberino and Viogner were planted.
“The reds and whites mature at a different rate,” Boyce explained, “so we will have both ready for wine making at the same time.” Right now there are 22 acres planted with 42,000 vines, planted at a rate of 2,000 per acre instead of the usual 600 per acre in hopes of keeping the vines small. The vines were also planted three feet apart instead of the traditional six to eight feet.
“We also have another 20 acres that should be good for grapes,” Boyce said. “We have planted a variety to see what does well here. Some of the varieties are especially thick skinned to help guard against rot.
“Because of the humidity in the area, just about every grape disease imaginable is here in the eastern U.S. Our grapes are grown on American seedstock to give them a greater resistance to disease.
“We hope to grow organic. People who do, say that also helps to thicken the skins of the grapes. We want to forego the use of inorganic chemicals, using only sulfur and copper when necessary, and refrain from using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers.
“We are hoping to make wines of great complexity, subtlety and nuance, comparable in flavor to the finest European wines,”
Boyce and O’Herron have quit their jobs and are devoting full time to the vineyard, driving to the farm every week day and sometimes on weekends. They still live in Silver Spring with their four children, C. J., 14 years, Sean, three years, Timmy, two years, and their first daughter, Lucy, who was five days old at the time of this interview.
Three Shorthorn cows are also part of the operation and tenants, Wayne and Cindy Rhoderick, farm the place as they have for some years. “We have two employees who have worked in California vineyards to help us pick the grapes when they are ready and there are also people who will come in and pick on weekends and some migrant crews around,” Boyce said.
The next part of their plan is to build the winery, a project they hope to begin this May. The winery itself is to be the second straw bale building in Frederick County. (The other is at Lime Kiln, just outside Buckeystown.) It will be built into the side of the hill in the manner of a bank barn with 5,000 square feet of below ground ‘caves’ on the lower level, and a 6,000 square foot straw building on the upper level.
“The walls of the upper level will be bales of straw with steel and wood framing, plastered over with a sand, clay and lime mix,” Boyce said. “There will be four-foot overhangs to keep water out.” The arches for the underground caves are built by a firm in Frederick, Md., he added. The straw bale building has its origin in Nebraska, where settlers found few trees to build their houses.
“Like the Nebraskans, we will use straw we have grown ourselves,” Boyce said. “This type of building has great insulating capabilities. There are several wineries in California that have them. The temperature in the ‘caves’ that are used for storing the wines, remains at a constant 57 degrees and 80 percent humidity, we are told. The upper building will have windows on the south side and will have no heating or cooling system but will have vents and fans and will use passive-solar temperature control.
“Getting started with the vineyard hasn’t been a problem but starting the winery is frustrating and has been very costly.” Boyce said. One of the problems they have faced, Boyce said, is that zoning regulations vary from county to county. (A bill has been proposed by Sen. Donald Munson of Washington County, to exempt small wineries of 250,000 gallons a year or less, from local limits.)
According to statistics, in 1979 there were a handful of wineries in Maryland and Virginia. There are now 16 wineries in Maryland and 94 in Virginia. In 2004, the state economic benefit from the wine industry was $8 million in Maryland, in Virginia it was $95.7 million.
“Success in Virginia is related directly to the ability of the state to consider wineries as agriculture,” said Dick Penna, who is research and education chair for the Maryland Grape Growers Association.
In a recent 52 page report by the Maryland Wine and Grape Growers Committee which was appointed by Maryland Agriculture Secretary, Lew Riley, and commissioned by Gov. Ehrlich, a number of recommendations were made to aid in promotion of the Maryland wine industry. Among these were that the state make it easier for wineries to host special events and change the limit of how many such events can be held in a given period of time; that the state establish a wine promotion board and allow groups to apply for grants for promotion, education and research about Maryland wine and grapes; and the University of Maryland should keep on staff, a full-time enologist, or wine-making expert.
Several bills have been proposed at the state level including one that would create “lite wine” licenses in every county allowing wineries to sell wines on site and to streamline the ‘patchiness’ of regulations.
Meanwhile, Boyce and O’Herron are going ahead with their plans, hoping to realize their dreams. .
“Wine can develop a real sense of place,” Boyce said. “And we are hoping to do that here. We are committed to coaxing memorable wines from our little piece of earth.”