Hot News

7.17.2007

By STEPHANIE JORDAN
Staff Reporter

SUDLERSVILLE, Md. — Golden Run Vineyard and Tilmon’s Island Winery were stops on last week’s Women in Ag Network tour.
Jennie Schmidt, owner of Golden Run Vineyard, talked about her family’s learning experience with grapes.
The Schmidts grow about 1,400 acres of corn, soybeans, hay, vegetables and grapes — and at one time had a large hog operation.
When prices for meat dropped to 25 cents per pound at market, the family decided to transition out of livestock.
“For us, it’s about adding value per acre,” Schmidt said. She and her husband spent four or five years researching the grape industry before planting their first vines in 2003.
Now the vineyard has eight acres of grapes, growing varieties like Sangiovese and Vidal Blanc, among others.
“There are 26 licensed wineries In Maryland,” Schmidt said. “There are seven or eight coming online this year. There’s a huge demand for grapes. We’re meeting less than half the demand, and that’s not counting those that will come online.”
Currently, for every ton of grapes the state produces, 1.3 tons must be imported to meet the demand from the wineries.
“We’re trying to encourage increased acreage because there are so many wineries coming online and it takes so long to establish a vineyard,” she said.
It typically takes three years to see production from a vineyard, and there is “a real steep learning curve,” Schmidt said.
But it is something most people can do, regardless of how much land they have available.
“It’s something that’s manageable for any type of land size you have available,” she said. Schmidt added that they have thought of becoming a winery down the road, but the family wants to stay in farming. “Profitability on the farm is going to to save this land.”
After a tour of the vineyard, the group headed to Tilmon’s Island Winery, owned by Don Tilmon.
He talked to the group about the different variety of grapes he uses in his wines, and allowed the group to taste several of his wines, including Bay Country Chambourcin and Tuckahoe Pinot Grigio.
He also spoke about starting his own winery; he began making homemade wine when he moved to Maryland, and then his friends and family hinted that they wanted more.
He began the fermenting process in 1994 and his winery was born.
Tilmon typically makes about 500 cases of wine each year, and each grape he uses comes from the Eastern Shore.
“The tour was very successful, with about 35 participants from Delaware and Maryland,” said Laurie Wolinski, an Extension associate in farm risk management at the University of Delaware. “Many of those who participated are in the early stages of considering planting vines or making wine, and most were thinking about small scale operations. Both tour stops offered these participants valuable information about start-up and managing risk (economic, production, marketing, labor) for both enterprises.”
Future Women in Ag Network events might include a workshop on Safe Chainsaw use and maintenance, an Organic Farm tour or High Tunnel tour, and a Lavender Farm tour next spring.
There will also be classroom workshops held during the winter months.
For more information contact Wolinski at lgw@udel.edu or go the Web site: http://ag.udel.edu/extension/kent/womeninag.htm