Black Ankle Vineyards

[dmwine]

For anyone going to the Bethesda Central Farm Market this Sunday, Sept. 13, there will be a guest vendor - Black Ankle Vineyards, the first time a winery has been allowed to participate in a farm market, according to market organizers. More about it here on my blog.

Don - not sure if this should be here or under Farmers Markets, and I'm sooo not into self promotion to post it twice ...

[Toogs]

If you fancy yourself a localvore, locavore, whatever, you need to be drinking this wine. From entry level syrah to their higher end bordeaux blend "Crumbling Rock" you won't believe this is MD wine. Their stuff isn't just good for the area--it's excellent. Do yourself a favor and give a bottle or 2 a try; you won't be disappointed.

[Pool Boy]

I like their stuff. I wouldn't call it excellent, but very good. I actually prefer the wines from Serpent Ridge a tad more (which is just a few miles away from the Black Ankle folks), believe it or not.

[Toogs]

My post above is misleading--I actually think it's excellent period, not just excellent for MD wine. Everyone that I have met says "I can't believe this is MD wine"

As for Serpent Ridge--we can just agree to disagree on that place. I found everything they had utterly undrinkable. You must love oak.

[Choirgirl21]

There was an interesting post about Black Ankle on Monday in Mitchell Pressman's (owner of Chesapeake Wine Company in Baltimore) blog. I think he mentions this, but this is the third event like this that they've done and the Black Ankle wine has placed 1st in 2 of the 3 (and 3rd in the other). So I think the results speak for themselves.

The other thing I always point out to folks (I started working in the tasting room once or twice a month in November) - and Mitchell makes a good point about this as well - is that this is only Black Ankle's second vintage. If you consider the excellent quality of the wines with the vines being only a few years old, it's hard not to get really excited about where they will be 10 years from now, and 20, etc.

One of the really great things to come out of Sara and Ed's efforts is that other MD wineries are starting to ask how they're doing it so that they can start to make estate wines as well. I think this is a turning point for MD wine. I know this may seem like exceptionally high praise, but again, the wines speak for themselves. That, and their efforts at sustainability are what got me excited about Black Ankle and ultimately landed me in the tasting room in the first place.

[Pool Boy]

My post above is misleading--I actually think it's excellent period, not just excellent for MD wine. Everyone that I have met says "I can't believe this is MD wine"

As for Serpent Ridge--we can just agree to disagree on that place. I found everything they had utterly undrinkable. You must love oak.

Interesting. I like both producers. I've drunk more Serpent Ridge than Black Ankle, it is true. So perhaps a fresh look at Black Ankle is in order (it's been several months since I have had a taste). That said, I am not sure which of Serpent Ridge's wines you are referring to when you imply they are overly oaked. Perhaps there is bottle variation, because while I know oak is used in Serpent Ridges wines (the two wines I like anyway), I would not call either of them overly oaked. I do actually prefer a deft hand when oak is introduced to wine if at all possible.

[winecompass]

Check out our video filmed at Black Ankle Vineyards: http://www.myjoogtv.com/2010/09/myjoogtv-episode-3-uncle-dave-huber.html