Wine Tasting

At Berrywine Plantations, Mt. Airy, Maryland

It was Labor Day week-end and there was nothing much to do, so we decided to go to Berrywine Plantations in Mt. Airy, Maryland for wine tasting. I maybe not a wine connoisseur, but it doesn't hurt to pretend like one. You don’t need to make any reservation except for special events and other personal arrangements. We just walked-in and paid five dollars per head for a choice of 12-wine, tasting only.

First on our list under the Dry White Wines category was Chardonnay - a lightly oaked, crisp, dry white dinner wine which is $18.35 per bottle. Next on our list was Terrapin White - a semi-dry, fruity, Sauvignon Blanc style white wine which is $11.01 per bottle.

There were three more under the Dry White Wine category, but we opted to go ahead and try the Dry Red Wines: Black Raven - light bodied, soft red, Bacione - Italian style dinner wine, Cabernet Sauvignon - velvety, dry red dinner wine with rich fruit background, Merlot - soft, dry, red dinner wine, Chambourcin 2007 - oak-aged, rich, full-bodied red wine and 2007 Red Skins - estate bottled, oak-aged, full-bodied, dry red. The price range for these wines are from $12.84 - $20.18 per bottle. We tasted all of them except the Bacione and the Chambourcin.

Next on our category list are the Semi-Sweet Dessert & Picnic Wines. There were six wines under this list but only one caught our attention--Skipjack, at $12.84 per bottle. Maybe it was because of it’s name, or because we have tasted similar German Reisling style, which we usually buy from the nearby Fort Detrick commissary. 

We had tasted seven wines at this point, and Aida was already throwing the wine back into the bowl. I had no idea if she didn’t like the taste, or the spirit of the wine was getting into her. I asked her to give me her wine instead, so I can drink it. We have a local saying that goes, “Matapon na ang bigas, huwag lang ang alak.” It means, “It doesn’t matter that you spill the rice, but not the wine.”

The next category are the Semi-Sweet Pure Fruit Wines: Peach - good with ice cream, cheese and fruit, Plum - great with Asian foods and dessert, Raspberry - serve with chocolate desserts, Blueberry - serve over ice cream, Strawberry - medium bodied, great with cheesecake and Blackberry - medium bodied, luscious fruit. The bartender said that these wines were concocted from fresh pure fruits and without any mixture of grapes, with the price ranging from $12.84 - $14.68 per bottle. We tasted the first four wines only and reserved the last wine for the next category.

The twelfth and last wine that we tasted was the Indulgence - estate bottled, semi-sweet red wine with chocolate at $14.68 per bottle, under the Specialty and Dessert Wines category. There were eight more wines in this category, but we can only go as far as twelve, which was what we paid for.

We decided to buy a bottle each of Red Skins, Peach, Raspberry and Indulgence. We had to buy two bottles of Skipjacks to avail ourselves of the 7% discount on 6 bottles. There is a 15% discount on purchases of 12 or more bottles. 

Berrywine Plantations, Inc. Linganore WineCellars at Mt. Airy, Maryland

After we secured the wines in the car, we took some pictures and enjoyed the scenery. Afterwards, we bought some steamed crabs on our way back home and enjoyed the rest of the evening with soft music and candle lights, and of course the wine.