Grapes of Wealth, Potentially

Southern Maryland Farmers Are Starting Vineyards and Wineries in Hope Of Finding a New Cash Crop and Image for Lands Tobacco Once Ruled

A region once known for its leafy tobacco fields is trying for a new image: a mini-Napa in the heart of Southern Maryland.

As vineyards sprout on erstwhile tobacco fields, farmers are finding that the soil, equipment and perseverance that served them well with one cash crop could work for a new one. And wineries attract highly sought-after tourists, who rarely turned out to watch tobacco drying.

With help from a regional cooperative and buy-in from county government, some growers envision creating a vintner's enclave near the District. Others would much rather crack open a cold beer and enjoy the extra income grapes could provide.

But they agree on this: Growing grapes for a fine wine, or even just a decent one, is a challenge.

Starting a vineyard is expensive and tedious. Often it is years before farmers have a crop of marketable grapes, and even then, acres of vines can be destroyed in hours by bad weather, hungry deer, powdery mildew or Japanese beetles. Unlike the tobacco farmers who once dominated the region, budding vintners can't just lean over the fence to ask for advice.

"We consider our objective to scare most people away," said Joe Fiola, a University of Maryland Cooperative Extension viticulture specialist who teaches introductory grape-growing courses across the state. "It's fairly easy to end up with a disaster."

Southern Maryland's climate is especially tricky for grapes. Vines thrive on warm days and cool nights, the typical weather in the Napa Valley, and are extremely sensitive to temperature fluctuations, such as those during Maryland summers, Fiola said.

Still, the allure of vineyards packed with tourists, wine bottles featuring the word "Maryland" and hefty payouts for quality grape crops has led an increasing number of people to invest in start-up vineyards and wineries.

It's not just former tobacco farmers. There's an aerospace engineer who produces bottles of Chambourcin and Vidal in the basement of his Lusby home. Grown siblings trying to keep their parents' farm operating. And a Mechanicsville farm family that wants to diversify its agriculture portfolio.

The Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland started a grant program in 2005 that splits the cost of new vines with growers, which was the financial push many needed. This year, the St. Mary's County Board of Commissioners invested almost half a million dollars in a cooperative winery on the Leonardtown Wharf.

The Port of Leonardtown Winery, which will be set in a renovated State Highway Administration garage, plans to crush its first batch of grapes in August and uncork its first bottle of wine in 2010. That summer, it expects to open the winery to the public for tours and tastings.

The cooperative aspect of the winery makes it the first of its kind in the state and one of only a few in the country, said Richard Fuller, president of the Southern Maryland Wine Growers Co-op. Cooperative members have invested their money in the winery and could wait years to make a large profit. They include the growers who to sell their grapes to the winery, then receive profits from sale of the wine, a pay-off growers usually don't receive.