Get Your Hands Dirty: Help Out With Upcoming Maryland Harvest at Basignani
CC licensed image from Flickr user thomaswanhoff
In California, people are always looking for ways to get into the wine industry. It’s a clique that can be hard to break into from the business side as the ties are tight and usually family-oriented. One answer that always applies, though, is to head up to Napa or Sonoma during September and October’s harvest and volunteer to pick some grapes and pitch in with crush. You’ll meet winemakers and others in the business and learn a great deal through hands on experience. Maryland’s wine industry goes through the same process each fall and some of our local wineries really need the help.
Basignani, located about 30 minutes north of Baltimore, is bringing back “Harvest Saturdays” kicking off this Saturday and following with September 27th. Expect to get started in the vineyards around 9am and work the morning shift to earn your lunch provided by the winery. If you’re not into the labor side, it’s a good time to get up to the winery and see winemaking in action. Pop a bottle of Seyval and watch fall sweep into the Maryland country.
Harvest Saturdays will carry into October. Dates are scheduled for the 4th and the 11th.
If you’re interested in helping out and getting into the vineyards for the day, the Basignani asks that you RSVP confirm availability and that they are in fact picking that day. Sometimes cancellations are necessary because of weather or other events. Contact Lynne over email for more information or to RSVP: lynne@basignani.com.
Check out this article that the Baltimore Sun ran on last year’s harvest at Basignani (free registration required).
Later this week look out for details on Virginia’s harvest.
