Bunch of stuff included with this one, including Gruner Veltliner, a grape commonly found in Austrian wines.  O’Herron said that they had a lot of white grapes left over from production, so they worked out the kinks and made Bedlam.  Interesting that what amounts to second grapes have gone into a wine that is more expensive than the Chardonnay and the Viognier.

Anyway, this wine is filling in the gaps that the [Black Ankle] Viognier left out.  Almost identical nose, but so much more on the palette.  Lots of flavors coming together.  Everything is sort of scattered and out of balance, but that makes it fun.  Good wine.

It’s easy to chalk up high marks for a wine when your environment is a winery-sponsored tasting with cheese, wine, and good times. People get a little saucy and all of the sudden every wine is awesome and they take home a case. This is why I rarely put out notes on wines that I only tasted in the friendly confines of a winery tasting.

This time around, the Bedlam was different. Color was light, grassy, like a Sauvignon Blanc. Pear, apricot and peach up front on the palette. Fruit gives way to all steel all in your face. Very oily and waxy. The finish zinged around without direction or resolve. Again, its indecision is almost a hallmark of the wine.

When I wrote up the 2007 Elk Run Gewurztraminer I mentioned that the wine possessed something I couldn’t nail down.

The first sniff gave me the same sort of I-don’t-know that I get in a lot of Maryland wines. I don’t quite have down what it is (Old Bay?) but MD wines, both red and white, but it’s a little sulfuric, sharp… not particularly unpleasant but just distinct.

I got all that and then some on the Bedlam, likewise on a Serpent Ridge Albarino I drank last month. Could we be onto something about Maryland whites? Or can we even get more specific about Frederick County? Does Maryland have, wait for it, terroir?

We may be on to something here.

I popped the 2007 Elk Run Viognier with some burgers off the grill. We were lucky enough to be grilling on one of the few nights lately that it didn’t rain. The wine was nice. Good citrus fruit, medium bodied. Lots of acidity that was sort of all over the place. A great wine to drink chilled when you’re up on your roof in the heat.

In general, Viognier has been on quite a roll lately. I don’t know enough about wine making to figure if that’s because it’s an easy grape or it really thrives here in the States, specifically on the East Coast. Most of the winery flights I’ve run though had their Viognier shine though.

Went on a quick ride out to Frederick and Carroll Counties to visit two wineries this past weekend. First was Elk Run Vineyards, a rustic winery about 15 miles east of Frederick, Maryland. Elk Run was founded over twenty-five years ago making them ancient in terms of Maryland vineyards. All the fruit for the flagship wines is grown in Cold Friday vineyard, about a mile from the tasting room. Their other vineyard, Liberty Tavern, sits on the same site as the tasting room. I don’t believe any wines made from Liberty Tavern have been released. I didn’t see any when we were there, at least.

I have experienced a love/hate relationship with Elk Run’s wines. Their Cabernet Sauvignon was the first Maryland wine I ever spent more than $20 on and was nothing but disappointment and despair. Elk Run’s Gewurztraminer, however, is one of the best Maryland wines I’ve ever had.

No surprise that my favorite of the tasting was the Gewurtz ($24) followed by the Cabernet Franc ($28). Their Cab Franc showed off some vegetal qualities, nice Earth and of course lots of fruit. The Gewurztraminer was fuller than I remember, but that isn’t a bad thing. We left with a bottle of Viognier which my notes read as having been “nice.” Perhaps that was because of the sub-$20 price.

Earlier I argued that wine clubs can’t exist without direct shipping. Clearly I’m not in Elk Run’s RSS reader.

Elk Run is worth a visit, especially if you aren’t in a hurry and can relax with a glass or two. The tasting room is small and cozy. Five dollars gets you tastes of six wines from the fifteen or so on their tasting sheet. They have a nice patio with picnic tables that run up against the vineyards. You can pick up a glass of wine and hang outside in a nice setting.

Elk Run Vineyards
15113 Liberty Rd
Mt Airy, MD 21771
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm; Sunday, 1-5pm; Friday evenings from 6-9.

Serpent Ridge Vineyard is tucked up into a twisted forest road in Carroll County, Maryland. Owners Greg and Karen Lambrecht released their first vintage of wine this year, mostly made form fruit on their relatively tiny five acres of vines sitting up on a hill.

The best that they poured was a nice Albarino ($24) which I brought home with me. Their Seyval Blanc ($16) was a good value with nice apricot and peach flavors. The tasting room has all sorts of local cheeses, crackers, and snacks for you to eat while you sit outside and sip on a glass (or a bottle) of their wines.

The friendly people and operations at Serpent Ridge are top notch and the winery is a must-stop if you’re tasting around Carroll County. I haven’t seen the wines out at retail, so if you want to get a taste of new wines in Maryland, go by their testing room for a visit.

Marylandwine.com recently did a piece on Serpent Ridge.

Serpent Ridge Vineyards
2962 Nicodemus Rd
Westminster, MD 21157
Open Saturday and Sunday 11-5

The first sniff gave me the same sort of I-don’t-know that I get in a lot of Maryland wines. I don’t quite have down what it is (Old Bay?) but MD wines, both red and white, but it’s a little sulfuric, sharp… not particularly unpleasant but just distinct. The mystery aroma blew off after a few minutes. Past that, there was apple and beach, mostly round, full aromas. The wine had a Juicy Fruit, honeyed taste initially, very layered. Good acidity. The whole thing was almost a little wild. A nice, dry, light caramel finish followed. The wine changed for the better over several hours, giving out more fruit and maturing into complexity. On open, the wine was more of a New World style and after some time it developed a hint of minerality and Old World Characteristics, like something Alsacian.

The Elk Run Gewurztraminer is a gem of wine, standing up to a Gewurztraminer from Sonoma or Anderson Valley. At $23, it isn’t a great value considering that comparable wines can be picked up for less money from Washington, Alsace, Germany, and even Austria. For a local play though, it is hard to beat.