Nestled between cornfields in rural Howard County, Maryland a metal structure blends in with the agricultural setting. This Clarksville location offers Marylanders a unique opportunity to experience the “value added” part of agriculture. Tin Lizzie Wineworks is an unusual winery for the wine traveler. You will not find a tasting room and you can’t buy wine at the facility. What you can do is make wine. Under the guidance of head winemaker and instructor David Zuchero, customers will be led through the step-by-step process of making wine.
I tasted some of the high end wines produced here and they did not disappoint. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah were made from grapes sourced from Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa. Stagecoach sells its grapes to many well-known wineries including Caymus. They both were fruit forward with good tannins. An excellent Malbec was made from grapes sourced from South America. It too had good fruit and was balanced.
David Zuchero and Rob Pearre, partner, will work with customers to procure the best grapes possible. As a result, Tin Lizzie WineWorks has two seasons for winemaking. The fall season has grapes sourced mostly from California and a spring season has grapes sourced from South America. Customers have several decisions to make including the grape variety, the quality of the grapes sourced, type of oak and how much wine they would like to make. Individuals and groups can make a full barrel, half barrel or quarter barrel. If someone is uncertain about winemaking, a quarter barrel is a good starting point. Depending on where the grapes are sourced, the price per bottle of finished wine will cost between $10 and $20.
Making wine at Tin Lizzie WineWorks is not a major commitment of time. There are four planned sessions over the course of ten months. Each session will last for about one and a half hours. The first session involves the crush and fermentation. About seven to ten days later, customers will attend session two where they will crush the grapes and transfer the wine into barrels. At session three, about four months later, customers will rack the wine and taste it. During the last session, about ten months from the start, they will bottle and label their wine. People who would like to learn more about winemaking may go to the winery more often. They can punch down the must, learn the science of winemaking and clean barrels.
Tin Lizzie Wineworks offers those who live in Central Maryland an opportunity to craft a barrel of wine. The prices for the quality of wine are reasonable. If interested call or email the winery.
For reviews of wineries in Maryland, visit the Wine Trail Traveler site.
Tin Lizzie Wineworks
?13240 Greenberry Lane
?Clarksville, MD 21029
?301-318-9954
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