Visiting Ed Boyce at Black Ankle Vineyards

It's mid-March and we'd come out of winter dormancy, shedding our down coats, gloves, hats, etc., in anticipation of warmer weather. The birds were singing and we'd already sprung forward, all the signs were in favor of warmth. Not. Charles Massoud of Paumanok Vineyards had kindly facilitated the introduction via email, so on our trip back from the Wineries Unlimited meeting, we drove through Maryland to visit Ed Boyce at Black Ankle Vineyards located in Mt. Airy, Maryland.
As we drove the country road into Black Ankle Vineyards, the winds were gusting something fierce! I put on my red wind breaker with a hood over my light fleece jacket and then my wool peacoat, all the while wishing that I had not forsaken my down coat. What a site I must have looked like! However, Ed came from behind the barn and extended a warm welcome to us and showed us his winery. Ed showed us how he is using hay bales to construct the insulation of his winery. He also uses his soil over the hay bales to construct his walls. So totally sustainable and green.

During the tour of his winery, Ed explained how gravity flow may not be as important as initially thought, as long as you never pump must! Also very important is to get your tank volumes to match production since oxygen is the nemesis of fine wine. We then drove to the tasting room. The tasting room is also constructed of hay bales and Black Ankle soil, the tables are made from beautiful maple sourced right from the farm. We continued our discussion with Ed about all manner of things related to growing vines and making wines. He was then called away to corral a bull so he left us in the capable company of Melissa and Barbry where they poured us the Blank Ankle wines. Informative, educational, fun and delicious, we had a great time and more to think about on our journey as winegrowers and winemakers.