Locavino will be hosting wine tastings from five different local Maryland wineries throughout March in celebration of Maryland Wine Month, according to an announcement from the restaurant.
The Downtown Silver Spring wine café will kick off Maryland Wine Month at 5 p.m. Tuesday evening with a wine tasting from Dickerson-based Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyards, who will be sampling their new Cabernet Franc wine.
“This year, more than ever, I have felt the need to double down on our commitment to not only carry locally made wines but to also continue to work on showcasing them to the general public,” said Locavino co-owner Justin Wallace. “March is a great time to celebrate the Maryland wine you know, but also an opportunity to try new things as this is when many new vintages are first released.”
Originally called “Maryland Wine Week” in 2011, Maryland’s wine industry introduced March as the inaugural “Maryland Wine Month” in 2017, according to the Maryland Wine Month website. “Maryland Wine Month allows the Free State’s flourishing wine industry to showcase the innovation, diversity, and quality found in the wineries throughout the state.”
Tastings later in Maryland Wine Month include Loew Vineyards on March 8, Big Cork Vineyards on March 15, Rocklands Farm Winery on March 22, and Old Westminster Winery on March 29.
“With this, we are using this opportunity to begin to carry some more new styles of wine including “natural wines” also known as “low intervention” wines from local wineries like Rocklands Farm Winery and Old Westminster Winery,” Wallace said. “Natural wine is made with organic grapes, contains almost no added ingredients, and is produced with far less intervention from the winemaker.”
Locavino opened in the former Adega Wine Cellars space at 8519 Fenton St. in Downtown Silver Spring in August of 2019. Locavino received a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2020, again in 2021, and worker Will Ferguson was featured in Wine Enthusiast last summer. “We’re a wine café. We specifically use that word,” co-owner Jarrod Jabre said to the Source in 2019. “We’re laid back. We don’t take ourselves seriously. What we do take seriously is our wine and our food.”
Graphics courtesy Maryland Wine Week and Locavino
