Ah, that age-old dilemma that many couples face – should they visit a winery or a brewery? Well, fear not my friends because Linganore Winecellars and Red Shedman Brewery bring you the best of both worlds! Located on 230 sprawling acres in Mt. Airy, MD, Linganore Winecellars features 30 wines, dazzling vineyard views, a dog park, food trucks and live music every Saturday and an on-site brewery with hard ciders on tap! It’s a dream come true!
We decided to hit the winery first. Tastings are $13 for 4 samples and as usual, we opted for the sweet bar tasting. First up was Black Raven, an off-dry wine with notes of black cherry and a velvety finish. I was a little skeptical of the next selection, Blackberry, because past experience has found most blackberry wines to be thick concoctions reminiscent of cough syrup. To my delight, Linganore’s Blackberry wine was light and non-sugary allowing for the natural flavor of the fruit to shine through. While we adored the complexity and aroma of the Mango Sangria as well as the refreshing sweetness of the Mountain Red, it was the Skipjack wine which won our hearts. Made from Cayuga grapes, Skipjack is a sweet Riesling style wine that tastes as bright and airy as a spring morning.
Tasting complete, we only had to walk next door to the Red Shedman Brewery and Hop Yard to check out the hard cider offerings. Red Shedman is the perfect place to chill out and catch a game on one of their several flatscreen TV’s while enjoying a freshly tapped, interestingly named brew. While we are not beer drinkers I must say that several of the beer descriptions caught my eye. However, hard cider is our jam so we indulged in the Blueberry Cobbler and Apple Pie Ice Cream ciders, perfect for those with the sweetest of sweet tooths.
Great wine, a beautiful estate, a fun brewery with hard ciders on tap too – who says you can’t have it all?