Delmarva dreamin'

Wines & Vines, Sept, 2005 by Miles Lambert-Gocs

Inhabitants of the Chesapeake Bay region--from Baltimore, Md., east to Dover, Del., and from Washington, D.C., south to Norfolk, VA.--have long been used to "Eastern Shore" as a persuasive popular appellation when buying cantaloupes, tomatoes and potatoes, but to this day it carries no regional weight as a wine name. The situation will not be transformed in the immediate future, but signs of change have emerged, and the "Delmarva" name might well gain recognition among wine consumers in the Mid-Atlantic states over the next two or three decades.

First-time visitors traveling along U.S. 13, which traverses the Delmarva Peninsula, might have their doubts about a viticultural future here. The flat fields of crops and the occasional sight of marshy islands, plus the industrial-scale chicken processing plants and the shanties of "watermen"--none of that makes it any easier to conjure a Bacchic landscape shaping up. But by looking at a large-scale map that obscures Route 13 and focuses instead on the Atlantic coastline, Delmarva from Cape Henlopen in Delaware to Cape Charles in Virginia appears as a Mid-Atlantic version of Long Island, though upended to extend north to south, and somewhat longer, at about 120 miles. Considering how far Long Island has come viniculturally in 30 years, it then becomes less preposterous to think, "Delmarva wine."

Maritime is definitely the word to keep in mind in looking at Delmarva grapegrowing. The peninsula faces the Atlantic on its long eastern side and Chesapeake Bay on its winding, river-indented western side, a situation that makes for milder climatic conditions than those faced by winegrowers across the bay in "inland" Virginia and Maryland. Frost and cold are not the problems they can be in inland vineyards, and Delmarva is just far enough north to escape acute damage from tropical storms coming from the south. This climate, together with the low, gentle landscape and sandy loam soils, again brings Long Island to mind.

Most of the Eastern Shore vineyards are situated in proximity to the bay or ocean, at elevations between 10 and 15 feet. They typically slope slightly toward the water, thus ensuring good drainage in most years, although 2003 and 2004 saw unusually copious rainfall that strained drainage capacity. Since the water in the soil remains warm for a long time because of the maritime influence, the vines enter dormancy more slowly and without threat of the sudden damaging drops in ground temperature that occur inland.

But as yet, viticulture has a markedly minor role in Delmarva agriculture. Vines in this tri-state coastal region cover hardly 100 acres, and only three wineries are operating at this time. The region had a late start compared to inland areas of the Mid-Atlantic states, and has been slow to view itself as a designated wine region rather than just an anonymous supplier of grapes to inland wineries.

The first blip on the Delmarva screen was a vineyard established in the 1970s by Dr. Geoffrey Gubb at Eastville, Va. Gubb had developed an interest in wine while working in South Africa, and decided to grow grapes when he retired to the Eastern Shore.

Influenced by his success, neighbor and Eastville native Suzanne Wescoat put in an acre of vines in 1984 on family farmland just .3 miles from the Chesapeake. Originally, this was to be only a hobby, but Wescoat was immediately taken by the project and expanded to 5 acres in the second year, and eventually to the current 20 acres. Called Glebe Vineyard, it is the southernmost Delmarva vineyard today, less than 20 miles from Cape Charles and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Norfolk.

Although a wine enthusiast, Wescoat never had winemaking in mind. Instead, she made a tour of inland Virginia wineries in 1984 to find out which grape varieties they wanted. On that basis, she started with Cabernet Sauvignon, which still accounts for 12-14 tons of Glebe's annual output, but expanded to Merlot and Chardonnay as those varietals grew in popularity, with each of them now yielding about 30 tons of grapes annually. Quality also improved, though it took eight years and four changes in trellising. The costs were more than made up for by quality that customer wineries were willing to reward.

Immediately north of Eastville, Jon Wehner had an altogether different outlook than Wescoat when he planted 22 acres for his Chatham Vineyards at Machipongo in 1998. A second-generation winegrower from the Piedmont area of Virginia, he had come to the Eastern Shore with the idea of creating a boutique winery. Although Chatham for the time being is supplying its grapes on a contractual basis to the inland Prince Michel winery, Wehner is in the initial phase of launching his winery, with a goal of 3,000-5,000 cases annually.

Because of his wine ambitions, Wehner is very concerned about getting the very best from his vines, and now plans to reduce the distance between his vines and rows to control yields and optimize quality. He is also a strong believer in dry farming as enhancing the full expression of each vintage. Being located just .3 miles from Chesapeake Bay, the vines at Chatham are never threatened by water shortages.