Linganore event targets event-planners

A majority of the wineries in the region schedule events at the site, from wine trail functions that mark the changing wine calendar, to summer concerts. Then there's the smaller percentage that rolls out the red carpet for family and business functions such as weddings and meetings. That includes Linganore Winecellars-Berrywine Plantations, which has scheduled an open house and tour from noon to 5 p.m. this Sunday.

Events coordinator Vania Jacobs said this is the second one the winery has held this year. One during the spring drew 150, and this one already has around 110 people signed up. A third one is in the works for this fall or winter.

It's too early to gauge the success of the event side of the business, at least looking at a bottom line. But Jacobs said the winery has 53 events booked already this year with that number surely to rise before the calendar reads 2009. Those include everything from birthdays to bridal showers and reunions to concerts.

Jacobs said the idea of an open house isn't a unique one. "It's my background," she said earlier today. "If you want to promote something, you do an open house. So it's just innate for me to do something like that."

And she's doing more, having already implemented new programs such as a Mothers Day brunch, a Murder Mystery Weekend and now this open house. "We also intend to do a Ladies Day Out so they can be pampered and whatnot," she said.

The open house will feature more than a dozen vendors on the premises to answer questions. In addition to giving folks a look-see, the hosts will provide samples from their bottles and a taste of what the food vendors bring along. Anyone interested is asked to respond by Friday. Linganore is a 230-acre farm, 60 of those devoted to the vineyard, that makes a very large footprint among several wineries that call Mt. Airy, Md., home.