Legends Vineyard expanding its reach despite absence of a tasting room

Talked to Carrie and Ashby Everhart sometime last summer about their new venture called Legends Vineyard in Churchville, Harford County, Md.

Suffice to say they have encountered their share of obstacles in getting a tasting room done. Currently you can purchase their wine in restaurants and shops in 12 Maryland counties, but completing that home where folks can stop and taste their wines remains out of their reach. Carrie wrote by e-mail on Saturday: "Still no progress on the tasting room. We have focused mainly on new accounts to try and make it work. We are in nearly 200 locations and are continuing to grow. The highlight account would be Ripken Stadium, which features all of Legends Vineyard’s wines. We have consulted an attorney for our options on the tasting room and he thinks we could get it done. But we would be looking at another 20K for fees and filings over the next 2 years."

So they celebrate the other victories, such as word a day or two ago from the Association of Maryland Wineries that they placed in several categories in the 2009 Governor's Cup competition. Those results will be announced officially on Tuesday; hoping to have them to post a day earlier. Carrie wrote that the winery picked up seven medals in the competition, including "gold medals for our Meritage, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Gris, silver medals for our Vidal Blanc and Daylight White, and bronze medals for our Chardonnay and Midnight Red."

This winery and many others across the state are planning to participate in the 26th Maryland Wine Festival on Saturday, Sept., from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, the 20th, from noon to 6 p.m., at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster.