Today is my sixth edition in My Friday Favorites in Southern Maryland series.  Today’s Favorite is FUN, yummy and so darn convenient.  Port of Leonardtown Winery in Leonardtown, Maryland is a perfect stop if you are doing a wine tour in Southern Maryland or St. Mary’s, make sure you stop here.  It is literally in my backyard, so it’s a great little stop before we head home.

Port of Leonardtown Winery is a cooperative winery.  There are twelve vineyards that sell their grapes to the Winery and the winemaker makes each blend.  There are 8 St. Mary’s vineyards located in Chaptico, Mechanicsville, and Scotland.  (I had no idea we had so many vineyards in St. Mary’s!!  Very cool :-))  There are a couple other vineyards in Calvert, Charles and Kent Counties that sell their grapes to the Port of Leonardtown Winery.   If you go to Port of Leonardtown’s Winery website, it will tell you which grapes are grown at which vineyard.

Peter and I have done tastings here many times.  We had a private event for Peter’s 36th birthday 4 years ago and most recently, I went there for a private tasting for the Mom’s of Matti Jane’s Father Andrew White class Night Out…talk about good times!!

A lot of the wines we tasted at our most recent visit were new.  We truly loved most of them.  There was just one that Peter literally made a gagging noise out loud.  And, rightfully so, the tasting room manager that was doing our tasting, gave him a dirty look and asked him “did you really just make that noise??”  We all laughed and kept drinking wine.  Me, on the other hand LOVED it.  Just for the record, it was the Peach Mango Mambo.  It was just too sweet for Peter and he did not bring his manners this particular afternoon 😉

We both really liked the 2016 Vintner’s Select White so bought a bottle of that to enjoy outside.

It was actually a perfect afternoon weather-wise.  It was in the upper 70’s and zero humidity…WHAT?!?!

The Port of Leonardtown Winery recently planted vines.  They look gorgeous on the property and are meant to provide a “vineyard” feel at the winery but they will continue to use the local vineyards’ grapes.   In line with traditional vineyards, they also planted rose bushes at the ends of each row of vines.

The Winery is open 7 days a week!!  Each day, you are able to visit from Noon – 6 PM.  On First Fridays, they are open from Noon – 9 PM and provide live music on Saturdays. And, back by popular demand, they are offering Sangria Saturdays, all including Port of Leonardtown Winery wines.

I mentioned private events above.  Feel free to contact the Winery to schedule your private event (301-690-2192).  They offer food pairings to purchase or you may bring your own fare to enjoy on the patio.

Another fun detail – the winery is near the start of McIntosh Run’s 3 mile canoe and kayak trail that leads to the Leonardtown Wharf. McIntosh Run winds through a 58 acre Forest Interior Dwelling Species Habitat—home to bald eagles, Baltimore Orioles, wild turkeys and many other birds. At the end of the trail is the beautiful new Leonardtown Wharf Public Park.

Every time we visit the Winery, we truly enjoy ourselves…to the very last sip 😉

Port of Leonardtown Winery

23190 Newtowne Neck Road Leonardtown Maryland 20650

Open Daily – Noon to 6 PM

First Fridays Noon – 9 PM

Also, thank you to Alicia for throwing an idea out – No Thyme to Cook.  I had never heard of it until Alicia mentioned it.  I will definitely investigate because Peter and I have been looking to do a couples cooking class and Matti Jane and Chandler are SO into cooking right now and I definitely want to nurture that talent 😉