Fine Wine in Maine? Yes, Indeed!
When I was a kid my parents experimented with making wine. My involvement with the wine-making process was in the gathering…many summer weekends were spent picking Chokecherries and gathering Dandelion greens, when I would have much preferred doing something fun. These are the only two wines I remember my parents making, although I know they tried many other ingredients. (I distinctly remember wondering why anyone would drink something made out of “choke” cherries, never mind dandelions…have you ever tasted a dandelion???)
Maine is not normally associated with wineries. Historically, grapes have not been hardy enough to grow here where the winters are too cold. Newer, hybrid grapes have been developed recently that will grow here. There are now 20 wineries in the state.
Using Yankee ingenuity, Maine vintners have become very creative with non-traditional fruits such as blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, apples and pears and surprising things like rhubarb. They are beginning to grow hybrid grapes, and some ship grapes and grape juice in to create traditional wines. Most of the wineries have tasting rooms and will take people on tours. Maine now has the Maine Winery Guild and the Maine Wine Trail to promote the area’s wineries.
While in the Monmouth area, local Maine wines can be purchased in Manchester at Lighthouse Wine and Seafood. Plan a visit Tanguay and Son Winery in Lewiston and sample some local flavors.
For a map of winery locations in Maine, visit the Maine Wine Trail or the Maine Office of Tourism’s Visit Maine.
MAINE WINERIES
Bar Harbor Cellars at Sweet Pea Farm, Bar Harbor
Bartlett’s Maine Estate Winery, Gouldsboro
Blacksmith’s Winery, South Casco
Breakwater Vineyards & Farm, Owl’s Head
Cellardoor Vineyard, Lincolnville
DayBreak Manor Vineyard, Wiscasset
Dragonfly Farm & Winery, Stetson
Fiddlers’ Reach, Bath
Maine Coast Vineyards, Falmouth
Maine Mead Works, Portland
Oyster River Winegrowers, Warren
Prospect Hill Winery, Lebanon
Salmon Falls Winery, South Berwick
Savage Oakes Vineyard & Winery, Union
Shalom Orchard Organic Farm & Winery, Franklin
Sow’s Ear Winery, Brooksville
Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery, Union
Tanguay & Son Winery, Lewiston
Unity Winery & Vineyards, Unity
Winterport Winery, Winterport
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