Tourism major focus of award-winning winery

Linganore Winecellars has earned an award from the county’s office of economic development for its achievements and expansion. For brothers Eric, left, and Anthony Aellen, running a vineyard and winery is a year-round job. Lucia Simmons, center, is marketing director for the business.  

While most people think of caring for grapes as a warm-weather task, in reality it is a year-round job.

Anthony and Eric Aellen work diligently, whether it is a hot summer day or frosty winter morning, to ensure the vineyards are ready for harvesting at the right time of year.

The Aellen family was honored recently with the Agricultural Business Award of the Year from the Frederick County Office of Economic Development's Business Advisory Council.

The family began growing the grapes at Linganore Winecellars and Berrywine Plantations near Mount Airy in 1971.

The award recognized not only the success of the business, but also an expansion of its main building to include a banquet and meeting facility, and wine tasting room.

Colby Ferguson, agribusiness specialist with the county's economic development office, said the winery was the largest in the state and one of the oldest.

The winery has become an integral part of the county's tourism promotions and draws a lot of visitors on day trips, Anthony said. With the tighter economy, customers prefer wines in the $15 to $20 range, instead of $30 to $40, he said.

But for each 1 dollar the state spends to promote tourism, it gets $8 in revenue from spending by visitors, said Lucia Simmons, marketing director for the Aellens. The county also set up a wine trail for visitors.

"We are creatures of habit," Anthony said. "If we tend to have a glass of wine with dinner, we will continue to do that."

Liquor stores have been a major outlet for sales, Simmons said. In the tasting room, visitors receive an education about not only how the wine is made, but also why different wines taste the way they do.

Anthony manages the wine's production, while Eric prunes vines in chilly weather or harvests grapes in later summer or fall.

Simmons said the Aellens have been talking with Frederick Community College to add wine as a feature of food and restaurant management studies.

Eric sits on the Governor's Board of Wine and Grapes, which not only oversees existing businesses, but also helps those who want to start a vineyard in Maryland. The state has more than 30 wineries, and Eric hopes to see it reach 40 by the end of this year. He is also on the Frederick County Farm Bureau's board of directors.

Like any agricultural operation, the Aellens must watch the weather and "invaders," especially deer, which eat 30 percent of the crop each year. The plan is to put up an 8-foot fence around the sustainable crop.

Hunting on the property didn't help. Hunters killed a lot of deer at one time, but the next day there were 14 in the vineyards.

"Anyone in this has to be dedicated," Simmons said. "It is hard work, and sometimes it's like reaching for the stars and seeing if you can grasp them."