Today we’d like to introduce you to Garry Cohen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Micki and I have been wine lovers for decades. About 25 years ago, we were at a winery in the Finger Lakes Region and it inspired us to plant a vineyard and start a winery. We held onto this dream and after more than 10 years, moved from Frederick, MD to Middletown, MD and began the process. We expanded 3 more times to our current size of about 1.75 acres. We finished all of the licensing in April of 2016 and began selling our wines the following Spring.
In a typical year more than 50% of the fruit comes from our property, we source most of the rest from other local MD vineyards. The current production is about 800 cases a year and our wines are distributed mostly in Central, MD.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth road? Not at all. There are enormous challenges, for which we are constantly adapting both in the vineyard, winery, and with sales.
Some of the vineyard struggles include weather and invasive insect species, In the winery, we continue to improve our craft to produce premium wines at a value price. Our sales are strong, but competition in this industry is fierce.
We are fortunate to have scaled to this size while keeping our costs in line and are able to make a fair profit even with our wines priced much lower than many other local wineries. We like to consider our winery as one that provides a terrific value.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We specialize in crafting clean tasting fruit-forward wines. Our winey practices are minimalistic preferring to let the grape “speak” and are known for our delicious wines at a value-driven price. We are also the first grower of the Tannat variety in Maryland and have been awarded numerous gold medals on our wines.
One of the things that set us apart is that we are one of the very few growers that chooses not to use a broad based herbicide in the vineyard, preferring to allow a cover crop develop under the vines which allows for moderate soil temperatures.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
We define our success on the awards that our wine have achieved in independent blind tasting competitions against other wineries in state, regional, national, and international venues.
Just last week after entering five wines into two different competitions, one national, and one international, we were awarded two gold medals, and three silvers.
That affirmation from professional judges that do not know us is priceless.
Pricing:
- Vidal Blanc – $22
- Tannat – $32
- Petite Sirah – $29
- Chardonnay – $22
- Cabernet Franc – $21
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mazzaroth.squarespace.com
- Instagram: @mazzarothvineyard
- Facebook: @mazzarothvineyard
- Other: Spoutible – @mazzvineyard
