2022 Old Westminster "Pepper" Red, Carroll County, Maryland

2022 Pepper is a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc, 25% Blaufränkisch, 10% Chambourcin, aged in neutral oak barrels for 18 months. It's rich and ripe with soft tannins and those spicy pyrazine notes you would expect from a wine called "Pepper.” This wine, imagined by our sommelier, is an inspiring everyday wine that is both food and wallet friendly!

It is a pair with Salt. The Salt & Pepper at the table together! Delicious wines for everyday drinking.

Our family moved to the farm that is now Old Westminster Winery in the summer of 2000. The abandoned juniper nursery wasn't much to look at, just some rolling hills dotted with hundreds of neglected, tangled shrubs. But we were kids full of energy and found the boundless adventures of open fields to be exhilarating. We held nothing but excitement for the future.

Our mom was a ‘90s homesteader — homeschooling three children on a farm, tending to a garden, and turning every project into a DIY endeavor. Most of our projects worked out well with the help of our dad, a skilled carpenter. Our upbringing was unconventional. We learned the art of hospitality from our mom, a trained hospice nurse, and entrepreneurship from our dad, who owned his own construction company. 

In 2008, the economic downturn halted our parents' construction company. They were empty nesters while the three of us kids were away at college and listed the farm for sale for over a year. Not a person came to look at the property. So a new idea was born: an agricultural business. 

At that time, we were all busy studying — business management, chemistry and marketing, respectively. We thought the idea of a family business was exciting and after a candid "I'm in if you're in" discussion, we set our aspirations on a vision to cultivate noteworthy wines that reflect our family and farm.

In 2011, on a loan from our grandfather, we purchased and planted 10,000 grapevines by hand on our land. That summer, our dad built a small pole barn for grape processing and winemaking. We embarked on our new story: Drew at the helm of vineyard management, Lisa the art of winemaking, and Ashli documenting the journey along the way.

We now farm a combined 134 acres between our vineyard at Old Westminster and our second site, Burnt Hill Farm, in Montgomery County. Along with 50,000 grape vines, we also tend to an apiary, a herd of woodland hogs, a mushroom farm and fields of heritage grains. You can find much of what's grown or raised at Burnt Hill Farm atop pizzas at Old Westminster. We're happy to serve seasonally rotating wines alongside wood-fired pizzas.

In 2023, Old Westminster Winery was named a top winery in the U.S. by Cosmopolitan Magazine and USA Today. We are proud of the story of Old Westminster and we look forward to sharing in these future chapters with you.

Cheers,

Lisa, Drew and Ashli