Deep Creek Cellars and Winery near Deep Creek Lake Maryland with Award Winning Maryland Wines

The Wines of Deep Creek Cellars

Deep Creek wines are modeled on the rustic country wines of Europe. You'll find less oak aging, more floral bouquet, and more inviting fruit flavors than you may be accustomed to in most American wines. Many customers who arrive not liking dry wines leave with armfuls of ours because Deep Creek wines are always fruity and friendly. Even our wines that can improve with age are enjoyable upon release.

We use only traditional Old World techniques in the cellar, wild yeasts supplied by nature on the grapes for fermentation, and natural cold-clarification. Deep Creek wines are pure, lively, and never overly manipulated. In an age when "hand-made" has become a widely abused claim, our wines are truly low-tech. We rarely filter and use only minimal amounts of sulfite preservatives -- and we offer no-sulfite bottlings for regular customers who request them.

Wines from the stellar 2005 vintage are the best-ever at Deep Creek. A sunny, rain-free September and Indian Summer extending into mid-October simulated classic Mediterranean conditions for ripening grapes across much of eastern America. After aging the wines for about 17 months, we began bottling the ’05 vintage in February of this year. A handful of Baltimore retailers quickly recognized their good value, and by mid-May 2007, many of the wines listed below were already in tight supply. Visitors to the winery expecting their favorites to be available are advised to phone-ahead if making a special trip for particular wines.

*2005 Artisan Red*
45% Grenache, 40% Carignan, 10% Frontenac, 5% Zinfandel 13.5% alcohol. This is what the French call a vin du copains — “a wine to share with friends.” Old vines, traditional vinification, unfined and unfiltered, lightly oaked, dry, rustic, and full of flavor. Bistro flavors of blackberry and herb, with a great lively personality. *$8.95*
*2005 Watershed Red Reserve*
90% Cabernet Franc, 8% Zinfandel, 2% Petit Verdot. Cabernet Franc from our estate vineyard and a site in Washington County were harvested Sept. 26 to Oct. 10 at near-perfect ripeness. This is the most Cab Franc ever included in our reserve — because it’s so good! A small amount of California Franc (10%) and the Zinfandel provide extra dark-cherry elements to our signature red. It was very tempting in this robust vintage to pile on the oak aging, but we instead chose to highlight the wine’s pretty berry flavors and gorgeous aroma of ripe fruit and herbs. A tantalizing, long melting finish keeps you coming back for more. *$13.95* *Pinot Schmino ~ Blog on Our Cabernet Franc Wines*
2005 Old Vine Zinfandel 88% Zinfandel, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Grenache. Here is the red for oak lovers in 2005; barrel aging adds a creamy cocoanut/vanilla topping to the blackberry-cedar character of this perennial Deep Creek favorite. Except for some of the Cabernet Franc, grapes used for this wine are entirely from California. These 50-year-old Zinfandel near Lodi are, in our view, a national treasure that we are honored to vinify. Serve this rich, yet surprisingly subtle wine with hearty foods, especially from the grill. $15.95
*2004 Ursa Major* 35% Cynthiana, 35% Zinfandel, 30% Grenache. Our new super-premium reserve red — only 150 gallons in 2004 — is named for its bear-like black color and richness, and as a tribute to the regal creatures that roam our wilds. To the Greeks and Romans, the bear was the figure of female compassion, a belief derived from observing the mother’s care of her tiny cubs. In the classical world, the bear appeared as a goddess wearing a bear mask, the very symbol of the Great Mother of all creation. Her strength and intelligence, her maternal instinct, her ability to stand human-like on two feet, her understanding of the passing seasons in the natural world, her amazing ability to hibernate, have all contributed to the bear mythos in cults and religions throughout human culture. We think you’ll like this monumental wine; we also think we can all live together if we try. The highly anticipated 2005 Ursa rolls out in July 2007. $19.95
Yellow Jacket White Fruity, semi-dry, with luscious flavors of white peach and pears. Yellowjackets love anything sweet and any person who likes sweet things will swarm on this wine. Enjoyable as an apertif, or with light cuisine. $10.95
*Blue Dolce Port* (375ML) Wildly popular, vividly blueberry dessert wine. *$12.95*
2005 White Linen Reserve
40% Vidal, 35% Seyval, 25% Chardonnay. The ’05 Linen displays a beguiling aroma of wildflowers and apple pie, due to increasing the barrel-fermented Vidal in this blend of the region’s three principal white grapes. A texture as fine as silk suits it to raw oysters or sautéed scallops, but it’s wicked good on its own, too. $11.95 We also routinely feature small-lot bottlings in our tasting room. This year, we have a varietal Shiraz and an estate-bottled classic dry pink wine from Cabernet Franc, Glade Run Rosé 2006. If You Can't Make it to the Winery, Where Can You Find Our Wines?