Fiore Winery

Guest blog post for Maryland Life Magazine - Maryland's Best.

Tucked between Harford County’s flourishing green landscape is Fiore Winery and its La Felicetta Vineyard, located in Pylesville, MD. Replicating its founder’s homeland, Fiore Winery looks as though it is a page torn from Italy’s most celebrated vacation guide. Wandering vines and flowers stray from the Vineyard’s enchanting gardens to climb its picturesque arbors and weave shade for visitors. The gorgeous farm and its tranquil temperament invite a whimsical atmosphere to Fiore Winery. 

The property’s output reaps the rich Italian tradition on which Michael Fiore founded it, in 1968 – “Maryland wine with an Italian accent.” While Italy’s youngest winemaker moved far from his title and his family’s established winemaking business (nearly twenty generations), to America, he asserts that he always planned to remain a prominent member of the viticulture industry.

In 2011 Fiore Winery celebrated its 25^th birthday. It is a family-run establishment that has stood the test of time by tenderly harvesting its grape varietals to yield handcrafted and award winning wine that reflect the Fiore Family’s rich history of wine making.

Fiore Winery invites visitors to explore the vineyard, sample its yield and ask the staff questions so that, they too, can experience the tradition and thrill that drives Michael Fiore’s business strategy. He explains, “[my only wish is that guests enjoy drinking wine as much as I enjoy making it.]”

Distillery Lane Ciderworks

Guest Blog post for Maryland Life Magazine - Maryland's Best

In 2008, Robin Miller and his wife Patty Power aspired to use the fertile soil that blankets 95 acres of registered Maryland historical property to birth something totally new for the state – Hard Cider. Spanning across 10 acres of the charming wooded destination is an orchard that harvests fresh fruit and big business for the new owners of Frederick County’s historic property, “The Encampment.” Dating back to 1840, the farm once housed Union soldiers during the Civil War Era. It is now home to over 2000 apple trees.

Surrounded by pastures and woods, Distillery Lane Ciderworks is a serene and picturesque destination. Peeking through green landscaping that shades and lines the property are the distant remains of whiskey and beer distilleries that were once abundent to the area and the farm's neighbors prior to prohibition. To maintain its rich history as a historical landmark, Miller conceptualized his new cider making facility to reflect the properties original foundation.

In 2008 Distillery Lane Ciderworks’ “Cider Barn” opened. Its historic appearance pleased the surrounding community and its traditional atmosphere continues to attract visitors through its unique product and traditional appeal. Growing 30 apple varietals allows Distillery Lane Ciderworks to yield fruit that is perfect for eating, baking and blending into both sweet and hard cider. Visit the farm to enjoy the tranquility and tradition that encompasses Distillery Lane Ciderworks. 

Black Ankle Vineyards

Guest blog post for Maryland Life Magazine

Sarah O’Herron and Ed Boyce grew Black Ankle Vineyards “out of their love and curiosity of wine.” In 2001 the couple purchased the vineyard property, located on Black Ankle Road, in Mount Airy, and used its location to fuel the passion they would soon devote to conducting their new business in a traditional way.

 From neighbors and historians, the pair discovered Black Ankle Road to be the last of its surrounding roads to be left unpaved, an old dirt road – leaving the feet of its passerby’s marked and muddied. It is also rumored to have been the old Native American “Black Ankle Trail.”

Winemaker Sarah O’Herron’s success is attributed to her appreciation for the tradition and the learnt, rich history of winemaking that she acquired by studying winemaking across the country and around the world.

Winding down Black Ankle Road is an unmatched experience. Between over 42,00 hand-tended vines awaits Black Ankle Vineyards’ elegant yet eco-friendly tasting room – completed in 2007. The tasting room – built to reflect the owner’s belief in sustainability – was constructed from the farm’s wood, straw, soil, rain and sunshine as well as from as many locally green materials as possible.

The atmosphere of this desitnation radiates a personal dedication to “making wines of place – wines that express the unique flavors and atmosphere of the land on which they are grown.”

Black Ankle Vineyards, like it’s tasting room and wine varietals, reaps its land’s purity and tradition as well as the positive atmosphere in which it was established.

History of Maryland Wine

To be published in The Maryland Wine Press - Spring/Summer 2012

The earliest record of winemaking in Maryland dates back to1648. During the decades that followed Governor Charles Calvert attempted to plant 200 acres of European grapes on Maryland soil, but the vineyard attempt failed. Havre de Grace native, John Adlum, published America’s first narrative on viticulture and winemaking in 1823. In response to the nation’s mounting interest in the industry, Maryland established its Society for Promoting the Culture of the Vine in 1829.

Baltimore Sun columnist, PhillipWagner, published American Wines and How to Make Them in 1933. The text, later revised as Grapes into Wine, is referenced as the most definitive book on winemaking in America. The state’s first bonded winery, Boordy Vineyards, opened in Riderwood in 1945. During the latter half of the mid 1900’s many wineries opened and a few closed. It was not until the emergence of Maryland’s Grape Growers Association, in 1981, that the commercial grape growers in the state created a collaborative effort to improve the standards of grape growing in the state. Between 1983 and the turn of the century there was an influx of emerging wineries and the formation of American Viticulture Areas (AVA’s) throughout the state. In 1983 alone, three vineyards opened as well as Maryland’s first AVA in 1984. The Maryland Wineries Association was founded, birthing Maryland’s first Wine festival in 1984. Between 1986 and the year 2000 an additional four wineries opened, the Catoctin AVA formed and the state’s first Wine in the Woods festival was held.

Since the year 2000, over 30 wineries have begun production and opened to the public in Maryland. There are now 54 wineries that make up the Maryland Wineries Association. Local and legislative support have undoubtedly united winemaking as an industry, which has made the emergence of so many new businesses possible and endurance of already established commerce attainable.

Bolder than Boone: A Feature Story

To be published in The Forum - Loyoa's student-run annual non-fiction and art review


“To be content is to stop wanting, desiring and dreaming. When I become content with myself or any place that I’ve called home, I know it’s time to go; time for my next adventure, in a new phase, where I will no longer be comfortable with my surroundings. Being comfortable gets you nowhere besides exactly where you already are.”

By plane, train and her Honda Civic, Chelsea Krier, age 23, has breezed by more state and sea borders than Daniel Boone in the 1700’s; he made it only to Kentucky. When her initial plan – to flee industrial America for a more favorable, third world African village – failed following her high school graduation in 2006, Chelsea stumbled onto the more traditional track of exploration and independence. Chelsea’s dreams of the Peace Corps and tribal living both required a college degree so that is exactly what she sought: hello, University of Colorado-Boulder.     

After one semester at CU, Chelsea bid Colorado, its ski slopes and sexy snowboarders farewell, following the awful news that wrenched her heart more painfully than her professional plans: her father had been diagnosed with cancer.

“I knew from that moment, my life was no longer normal. Everything I had been planning to do with my life was no longer going to happen,” she explained. “Because my dad begged me to finish school so that I could make lots of money, for myself and for my mother, I tried. Three times I tried to re-enroll in school. After the fourth time, I said enough. It’s time to start doing what I want with my time and with my life. I haven’t looked back since.”

Chelsea’s favorite family memories include her mother’s jam-packed minivan, mediocre diners and traveling, anywhere that she and her family had not photographed, dined or danced in. She attributes her current nomadic existence to fond memories of family vacations and to her mother, whom Chelsea describes as her strongest advocate and the woman she most admires. “She is the bravest person I have ever known. I literally owe her my life (plus a lot of money) and I am endlessly grateful for her support that has no doubt sculpted who I am today, whoever that may be.”

Who is Chelsea Krier – an independent and optimistic woman. She is inspired by people who are unafraid of spontaneity, failure, and foreign culture. “Beginning to understand myself is the most gratifying feat I have accomplished so far.” Yet, constantly changing her address is far more difficult than simply learning new dialects and an occasional lack of gas money. She explains, “I either have a ton of money or I am dead ass broke. Relationships are challenging because I will never be able to please everyone and there has yet to be a moment when I haven’t missed my mother’s hugs, my brother’s sarcasm and WAWA ciabatta melts.

Three cross-country road trips, five state licenses (NJ, CA, WA, CO, WY) and one Visa (St Thomas, Virgin Islands) later, Chelsea has seen California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Vermont, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania. She has also sought international adventure in Mexico, the Bahamas, Aruba, Ecuador and St. John.

Chelsea possesses curiosity and open-mindedness that is, unarguably, distinctive to her. Every custom learned, co-worker befriended, and mountain climbed has affected her in a special and equally significant way. During February 2011 Chelsea visited her friend Julian’s home (whom she met tending bar in Yellow Stone National Park) in Ecuador. There, Chelsea immersed herself entirely into the lives of her host family and the traditions of their country. “I learned dance moves from his aunts, played piano beside his grandmother and practiced English with his grandfather.” Passionately, Chelsea described the Portilla family as the most genuinely accepting and beautiful people she has been blessed to meet in her lifetime.

Chelsea is aggravated by people who praise her lifestyle but neglect opportunities for themselves. “Sure, I don’t have a college degree, I have slept in an ungodly amount of sleeping bags and I have never worked at one job for more than a year, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I do what I want and I love what I do. It is satisfying to both say and believe that.”

From white water rafting in the Amazon to snoozing beside an active geyser and falling in love with an Australian in Mexico, Chelsea has both good and bad memories attached to every venue she’s visited. She enjoys traveling alone because it forces her into conversations with strangers, which from her experience, are undoubtedly the stepping stones that have built most of her lifelong friendships. Chelsea has no definite plans to end her physical exploration or emotional voyage. “I have yet to find one place on this planet that has stopped me dead in my tracks, making me think, this is where I need to be,” she explains.

Like December wind that flushes your cheeks and warms your core, my best friend and the woman I most admire, Chelsea Krier, will continue to blow by state and sea borders illuminating everything and everyone she meets. “There is so much of this world that I have not seen. In this moment, I want to keep moving until the day I die.” Her advice: “Life comes at you fast. Always bring a towel, never say I love you and at the end of the night... don’t forget to close your tab.”

LOYOLO

Published February 8, 2012 on Loyola Looks - Loyola University's online fashion editorial. http://loyolalooks.wordpress.com/ 

Facebook and Twitter fans agree, graphic Tee’s from the fast-mounting, consumer-driven company Campus Teez, are a hit amongst college students nationwide. The company, which offers “unique college apparel that you won’t find in your school store – or anywhere else” recently posted its latest design for Loyola University Maryland on its Facebook page. It has received 562 likes. 


What is all the hype about? The Tee that has students far more excited than any Loyola logo or happy hound has achieved, reads, “LOYOLO – so you may as well rage.” Other graphic tees, available on www.campuzteez.net, are similarly themed and party related. 


Some may perceive consumer enthusiasm to be the result of a widespread interest, from college students throughout the country, to declare – yes I’m in college, so therefore I “rage.” Yet, is our unusually blunt generation not expected to seek expression outside the boundaries of our classic campus apparel – as we do everywhere else?


I am inclined to believe that, as educated college students, “liking” Campuz Teez’s products and semi-racy content on Facebook and following the company on Twitter is more about making a statement and less about Loyola University’s will to announce, we party.

Campuz Tees are not an all-inclusive brand of apparel nor do they proclaim the outlook of the entire university they signify. They are the self expressive products of one mind that some have chosen to echo. Be inspired or be inspirational, but most importantly, be yourself – YOLO (you only live once). 

Game Day Garb

Published January 25, 2012 on Loyola Looks -Loyola University's online fashion editorial. http://loyolalooks.wordpress.com/ 

Supporting a professional sports team is sometimes less about your personal dedication to a particular team and more about the intoxicating and thrilling atmosphere that overwhelms a city or household when its local lineup battles to become league champions. As a Loyola student and member of the Baltimore community, I have made the parking lots of the M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards my choice social scene during football and baseball season respectively. Originally from Philadelphia but begotten by Baltimore pride and its success this season, I have extended my athletic allegiance to include the Ravens. I must therefore dress the part – hello game day garb. 

Besides the expensive and sometimes unflattering mesh jerseys that classically decorate die-heart, beer guzzling men, there are less expensive and often cuter garments available for female fans.

Fitted tees are a definite style staple for every female – from the avid aficionado to the fair weather fan. Team tees are an excellent investment because they are cheap and acceptable for re-wear as often as your team has games. Below are different but equally fashionable girlish garments available on footballfanatics.com  from the Baltimore Ravens Ladies Line.

No need to fly south. The lady Raven retains a variety of options despite a drop in temperature. Choose between an array of cool-gear – also available from Baltimore’s ladies line. Football fanatic or not, celebrate your team next season – whomever that is – by dressing the part. GO BIRDS!