For many wineries on the Eastern Shore bottling has meant using manual equipment or calling in a mobile bottling company based in other states such as neighboring Virginia. As the industry and number of full time wineries on the shore grows the need for more available bottling infrastructure is growing.
Recognizing that need? – Crow Vineyard & Winery. The Crows began producing wines in 2010 and quickly earned their status from wine experts afar as a premiere wine making operation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. At the 2015 annual International Eastern Wine Competition held in Sonoma, California, Crow Vineyard received a gold medal for their 2013 Vidal Blanc and silver for their first ever white blend. In June, the International Women’s Wine Competition awarded Crow a double gold for their sparkling Vidal Blanc.
It has always been the dream of owner Roy Crow, growing up on a dairy farm to own his own bottling line. Roy’s dream came true albeit for wine not milk. This past spring, the Crows installed a state of the art bottling line in their winery facility. For Roy, owner of an insurance company, working farm, and successful winery, quality control and security are keys to success. Bottling is the last and one of the most important stop in the winemaking process, its where efficiency and quality care come together and where the product is carefully packaged with bottle shape, cork and sealants’ for the wine drinker. Bottling can be easily compromised by such things as humid weather conditions and unique packaging elements such as bottle shape, so it requires the utmost attention and respect. Bringing control of both equipment and timing is an important step toward premium wine production. Crow’s bottling line is Italian made by way of a Canadian winery company. It can bottle about 60 cases per hour which includes; filling, corking or screw-capping, labeling and foiling to a finished product.
The bottling line will allow Crow Vineyard & Winery to bottle when the wine is truly ready, rather than having to adhere to a 3rd party calendar and this improves quality immensely. Just finished bottling were about 1200 cases in May and June. In mid-August, the Crows will bottle their dessert wine and oak aged Chardonnay.
The Crows welcome opportunities to assist regional wineries with their bottling and for the public to view the bottling line in process. If you would like to learn more about Crow Vineyard & Winery bottling, or would like to volunteer during the bottling process, contact [email protected] follow Crow Vineyard Facebook or call 302.304.0551.
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