Wine

katec@herald-mail.com "You have some downy," said Dick Penna, looking at the leaves on a vine of nebbiolo grapes in his friend and neighbor Dawson Ahalt's southern Washington County vineyard. Downy - downy mildew - is caused by a fungus, and it is but one of many hazards faced by growers of wine grapes. Penna and Ahalt have been making wine since the 1980s - white and red - from different varieties of grapes grown in their Pleasant Valley vineyards. Ahalt, a retired U.S. Department of Agriculture economist, has an acre and a half in grapes.

The Washington County liquor board has issued a license to a new business in Hancock to sell alcohol. During a hearing in Hagerstown Wednesday, the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County granted a license to the Blue Goose Fruit Market & Bakery at 557 E. Main St. in Hancock, to sell beer and wine. Blue Goose owner Penny Pittman said she intends to use the license to sell only wines from local wineries. Pittman said the business, which sells fruits, gourmet foods and baked goods, opened Nov. 21. - Dan Dearth

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - It's been more than 140 years since a reputed last-minute intervention by President Abraham Lincoln saved the historic house from being burned to the ground, but people are still fighting over Boydville. Two members of the Berkeley County Commission and its legal counsel took turns uncorking concerns Thursday over a proposed wine festival held each year for a decade on the grounds of the 13-acre property, renewing contention with the county's farmland bureau, which bought the property last year.

An Italian wine-tasting dinner and auction will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, at Beaver Creek Country Club, 9535 Mapleville Road in Hagerstown. Proceeds benefit the performing arts programs offered by Cumberland Valley School of Music programs at St. Maria Goretti High School. The wines served are from various regions of Italy. The menu will include crab and cheese bruschetta, bacon wrapped scallops, spinach and feta wrapped in phyllo, chicken Florentine, baby green beans with roasted shallots and fennel, penne pasta with plum tomatoes, proscuitto and fresh mozzarella, beef tenderloin medallions with port and peppercorn demi-glaze, and asparagus with lemon and dill, and fruit compote.

This recipe comes to you by way of the Jeff Smith aka "The Frugal Gourmet," a fellow TV chef that passed away in 2004 amid a cloud of controversy.   He was instrumental in my first glimpses of cooking on TV before there ever was a food or cooking channel and his wit and fun in the kitchen certainly made for creative recipes. I believe he helped usher in a move from PBS to center-stage cooking and paved the way for the culinary shows we watch today. As a tribute to The Frugal Gourmet, I'd like to present my take on his classic recipe utilizing wine in marinating beef to bring out the flavor in tough cuts of meat.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. -- Berkeley County Commission meetings, typically held on Thursday mornings, soon will be broadcast in real time on the Internet. "I think we need to be transparent as possible," Commissioner William L. "Bill" Stubblefield said before voting Thursday to authorize the county's IT director to install equipment needed for Web streaming. In a memo to commissioners this week, Gary A. Wine said the purchase and installation of cameras and other equipment in the commission's meeting room would cost $9,698.

Berkeley County built on limestone The problem of contaminated water in Berkeley County is made worse by the fact so much the county is built on limestone, said William Alexander, president of the county's Water Advisory Board. "Limestone doesn't purify as well - it doesn't filter as well," he said. His neighbors Robert and Sarah Steptoe recalled an incident many years ago when a railroad tanker filled with Mogan David wine derailed and split open, with the contents seeping into the limestone, where it was quickly carried into drinking water aquifers.

His family vineyards date back to the 1720s and span five estates. He is a 13th-generation vintner. Wine is in his blood, and when he speaks, Pierluigi Giachi pours forth his passion on the subject. "It's the protocol of the glass. It is a glass. It is not a boccie ball. It is not an umbrella," Giachi said Sunday evening at a Hagerstown Garden Club wine tasting at Younger Toyota. Giachi spoke rapidly with a thick Italian accent, and indicated that the wine glass should be held with the base between the second and third fingers, not palmed like a ball or double-handed like an umbrella.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. --The Berkeley County Commission on Thursday voted 2-1 to add an IT technician to the county's payroll, a decision that the majority said was justified by the Information Technology Department's workload. Commissioner Anthony J. Petrucci, who voted against creating the position, commended Deputy County Administrator Alan J. Davis and IT Director Gary Wine for their presentation proposing the additional hire, but declined to comment after the meeting when asked about his vote.

Looking for a night out? Curious about how chefs prepare restaurant-worthy meals? Pull up a chair at the next cooking demonstration at Duffy's on Potamac. Duffy's chef Eric Pinchak said the presentation lasts about 90 minutes. Three chefs prepare an appetizer, entree and dessert. The menu is usually planned the week prior to the event. The next demo, on Wednesday, June 24, includes a chilled shrimp cocktail appetizer and a stuffed salmon entre. "The chefs here put together recipes for each item," Pinchak said.

Red, white and blue ribbon was cut, and glasses of red and white wines were lifted to celebrate the official opening of the Antietam Highlands Wine Trail on April 16 at Knob Hall Winery in Clear Spring. The Antietam Highlands Wine Trail is the sixth and newest wine trail in Maryland. It stretches across Washington and Frederick counties, touching on renowned wineries, historic sites and scenic Maryland nature. The event was attended by representatives of the wineries on the new trail; Kevin Atticks, executive director of Maryland Wineries Association Inc.; Tom Riford, president and chief executive officer of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau; John Fieseler, executive director of the Frederick County Tourism Council; Maryland's Chief Viticulturalist Dr. Joe Fiola; and representatives from the offices of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, U.S. Rep. John Delaney and Md. Sen. Christopher Shank.

A bill that would allow Sunday sales of beer and wine to begin at 10 a.m. died Wednesday in the House of Delegates, according to the legislation's lead sponsor. Wednesday was the deadline for bills that originated in the House and Senate to pass out of their respective chambers. “I'm very sorry about it,” Del. Stephen Skinner, D-Jefferson, said of House Bill 2946. “I'm not going to stop fighting for it.” Current state law now only allows alcohol sales on Sunday to begin after 1 p.m. Advocates of the legislation included the owners of the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, W.Va., where patrons cannot order a glass of champagne or other alcoholic beverage with their Sunday brunch until the dining part is more than halfway through.

As wine was poured, hors d'oeuvres were tasted and music was performed, several people milled about tables, deciding whether to place bids on items ranging from gift cards and gift baskets to personal concerts and a Bustin Ratmobile, a downhill skateboard. The Gourmet Goat on North Potomac Street in downtown Hagerstown hosted the fourth annual Wine and Cheese, Silent and Lively Auction on Sunday to benefit the Community Free Clinic. The clinic, on Mill Street, treats medically uninsured Washington County residents for free.

On Saturday, Gordon's Grocery owners John Gordon and his sister, Cynthia Milsap, will host a wine-tasting event with Monument Fine Wines from noon to 6 p.m.  Gordon's is at 101 Cypress St. in Hagerstown.  The event is a benefit for the Humane Society of Washington County. Donations of food, toys, nonclumping cat litter and other animal-related items will be collected in front of the store. “What better way to spread holiday cheer than to host a benefit for the homeless animals in Washington County,” Gordon said.

On three acres of sloping Myersville gravelly loam, hundreds of young grape vines are maturing, waiting to yield their first harvest late next year. The ground near Smithsburg where the vineyard sits is, by soil composition, elevation, slope and climate, similar to what one would find in the Burgundy region of France, said Joe Fiola, a viticulture specialist with the University of Maryland Extension. Myersville gravelly loam, he noted, is the soil type and the limestone over shale substrata and slope allow the kind of drainage that produces excellent wine grapes.

The triennial WaynesboroFest celebration will be held from Friday, June 29, through Sunday, July 8. WaynesboroFest began in 2000, evolving from the 1997 bicentennial celebration. The mission of the nonprofit organization is “to provide the community with educational, historical, cultural and entertaining events” for all ages. Although the celebration is being held during a holiday week, the WaynesboroFest committee has not planned any activities for the Fourth of July. All events that day will be planned and sponsored by the Waynesboro Jubilee, a separate entity.

The Washington County liquor board has issued a license to a new business in Hancock to sell alcohol. During a hearing in Hagerstown Wednesday, the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County granted a license to the Blue Goose Fruit Market & Bakery at 557 E. Main St. in Hancock, to sell beer and wine. Blue Goose owner Penny Pittman said she intends to use the license to sell only wines from local wineries. Pittman said the business, which sells fruits, gourmet foods and baked goods, opened Nov. 21. - Dan Dearth

On Saturday, Gordon's Grocery, at 101 Cypress St. in Hagerstown, will hold a wine tasting from 1 to 4 p.m. to benefit the Humane Society of Washington County. Attendees are asked to bring pet items, such as blankets, toys, kitty litter and food for the animals housed at the shelter. The event will be hosted by John Gordon. "We have wanted to do something for a long time," Gordon said. "We discussed this with Shawn Clopper of Monument Fine Wines and this seemed to be a great idea.

Some call it science. Some call it art. But to wine enthusiasts, it's a glass act. It's wine tasting - a fun and easy way to sample the fruits of a vineyard owner's labor. Over the past decade, such events have become popular pastimes. You can enjoy wine tasting in fields of grapes, at your neighborhood liquor store or in your own home, where wine parties are gaining on Tupperware. But you don't have to be a connoisseur to participate. In fact, said Mike Johnston, wine tasting is a great way for novices to decide if wine really suits their taste.