When heading to the northeastern part of our beautiful country, I always prefer to travel up the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It is so relaxing, peaceful and scenic as compared to the stressful and monotonous I-95. When you factor in there being virtually no traffic, how could you not opt for this route? In October, I headed north to visit my son at his school on Long Island and I broke up the trip by staying at two Harvest Hosts. On the way up, I stayed at Layton’s Chance Vineyard and Winery and on the way back I stayed at Triple Creek Winery.
Layton’s Chance in Vienna, MD was off of the main highway not too far off my route and it was on a working winery. I say working because while sipping my coffee I enjoyed the sound of tractors beginning their day as I watched the sun cut through the morning fog. It was so peaceful. My day was about to be stressful as I embarked on tackling the New Jersey Turnpike and then the streets of Long Island so taking those few moments to enjoy the morning was perfect.
When we arrived we were greeted by the owner, Jennifer, and her dog, Loki. He too was a rescue Australian Shepherd like my Goose and they became fast friends – and I mean fast. They chased each other around the winery grounds barking and trying to out herd the other. Eventually I had to tie Goose to his lead so I could sit down, relax and savor the wine tasting that I had purchased. But that didn’t last long because Loki came running by and Goose bolted to run with him, breaking off the plastic clasp on his collar. Now he was on leash time with me (and the next day I purchased two new collars for Goose with metal clasps)!
So, back to the wine. It was wonderful. Once I settled in, I visited their tasting room and tried a Picnic Tasting, which is about 5 1 ounce samples of their wines. Of course I chose reds and literally had a picnic outside the Airstream while I watched the sunset. I tasted a few and my favorite was Ridgeton Red, which had a nice full body compared to all of the others. One of the most interesting ones I sampled was the Rise Up Red, which has notes of chocolate and fresh brewed coffee. Their wines were delicious and I would recommend stopping by and exploring their tasting room. It was nestled in a rustic red barn complete with rocking chairs on the porch with views of the vineyards.
Layton’s Chance was a relaxing stop on my whirlwind trip and I would love to stop there again for my next trip to the northeast. Oh, and Loki has his own wine, a port red with hints of chocolate and caramel – pretty sweet just like him! To read more Harvest Host Reviews, you can visit my blogs.
