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WineEast TECHNICAL REVIEW less steel in the winery. And we needed to protect the wine when we bottled it. We bought tanks at fire sales or at auction, and incrementally added equipment. In 1986 we hired Tom Burns as winemaker, which allowed me to be more focused on business. He's still our winemaker and is totally dedicated to making the best wines possible for Boordy." Deford continued, "A second goal was to get the vineyards up to snuff. Our varieties were wrong, the spacing was wrong—and then there was the question of site selection. In 1984 vinifera vines were planted for the first time, including Cabernet and Chardonnay." Gradually it became apparent to the Defords that the Long Green Valley vineyard site was more suitable for white grapes, and they began to look for an appropriate site to grow red wine varieties. In 1996 they assumed control of Jerry and Ann Milne's South Mountain Vineyard, located on a 115-acre farm near Burkittsville, Md., a Civil War-era town southwest of Frederick, Md. Today the vineyard consists of 25 acres planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Chardonnay. Another significant event for the Maryland wine industry as well as Boordy occurred in 1984: the formation of the Association of Maryland Wineries. Deford served as the first president of the group, formed by seven wineries, and presided over the first Maryland Wine Festival at the Union Mills Homestead in Westminster, Md. The following year the festival moved to the Carroll County Farm Museum, and it continues to attract more than 20,000 visitors each year. At the same time, Boordy began to become more "user-friendly." The winery offered food and wine pairings with local chefs, concerts, picnics and barrel samplings to introduce the wine-drinking public to Boordy's wines. In 1998 the winery hired Susan Rayner, former owner of the wellregarded Tabrizi's Restaurant in Baltimore, as director of marketing. The 'Landmark Project' When the winery celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2000, Boordy's management team undertook a complete review of the As good As it gets. Natural Corks Champagne Corks Twinline Corks Bartops VISION® Wine Stopper G-Cap® Screw Cap 74 W in es & V i ne s DEC E M b e r 20 13 Sales Representatives Chris & Liz Stamp info@lakewoodcork.com Lakewood Cork 4024 State Route 14 Watkins Glen, NY 14891 lakewoodcork.com 607-535-9252 607-535-6656 Fax company to meet the challenges of the new century and meet the goal of becoming a top-quality wine producer. "We felt as if we had hit a glass ceiling," Deford explained. "We had made strides in wine quality, but we wanted to get to another, higher, level." The wine industry was undergoing a period of rapid change and overall globalization, and Boordy didn't want to be left behind. Phase one: marketing The first step in the Landmark Project was to address Boordy's marketing and promotional approach and make a radical shift in the winery's graphic identity. Rayner, Deford and his wife Julie Deford began the search for a designer to take on the project. After looking at hundreds of labels from other wineries, Deford hired Ian Kidd, a designer based in Adelaide, Australia, and his team (IK Design of Adelaide) to redesign Boordy's labels and other packaging and promotional materials. When the Landmark Project began, the winery produced about 12 wines, all under the Boordy label. According to Deford, it was difficult to distinguish where a wine fit