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NEWS OF GRAPES AND WINES IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA New Microwinery Is One of a Kind B City of Baltimore limits tiny Aliceanna Winery's output to 100 gallons; oak barrels prohibited altimore, Md.—In May, after negotia- tions spanning many months, Erik Bandzak finally received approval from the Baltimore City Municipal Zoning and Ap- peals Board to open Aliceanna—Maryland's 50th winery and the city's first urban winery. Part of his problem with the local zoning board was that his proposed winery is in a residential area of the city. When the board finally issued its approval, it came with some restrictions that put Aliceanna firmly into the "microwinery" category: Bandzak's production is limited to 100 gallons per year—the exact quantity permitted by the federal government to a single-adult-house- hold home winemaker. In addition, he can- not sell wine on the premises, advertise his Unable to use oak barrels, Aliceanna's vintner makes wine in glass carboys. business at the site or use oak barrels. (The zoning board was concerned the traditional vessels might leak wine into the ground.) Bandzak is not deterred by the limita- tions. "I plan to start selling wine at Mary- land wine festivals and through local restau- EasternWineLab_Mar09.qxp 1/22/09 9:47 AM Page 1 HEADLINES p48 FEATURE p50 EASTERN WINE LABS Serving the Analytical needs of East Coast Wineries WWW.EASTERNWINELABS.COM Ph 609-859-4302 Cell 609-668-2854 chemist@easternwinelabs.com AOAC Member Vineyard Trellis Supplies • High-Tensile wire • Gripples • Wire splicers & anchors • Exclusion fence • Tensioning tools • Wood & composite posts • Hydraulic post drivers • Spinning jennies • And More! How to Build Trellis book 800-536-2683 www.kencove.com 48 Wines & Vines AUGUsT 201 1 rants and distributors," he told Wine East. "In the next five years I'd like to move into a commercial space, in a location where I can bring in grapes to make wine and have a tasting room—but still be in the city." A major challenge for Bandzak has been to find a source of grapes or juice to use for making wine. It is estimated that for the 2011 vintage, the state's wineries will need approximately 900 more tons of grapes than Maryland's vineyards can produce. Consequently, Bandzak has been using juice from New York state, although he would prefer to use local Maryland fruit. He hopes to add a fourth wine made from Maryland fruit to his wine list after the 2011 harvest. —Linda Jones McKee