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The Chesapeake Bacchus Club celebrated it’s 30th anniversary in 1996! This makes it one of the oldest continuously operating wine making clubs in the Eastern United States. (Let me know of any older clubs) The club formed out of necessity during the times when information and supplies were both in short supply for the amateur wine maker. Members bonded together to increase their knowledge and the quality of the wine they were making. Two of the members are among the top 20 cumulative point scorers at the American Wine Society’s National wine making competition and two members have gone on to start their own professional Maryland wineries. The club still meets monthly with each member bringing a bottle of wine for critique and enjoyment. Several functions are planned each year including an ethnic dinner matching wine and food from around the world, and the Noble Wine event where a selection of the world’s greatest wines are tasted and evaluated. This club mixes wine appreciation and wine making together to maximize the education and enjoyment of it’s membership.
The Maryland Amateur Winemakers (MAW) was formed after a wine making class put on by the Chesapeake Bacchus Club. Some of the participants in the class enjoyed the sharing of information so much that they decided to continue meeting after the class was over. Ever since, the emphasis of this club has been on education and improving the quality of it’s members’ wine. The MAW also meets monthly with each member bringing a bottle of wine. The host of each meeting is responsible for a brief educational talk on wine or wine making. The wines brought are formally scored blind using the AWS 20 point scoring system. The wines are then unveiled and discussed for the benefit of the wine maker and the class in general. Through this process, new wine makers are brought up to speed much quicker than working on their own and existing members are constantly pushed to improve.
Both clubs are open to new members. If you live in the Baltimore area and would like to join, send me an e-mail. dtb@geocities.com
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