February is now officially Delaware Wine Month, thanks to the Delaware House of Representatives and Senate, which recently passed House Concurrent Resolution No. 3, which recognizes Delaware’s growing farm wineries and the positive economic contributions being made in Delaware. The resolution’s prime sponsors were Rep. Jeff Spiegelman and Sen. Brian Bushweller.
“We are so fortunate to have Delaware’s legislators behind the efforts of our farm wineries,” said Chuck Nunan, owner of Harvest Ridge Winery and President of the Delaware Wineries Association (DWA). “For those who have not been to our four wineries, we encourage you to come out, enjoy the fruits of our labor, and support Delaware-grown products.”
The wine industry in Delaware began in 1991, with the passage of House bill No. 211, permitting farm winery licenses and the holders of the licenses the ability to manufacture wine. Since that time, Delaware has become home to four wineries—Fenwick Wine Cellars, Harvest Ridge Winery, Nassau Valley Vineyards and Pizzadili Vineyard and Winery. Wineries within the state are also part of the “Delaware Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail” and the “Good Libations Tour, which attracts thousands of residents and visitors to their wineries each year.
In addition, the wineries in Delaware are included in the newly developed “Vintage Atlantic Wine Region”, which provides a unification of wineries within Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Brandywine Valley area of Pennsylvania and South Jersey.
