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For Immediate Release - April 22, 2009 In 2001, business
partners Mark Flemming and John Behun purchased 22 acres of farmland in
St. Leonard, Maryland, with the goal of establishing the first
commercial vineyards in the scenic Calvert County countryside.
At the time, there were fewer than 30 wineries in the state, and
only five in Southern Maryland. With
the help of their families and friends, these new entrepreneurs put
their love of wine to good use, planting Perigeaux Vineyards &
Winery’s first vinifera vines in 2002.
The name Perigeaux refers to the ancient walled town in the
Dordogne region of Southwest France near Bordeaux.
The town is famous for its pate and flocks of geese, hence the
origin of the white goose on the Perigeaux label.
The Dordogne region is known for its idyllic countryside and
famous vin-de-pays (wine of the country.)
After leaving the active duty Air Force in the early 1990s, Mark
spent time at a farm winery in Tocane-St Apres near Perigeaux in the
Dordogne. Perigeaux Vineyards
& Winery specializes in making hand-crafted wines in small lots,
with production, fermenting, aging, and bottling all carefully
supervised by John, the winemaster.
All grapes used for Perigeaux’s award-winning wines are grown
at the St. Leonard vineyards. The
winemaster’s methods are in the natural vin-de-pays tradition of
southwestern France, which leads the owners to take great care of the
grapes, and to make the wine as authentic to the Chesapeake Bay and
Calvert County areas as possible. When
you taste wine from Perigeaux Vineyards & Winery, you experience the
ripe fullness of the grapes and power of the sun in Southern Maryland.
Reflecting the range
of the winemaster and the tastes of the region, the winery has crafted
three distinct styles of wine, under three different labels.
“Perigeaux Vineyards” wine is drawn from the premium
signature and reserve vintages. The
“Mackall Road” label was developed for wines crafted without fining
and minimal filtering to be natural and authentic to the grape varietals
such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
“Patuxent River” wines have a lighter, fresher feel and
include specialty and sweeter varieties.
The 2005 harvest
produced the vineyard’s first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,
Chardonnay, and Cabernet Franc wines.
In 2008, Perigeaux’s first commercial vintage (from the 2006
harvest) was released, and the winery also added Pinot Gris and Muscato
to its offerings. The
winery plans to release its Zinfandel and an Italian-style blend of
Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon in the Fall of 2009.
All of the attention
to detail and hard work recently paid off with several regional and
national awards. In 2008,
Perigeaux Vineyards & Winery was recognized by the American Wine
Society with three bronze medals for its Cabernet Sauvignon, under all
three of the vineyard’s labels. The
Best of Appellation tastings in Napa, California recognized the
vineyard’s Chardonnay and Merlot with silver medals.
Also in 2008, the Maryland Governor’s Cup and Winemaster’s
Choice Competitions resulted in silver and bronze medals for the
vineyard’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Merlot.
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