Celebrating a "green" life on Maryland's Upper Eastern Shore

On the trail of our Eastern Shore Wines

I'm hanging out in one of my favorite Chestertown spots this afternoon - Village Bakery & Cafe. It's true I love them for their WiFi, but even more for their yummy food and pastries and - CUBAN COFFEE!!
I'm back on the Shore today for the kick off of the Chesapeake Wine Trail www.chesapeakewinetrail.com which took place at our friend Al's Cassinelli Winery & Vineyards on Route 213 between Church Hill and Chestertown www.cassinelliwinery.com.
Al is no stranger to these pages; you can find an article about the Winery under our Feature Archives - but today was a special day. Representatives like Marketing Coordinator Regina Reilly of the Maryland Wineries Association were there to kick off the event, with representatives from may of the Chesapeake wineries on hand. Dignitaries and local friends of the Winery were there as well - seen here WCTR Station Manager Ken Collins, Augustine Cook from the Kent County Economic Development Office, Bernadette VanPelt of the Kent County Tourism Development Office, Kent County Commissioner Roy, and Mrs., Crow.
We heard some impressive things. Like the intention of the Wine Trail is to promote the rural economies of Maryland. A Virginia study determined that for every dollar spent at a winery, $7 more gets spent in the County. Hard to ignore those kinds of numbers. People come, they stay, they eat, they tour wineries, they shop - it's win-win for everyone.
And what a great way to keep our traditional rural economies active and vibrant in an very environmentally-friendly way.
There are currently 7 wineries on the Eastern Shore, with 3 more coming soon - more than ample reason to come for a day, a weekend, a week.
So drink up. We'll raise a toast to you - perhaps not in a glass quite this big, but the Eastern Shore sentiment and hospitality will be just as large.
There's always lots to do on the Shore - if you're headed to this neck of the woods you can check www.kentcounty.com (one of the many responsibilities of our County Tourism Department of Bernadette, Jen Davis and trusty volunteer Mary).
I was thinking today how very grateful I feel to be surrounded by so many fine people, and how much that has enriched my life. On the Shore paths cross again and again, and lives and works and passions intersect. As I've been working on the 30th Annual Chestertown Wildlife Exhibition & Sale (www.chestertownwildlife.org) I've had the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people and organizations in the area - Echo Hill Outdoor School www.ehos.org, who will be bringing a skipjack and buy boat to the Exhibition, Al Cassinelli who will be pouring up Eastern Shore Wines, Drew McMullen of the Schooner Sultana fame www.sultanaprojects.org who, with his staff and volunteers will be staging Downrigging weekend this fall.
I've still got a lot of week left to go, but I'm looking forward to the Kansas City BBQ at the Imperial Hotel www.imperialchestertown.com this Friday, where it also happens to be First Friday in downtown Chestertown www.chestertown.com. Catch a Playmakers Camp show at the Prince Theatre www.princetheatre.org and catch up with us at the Farmers Market on Saturday.
Life is good.