Our Story

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Romano Vineyard and Winery was founded in 2007 by Joseph and Jo-Ann Romano, but it all started as a family farm with a lot of happy honeybees.

 

Joseph and Jo-Ann had been keeping bees and harvesting honey on their farm since 1998. One hive became two and then eight, and the Romanos had more honey than their family could use. With a lot of encouragement from their daughters, Tiffany and Tarah, they started selling their delicious honey under the name Golden Leaf Farm. Life on the farm was good, and soon Joseph and Jo-Ann noticed that just about anything they planted, from their vegetable garden to wildflowers and clover for the bees, seemed to flourish in the fertile soils of Prince George's County.

 

In 2006, when Joseph and Jo-Ann stumbled across a grant advertisement, looking for people willing to grow grapes for wine. They visited wineries all over Maryland to learn the business, researching grapes and tasting the state's best wines before they finally decided to transform their corn and soybean field into a vineyard.

 

Our Farm

 

By late winter 2007, the Romano's vineyard dream had become a family affair, with Joseph, Jo-Ann and their daughters working on its layout with the help of a neighbor, who happened to be a surveyor. (Never put in a vineyard without one!) First, the farm was covered in flags, marking where each post and vine would be placed. But soon, the flags were replaced by posts, and then 1,300 holes were drilled into the soil, ready for the first grape planting. In spring 2007, with the help of family and friends, the Romano's field, where tobacco and then corn and soybeans had grown, transformed into a vineyard.

 

Our Vineyard

 

In 2008 and 2009, The Romano's first grape harvests, gave Joseph the opportunity to learn the characteristics of their grapes and develop his skills as a winemaker. In the meantime, Jo-Ann started her work as the vineyard manager, taking care of the vines with the help of the couple's daughters. After giving the grapes time for their vines to mature and their roots to grow deep, the Romano’s harvested their first grapes for commercial wine production in 2010.

 

Today, the vineyard is home to five wine grape varietals –  Chambourcin, Barbera, Vidal, Cayuga and Traminette.

 

We believe that wine is made in the vineyard: quality grapes make quality wine. That's why we give every ounce of attention to our vines, so that they'll produce the high-quality grapes that give us one of Maryland's best wines.

 

On June 24, 2023, RVW closed to the public. We hope you have enjoyed our wines over the years as much as we have enjoyed making them for you.

 

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15715 Bald Eagle School Road Brandywine, MD 20613 - info@romanowinery.com - Phone 301-752-1103