Terrapin Station Winery

Date of visit: 14 July 2012
(Military Discount: Free tastings for service members (and guest/​spouse) and 10% off all purchases.
Sheri and I were wandering around Cecil and Harford counties going from winery to winery. Terrapin is a rather new winery with sales only starting in 2008, and offering wine tastings in 2010. I would like to point out that this is a family business and not a large commercial enterprise. I don’t think it fair to think that those who are running each individual tasting are trained to the level of a Sommelier, who are highly trained individuals working in the restaurant industry to enhance one’s fine dinning experience.
Our tasting was held in a shed-​like building about 1200 sq/​ft, so it was large enough. There are two wine tasting stations and the cashier in the main room, a back room with a bathroom and a couple of rooms just for the staff. This is a no-​frills winery, with nothing quaint like Boordy Vineyards or Williamsburg Winery. They do hold some special events at the winery, and our visit happened to coincide with Pirates-​in-​Port celebration that had live music by the Pyrates Royale (who also play at the MD Ren-​Fest) hosted in an outdoor event tent.
Our tasting experience was fair, and it provided what we were looking for, a chance to taste their wines, of which we bought a bottle of Reserve Traminette and Shiraz, as well as a box (yes a box) of Better Red Than Dead (19% ETOH, sweet red w/​strong hints of chocolate), which was awesome!!!
If you want to come here, I would plan other events around the trip (visit one or two other wineries, or tour Elkton or Havre de Grace), but don’t make this your sole purpose unless you are attending a special event.
Also if you are expecting the splendor of Linganore Winery or Boordy Vinyards (who also uses port-​o-​pots for all events), you will be greatly disappointed. If you need real restrooms, then stay home. But if you are out to explore the best that Maryland Wineries have to offer, then you do need to visit Terrapin Station Winery, because their wine is not only good, but some is really great. The proof is in the awards they are winning!!!
Note: None of the bottling happens on premises. All the wine is shipped to Pennsylvania to be bottle &/​or boxed and then shipped back. So there is no winery tour at this winery.

My experience with Terrapin Station sounds a lot like Ann T.‘s. My boyfriend and I also went to use a Groupon and wasn’t expecting the place to be so small, although the buildings nestled in the vineyards looked charming driving up. There were only two people working so we had to wait 10 – 15 minutes for a tasting. The wines were fine, but nothing jumped out at us – we ended up getting the rose as our free box. The man leading the tasting next to us sounded to be much more informed about the wines than the woman assisting us, so maybe that would have improved the experience.
I wouldn’t say this is a bad place, it’s just young. It’s a little unfair to compare this winery to more established area vineyards like Linganore. Perhaps it will be a bit more polished in a few years.
We also got to watch a free vintage baseball game on the grounds of the winery. Bring chairs if you want to watch a game! The grass was extremely itchy. It seemed like a normal game to me, but apparently baseball experts can tell the difference in rules. It was still a unique touch to our visit.
We finally bought a MD Wine passport, so expect many more winery reviews in the future!

Not what I expected at all, and I do not mean that in a good way.
Came here with a group of friends after purchasing a $ 15 Groupon special, which isn’t a good deal for a wine tour alone, but the special included wine tours for two people and a free box of wine of our choice per groupon.
First, I’ll begin by describing the venue. After driving 2 and half hours from Rockville, MD, we finally came to Elkton, MD, which looked promising as we drove past manicured farm land and picturesque country houses. When we finally drove up to Terrapin, which was denoted by a white wooden sign, we had to go up a small gravel driveway and parked in the grass, right next to the grapes. We were then led past a port-​o-​potty to a nondescript building that seemed more like a garage or a large shed. To my dismay, this was the wine tasting room. We were then introduced to our sommelier. She spoke softly so I couldn’t hear her very well, but from what I gathered, she was only listing some of the flavor notes which were already listed on a card in front of us. She didn’t go in depth on how the wine was produced or even guide our group through the wine tasting process despite over half of the group obviously being novices.
Though I want to note, another wine tasting was done right next to us with a gentleman who was very helpful. At one point, he even interjected to add in some more information about one of the wines we tasted, which we highly appreciated. If you are here, try to get him. Don’t know his name but he was the only guy there.
We tasted 3 whites and 3 red. 2 of the whites we tasted weren’t offered at the moment, which was a bummer for us as most of the group preferred the whites over the red.
Some things to add — there is a bathroom in addition to the port-​o-​potty in the back of the wine tasting room. It seemed a bit grimy, but it was bearable and there some homely touches, such as lotion and a hand towel, but then again the touches were offset by the row of lockers in the bathroom.
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend the drive up to this place, but the wine was good. I ended up giving my box, which held at least two bottles, to my uncle and aunt, who absolutely loved it.

This a new tasting winery in Cecil County. For $ 5.00 you can sample all the wines or get a couple free. The location is really pretty as you pull in on the gravel road with grapes to your left. Hopefully as they get rolling they will add a formal tasting area with possibly some items for sale and set it up like some of the others. Most wineries I have visited have all been free but I also usually purchase based on that. Hope to see more reviews here and I will be back to edit as things progress!
Purchase «Better Red Than Dead»