The minds behind a new wine tasting room and production facility coming to Union Collective want to use their platform to give Maryland wines an international profile.
Enrique Pallares and John Levenberg, the founders of the forthcoming Wine Collective, say the urban winery will focus on honing wine-making techniques that will push the region forward. The collective's production facility is already in place, and its first batch of wine is settling in tanks. The libations will be moved to barrels in the coming weeks, Pallares said. He estimated that the facility will produce about 7,000 cases of wine in its first year, and 12,000 barrels the year after. The project will bottle wine under the Wine Collective label as well as offer its equipment for use by five other local wineries: Casa Carmen, a boutique Chestertown winery owned by Pallares and his brother, Knob Hill Winery, Libertas Estates, Windmill Creek Vineyard & Winery and Philosophy Winery & Vineyard.