The Vineyards at Dodon

The Vineyards at Dodon is a family farm and estate winery in Davidsonville, Maryland, located roughly 16 miles from Annapolis. It operates as part of Dodon, a 555-acre working family farm in Anne Arundel County that is owned by the Dodon Land Trust, whose trustees are Polly and her six siblings. The winery describes its approach as taking cues from nature, science, and the generations who tended the land before, and it presents its wines as the product of a relationship with nature. Everything in the glass, in its own words, starts and ends on the property. The estate farms 43 acres of vines, of which more than half is given over to meadows, hedgerows, and native plantings. Grazing livestock, native cover crops, and pollinator habitat are used to restore soil, protect the vines, and — according to the winery — remove more than 250 tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year. Dodon frames a resilient ecosystem and a remarkable vintage not as competing goals but as the same goal, and reports that its chemical and physical footprint has declined dramatically while biology flourishes. The winery's stated mission is to produce wines that reflect its community. It acknowledges that the Chesapeake region is a demanding place to grow wine and treats that difficulty as the point: carefully tended vines, a climate that keeps the estate honest, and curiosity about what the place can produce. Tastings are offered by appointment, Friday through Sunday, with guided tours and tastings available on Saturdays and Sundays; visitors are invited to see the vines, taste the wine, and meet the Dodon sheep. Dodon's land has a long and complex history. Human habitation in the area around the farm likely began 8,000–10,000 years ago with tribes of the Piscataway nation, who lived in small family groups and moved campsites seasonally. Roughly 1,000 years ago Native Americans introduced tropical plants such as maize, squash, beans, and tobacco to the region. European settlement followed, with figures such as Dr. Francis Stockett among the early Europeans to come to the area. In the late 1980s the farm was established as a trust by the parents of the current trustees to preserve farmland, and Dodon was one of the first farms to enter an easement agreement with the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation restricting most of the property to agricultural use. Together, the trust and easement agreements make development of the land nearly impossible. The Vineyards at Dodon is therefore best understood as a small, terroir-driven estate winery embedded in a permanently protected family farm, selling directly to visitors and consumers rather than operating as a large commercial wine company.

Dodon is a 555-acre working family farm in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The farm is owned by the Dodon Land Trust, whose trustees are Polly and her six siblings. The trust was established in the late 1980s by their parents to preserve farmland, and its agreement requires that a supermajority of the trustees agree to any sale or other significant change to the property. Dodon was also one of the first farms to enter into an easement agreement with the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, which restricts the use of most of the property to agricultural purposes. Together, the trust and easement agreements effectively preserve the rural, agricultural nature of the farm and make it nearly impossible to develop the land. The history of the land itself is complex and incompletely documented. Human habitation in the area around the farm likely began 8,000–10,000 years ago, when tribes of the Piscataway nation first arrived. It is not known whether these indigenous peoples settled on the property itself; they appear to have lived in small family groups of 20 to 50 people, moving their campsites to take advantage of seasonally available resources and to adapt to the rapidly changing climate that followed the last ice age. While crop cultivation began in many parts of the world much earlier, it was not until about 1,000 years ago that Native Americans introduced tropical plants such as maize, squash, beans, and tobacco into the region. Before Europeans arrived, these crops appear to have been more dietary supplements than staples; after planting, native peoples would move on to sow, hunt, and gather elsewhere for several months while the crop ripened, returning to harvest and trade with other migrating tribes. Dr. Francis Stockett was among the early Europeans to come to the area. The modern winery operates within this preserved farm landscape. The Vineyards at Dodon describes itself as a family farm and estate winery in Davidsonville, Maryland, about 16 miles from Annapolis, and states that everything in the glass starts and ends on the property. The estate farms 43 acres of vines, with more than half of that acreage belonging to meadows, hedgerows, and native plantings. Grazing livestock, native cover crops, and thriving pollinator habitat are used to restore the soil, protect the vines, and — per the winery — remove more than 250 tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year. The winery reports that its chemical and physical footprint has declined dramatically while biology flourishes, and frames a resilient ecosystem and a remarkable vintage as the same goal rather than competing ones. From the beginning, the winery's stated mission has been to produce wines that reflect its community. It characterizes the Chesapeake region as a demanding place to grow wine and treats that difficulty as the point, citing carefully tended vines, a climate that keeps the estate honest, and genuine curiosity about what the place can produce. The terroir is described as hard-won, and the wines as better for it. The winery welcomes visitors for tastings by appointment Friday through Sunday, with guided tours and tastings available on Saturdays and Sundays, inviting guests to see the vines, taste the wine, and meet the Dodon sheep.

• Dodon Land Trust established in the late 1980s by the parents of the current trustees to preserve farmland.

• Dodon becomes one of the first farms to enter an easement agreement with the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.

• The Vineyards at Dodon operates as a family farm and estate winery in Davidsonville, Maryland, with 43 acres of vines.

A terroir-driven, sustainability-focused family farm and estate winery in the Chesapeake region, selling direct to visitors by appointment.

• Estate wines

  Wines produced entirely on the Dodon property, described as the product of the winery's relationship with nature.

• Tastings by appointment

  Tastings offered Friday through Sunday; guided tours and tastings available Saturday and Sunday.

1. 1The Vineyards at Dodon | Winery in Davidsonville, MDdodonvineyards.com
2. 2Our History | The Vineyards at Dodondodonvineyards.com
3. 3The Vineyards at Dodonwikidata.org