June 18, 2020 / News
Closed Again.
We learned yesterday that we may have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus over the weekend just past. While we think the probability of exposure was small, we have decided to close Links Bridge Vineyards for the next two weekends (June 19-21 and June 26-28), which will give us time to learn more about the situation.
We are sorry to close, particularly as we have enjoyed meeting so many of you again over the past two weekends. But under the circumstances it seems the safest thing to do.
Please watch for further news, and stay well.
Best wishes,
Bob and Joan
Continued …
May 31, 2020 / News
Open Again!
After 70 days of being closed for on-premises wine drinking, we are pleased—really pleased—to announce that we will re-open on Friday June 5. We hope that all of you have stayed well over the past weeks, and that we will have the further pleasure of seeing you here again sometime soon!
New Hours
From now through Labor Day, we will be open Fridays 2-7 pm, Saturdays and Sundays 11 am – 6 pm. After Labor Day we will revert to our older Saturday and Sunday schedule—see the “Visit” tab on our website for full details. Weather permitting, we will offer both wine tastings and wine by the glass or bottle.
New Rules
Upon reopening, we will follow Governor Hogan’s Executive Order of May 27. For the time being, complying with this order will place some limitations on what we can do. Here is the gist:
1. Wine may only be consumed in outdoor seating areas. For us, these include the patio area outside the tasting room, which we have expanded, and certain areas along the riverbank.
2. Customers may enter the tasting room to purchase wine or to use the restrooms, provided that social distancing conventions are followed. By the governor’s order, customers must wear face coverings when in the tasting room. Face coverings are not required when sitting at your outdoor table.
3. Staff (that’s us) must wear face coverings at all times, must wear gloves when serving and change these for each new group of customers, and must disinfect tables with each change of customers.
4. No more than 6 persons may be seated together unless they are members of the same household.
5. No more than 10 persons may be seated together even if all are members of the same household.
New Developments
Though closed for the last 70 days, we have been busy. At the beginning of May, we bottled our 2019 whites and 2017 reds. We have some great new wines for you to try, and will be releasing these as soon as we can. Shortly after bottling, we (and Benchmark Custom Vineyard Planters from upstate New York) planted 7200 vines at our new Chestnut Hill property. These are growing nicely and hopefully will be producing new wines for us in about three years. Finally, throughout March, April and May Will Young & Associates have been working on an extension of our patio area, together with new landscaping, and that will be ready to use by June 5. So we’ll have lots to tell you about when you next visit us!
Best wishes!
Joan & Bob
Continued …
March 19, 2020 / News
Closed for a While
Hello everyone,
Governor Hogan has ordered, and we agree with him, that on-premise consumption of food and beverages at restaurants, bars, wineries, breweries, and distilleries should stop until the coronavirus/Covid-19 situation becomes considerably less dangerous. We will therefore be closed for on-premise consumption until further notice.
We will, however, continue to sell wine “to-go” for off-premise consumption. If you would like to buy wine to take home, just give us a call or send us an email to make sure we will be here when you want to come by. Alternatively, for customers in our local area, we can arrange free delivery for orders of $75 or more.
Call: 301-466-2413 or 301-602-5733
Email: linksbridgevineyards@gmail.com.
We will miss seeing you during this period of restricted operations, but please know that much as we would enjoy your company at Links Bridge Vineyards, we would rather have you stay home and stay well.
Best wishes,
Bob & Joan
Sonnet on an Empty Tasting Room
Our tasting room is sadly empty now.
But that is how it should be, on this day
When all our efforts focus on the way
To slow a virus down and keep it low.
And to this end we can but freely vow
To sell “to go” or “by delivery”
Until the virus has no more to say,
And we are confident about the “how.”
And when that end eventually we reach,
We’ll welcome you inside once more to share
Our wine, both new and old, and tasty food,
And possibly a short but grateful speech
To mark our new release from daily care
And wish that from then on things will be good!
Continued …
March 13, 2020 / News
We Remain Open this Weekend
Hello all,
Amid the coronavirus turmoil, which we take very seriously, we are writing to let you know of our tasting room policies for the weekend about to begin:
- We will be open both Saturday March 14 and Sunday March 15, 11am-6pm. (For subsequent weekends, we will be re-evaluating our decision to stay open as conditions evolve, so stay tuned!)
- We will work to create a “social distancing” atmosphere, reducing the number of tables inside the tasting room. If the weather is fine, we will encourage guests to sit outside, either on the tasting room patio or on our riverside patio.
- As is always our policy, we invite you to bring a picnic or snacks with you to enjoy with our wine.
- We will keep tabletops, countertops, door hardware, and restrooms disinfected throughout the course of each day in as timely a manner as possible.
- As usual, our wine glasses will be washed and sanitized in our high-temperature dishwasher before (and after) every use.
- All of us who work in the tasting room will be washing our hands thoroughly before delivering wine to any customer.
- As usual, soap, water, and hands-free towel dispensers will be available in the restrooms, and hand sanitizer will be available at our check-out counter.
If all is well at your end, we encourage you to come by for a visit this weekend!
Best wishes,
Bob & Joan
Continued …
February 28, 2020 / News
Hello all,
As the sign says, March is Maryland Wine Month! In March, the weather will be warming, the sun will be shining (on at least some days!), and it will be a perfect time to visit some Maryland wineries. There are lots to choose from, as you can see by looking here. March is also a great time to ask for Maryland wines at your favorite restaurants.
At Links Bridge Vineyards, March is also the time for our Dog Days of March Wine and Dog-Cookie Tasting. Bring your discriminating dog friend when you visit our tasting room. While you enjoy a seven-wine tasting at your table, your dog can assess the aroma, taste, and finish of seven different dog-cookies. And the two of you can top this experience off with a stroll on our path along the Monocacy River.
Wine and dog-cookie tastings will be offered all afternoon each weekend during March.
Bring a leash!
Best wishes,
Joan & Bob
Continued …
February 9, 2020 / News
False Spring?
Hello all,
The beginning of February has come and gone, and we are back on our regular schedule: Saturdays and Sundays, 11am-6pm, and other days and times by appointment.
You can see from this picture that spring is beginning, in the words of Oscar Hammerstein, to “bust out all over.” Our mid-Atlantic weather has been pretty warm over the past few weeks. Many of our deciduous trees are starting to bud out. Even our grapevines are beginning to look like they are ready to start pushing new shoots, a scary prospect for growers who are well aware that a false spring isn’t likely to extend itself into the real thing. There’s sure to be some freezing weather ahead.
All we can say is, get out of the house and enjoy the spring–true or false–while it’s here!
And while you’re out and about, stop by Links Bridge Vineyards on St. Valentine’s Day weekend (February 15-16) for a wine tasting or glass of wine accompanied by our Valentine’s Day Chocolate Sampler!
We look forward to seeing you!
Joan & Bob
Continued …
