What Is Great Shoals Cellars?
Welcome to Great Shoals Cellars!
Short answer - We are an Eastern Shore Maryland Winery- located in St. Michaels, MD.
Longer answer - Like our wines, we have strong roots on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Read below for more details about the origins of Great Shoals Wines and Hard Ciders, how we chose St. Michaels, MD for our tasting room, and why you will love our Award-Winning Maryland Wines and Hard Ciders.
Who makes Great Shoals Wines and Hard Ciders?
Matt Cimino is a Maryland native. He became interested in wine as a young man and spent his 20s and 30s touring popular wine-growing regions in California and Europe. After completing his Ph.D. in plant biology from University of Maryland College Park, he turned his attention to creating his own wines and ciders.
Matt started creating wines in his father's garage in Mt. Vernon, MD. The view of Great Shoals Lighthouse inspired the name Great Shoals Wine, when he released his first product in March of 2010.
Where does Great Shoals make its wines and hard ciders?
Most of our grapes and fruits are from right here in Maryland!
The majority of our grapes are grown in Queen Anne's County and we work with many local vineyards and orchards to source the best tasting ingredients for our wines and ciders.
We share our operations center in Federalsburg, MD with St. Michaels Winery. This, along with attending events in Talbot County, has allowed Great Shoals to develop relationships with the St. Michaels community.
When the space became available at 500 S. Talbot Street, we were excited to join "the fun side of town" with Eastern Shore Brewery, St. Michaels Winery, and Lyons Distilling.
Where did the name Great Shoals come from?
The name of the winery was chosen for both sentimental and practical reasons. Great Shoals is a body of water at the mouth of the Wicomico River. When Matt was a young man, he did a lot of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay with his father. Seeing the Great Shoal Light was a beacon to him that he was coming home.
The name Great Shoals reflects Matt's love of Eastern Shore life and finding his way through the process of starting his own winery.
