Old Westminster Winery Named a VinePair Winery of the Year Finalist
Is one of the best wineries in America in Maryland?
According to VinePair, yes.
Old Westminster Winery was named a VinePair Winery of the Year finalist in the 2025 Next Wave Awards, placing our family run Maryland winery in the national conversation alongside some of the most exciting producers in American wine.
For us, this recognition is bigger than one award. It’s a signal that Maryland wine has arrived, and that the work happening here on our family farm belongs beside the most ambitious wine projects in the country.
A Maryland Winery in the National Wine Conversation
For years, Maryland wine was underestimated.
People often assumed the best American wineries had to come from California, Oregon, Washington, New York, or Virginia. Those regions have earned their reputations. Still, the future of American wine is wider than the usual map.
Old Westminster being named a VinePair Winery of the Year finalist helps prove that.
It says a Maryland winery can farm seriously, make beautiful wines, welcome guests with generosity, and help define what American wine looks like right now.
What Is VinePair’s Winery of the Year Recognition?
VinePair’s Next Wave Awards recognize leaders shaping the future of drinks culture across wine, beer, spirits, hospitality, and media. The Winery of the Year category highlights wineries making a meaningful impact through quality, creativity, relevance, and momentum.
Old Westminster being included as a finalist places Maryland wine in a serious national context.
This isn’t a local award. This is one of the country’s most widely read drinks publications recognizing a Maryland winery as one of the most exciting wineries in America.
Why Old Westminster Was Recognized
Old Westminster is a family run winery in Westminster, Maryland, built on farming, curiosity, hospitality, and a belief that great wine can come from this place.
Our work begins in the vineyard. We grow and make Maryland wines that are fresh, expressive, textured, and food friendly. We work with native fermentation, thoughtful farming, and a cellar philosophy shaped by humility: listen to the land, respond to the season, and make wines that feel alive.
That approach has led to national recognition across several wines and categories.
Old Westminster Rosé 2025 was named VinePair’s number one rosé for 2026.
Old Westminster Terracotta 2023 earned 95 points and was named one of VinePair’s best white wines for 2026.
Terracotta 2023 was also named one of VinePair’s best orange wines for 2025.
Old Westminster Malbec was named one of VinePair’s 50 best wines of 2025.
Together, these recognitions show range. Rosé, white wine, orange wine, red wine, and Winery of the Year consideration. This isn’t one lucky bottle. It’s a body of work.
Maryland Wine Belongs
The most important part of this recognition is what it says about Maryland.
Maryland wine is no longer just a local curiosity. It’s becoming part of the national wine conversation.
The best Maryland wines are vibrant, balanced, creative, and deeply connected to agriculture. They don’t need to imitate Napa, Burgundy, Oregon, or Virginia. They can speak clearly from here.
At Old Westminster, that means wines shaped by our climate, our soils, our farms, our seasons, and our family’s commitment to this land.
Being named a VinePair Winery of the Year finalist gives more people a reason to look at Maryland with fresh eyes.
More Than Wine: A Farm Hospitality Experience
Old Westminster is also recognized because the experience extends beyond the bottle.
At our family farm in Carroll County, guests can taste Maryland grown wine, enjoy wood fired food, reserve private cabanas, gather with friends, celebrate birthdays, and experience vineyard hospitality in a real farm setting.
That matters because great wineries are more than production facilities. They create culture. They give people a place to gather, taste, eat, celebrate, and understand wine through experience.
Old Westminster has become one of Maryland’s most beloved wine destinations because it combines serious wine with warmth, food, beauty, and hospitality.
A Family Run Winery With a Clear Point of View
Old Westminster was founded by siblings who believed their family farm could become something meaningful.
That family story is still at the center of the winery. The work is personal. The wines, the farm, the food, the hospitality, and the guest experience all come from the same belief: Maryland has something important to say through wine.
We’re proud to make wines that challenge expectations.
We’re proud to welcome guests to our farm.
We’re proud to help put Maryland on the national wine map.
One of the Best Wineries in America Is in Maryland
So, is one of the best wineries in America in Maryland?
VinePair’s 2025 Next Wave Awards finalist list says yes.
Old Westminster Winery being named a Winery of the Year finalist is a milestone for our team, our family, and our state. It reflects years of work in the vineyard, cellar, kitchen, and tasting room. It reflects the belief that Maryland grown wine can be serious, joyful, delicious, and nationally relevant.
Most of all, it reflects a bigger truth.
Maryland wine belongs.
Plan Your Visit
Old Westminster Winery is located in Westminster, Maryland, on our family farm in Carroll County. Join us for Maryland grown wine, wood fired food, private cabanas, wine tastings, vineyard views, and a farm hospitality experience rooted in family, agriculture, and serious winemaking.
Come taste why Old Westminster Winery was named a VinePair Winery of the Year finalist.