Old Westminster Winery Taps Chef Tae Strain, Ushering in a New Culinary Era
Old Westminster Winery has always been about more than wine.
From the beginning, our family has believed that wine is best experienced in context: on the farm, with food, around a table, surrounded by people you love. That belief shaped our vineyard, our tasting room, our private cabanas, our wood fired kitchen, and now, the next chapter of Old Westminster’s food and wine story.
In a recent feature, Baltimore Magazine wrote about Old Westminster Winery tapping Chef Tae Strain and entering a new culinary era, highlighting our refreshed menu, expanded outdoor dining, and the larger vision connecting Old Westminster Winery with Burnt Hill Farm.
It’s a generous piece of press, and it captures something we’ve felt for a while: Maryland wine country is becoming a serious food and wine destination.
A New Culinary Chapter at Old Westminster
Chef Tae Strain joined Old Westminster as culinary director, bringing deep restaurant experience, creative leadership, and a thoughtful point of view to our farm kitchen.
Baltimore Magazine noted Tae’s path through some of the country’s most respected kitchens, including Michelin starred restaurants in New York and San Francisco, Momofuku in Washington, DC, and his deeply personal Ggoma Supper Club project. The article also recognized his roots in Maryland, from Howard County to Baltimore, and the way his career now connects back to our region.
For us, Tae’s arrival isn’t about turning Old Westminster into something unrecognizable. It’s about building on what already works.
Our guests love the warmth of the farm, the simplicity of wood fired pizza, the comfort of cabanas, and the feeling that a visit can become a full afternoon. Tae understands that. The goal is to make smart, creative moves around the edges while strengthening the food program from the inside out.
Wine, Food, and Maryland Agriculture
The best winery food doesn’t feel separate from the wine. It makes the wine more alive.
At Old Westminster, our kitchen is built around wood fired cooking, local agriculture, seasonal ingredients, and food that belongs on a farm. Baltimore Magazine highlighted our commitment to sustainable and local sourcing, including regional vegetables, cheese, dairy, pastured pork from Burnt Hill, firewood from the farm, and the future use of our own stone milled heirloom wheat for doughs. Read the full Baltimore Magazine feature here.
That matters because Old Westminster is not trying to be a restaurant that happens to serve wine. We’re building a wine and food experience rooted in Maryland agriculture.
The wines come from our vineyards and farming relationships.
The food comes from wood fire, local farms, and our own growing ecosystem.
The hospitality comes from a family farm that has spent more than a decade learning how to welcome people well.
That combination is what makes Old Westminster one of the most exciting food and wine destinations in Maryland.
The Menu: Familiar, Seasonal, and More Intentional
Old Westminster’s menu has always centered on food that makes sense with wine: sourdough pizza, charcuterie, salads, seasonal small plates, cheese, vegetables, and dishes that feel generous without becoming fussy.
With Tae’s leadership, that foundation gets stronger.
Baltimore Magazine described the refreshed menu as simple yet sophisticated, with wood fired pizzas, small plates, charcuterie, and seasonal dishes continuing to anchor the experience. The evolution is less about replacing the soul of the place and more about refining it.
That’s the right approach.
When guests visit Old Westminster, they’re looking for food that feels joyful, thoughtful, and connected to the setting. They want wine that tastes better with the meal. They want something delicious enough to plan around, and relaxed enough to enjoy with friends.
That’s where we’re headed.
Expanded Outdoor Dining and the Kitchen Garden
The Baltimore Magazine feature also highlighted the expansion of our outdoor dining experience, including the kitchen garden seating area and new open kitchen energy at the farm.
This matters because the setting is part of the experience.
Old Westminster is a winery, a farm, and a gathering place. Guests come for Maryland grown wine, private cabanas, wood fired food, vineyard views, and the feeling of being outside in Carroll County wine country. The more the kitchen, garden, vineyard, and hospitality spaces speak to each other, the more complete the visit becomes.
The new kitchen garden seating creates another way to experience that energy: closer to the food, closer to the action, and still rooted in the relaxed atmosphere that makes Old Westminster feel like Old Westminster.
Old Westminster and Burnt Hill Farm
This culinary evolution at Old Westminster is also connected to our larger family ecosystem.
Baltimore Magazine looked ahead to Burnt Hill Farm, our sister property in Clarksburg, Maryland, where Tae will serve as chef partner. Burnt Hill is a regenerative farm, vineyard, and culinary destination built around estate wine, heritage grains, pastured animals, woodland mushrooms, gardens, fruit trees, honey, and deep hospitality.
Old Westminster and Burnt Hill are different experiences, and they share the same heart.
Old Westminster is our original family farm and winery in Carroll County, known for Maryland grown wine, wood fired food, private cabanas, and joyful vineyard hospitality.
Burnt Hill Farm is a more intimate, adult focused expression of estate wine, regenerative agriculture, and farm dining in Montgomery County.
Together, they represent our belief that Maryland can become one of the most exciting food and wine regions in the country.
Why This Press Matters
Press like this matters because it helps tell a bigger story.
Old Westminster has been recognized nationally for wine, including VinePair awards, Wine Enthusiast attention, and being named one of the top wineries in America by Cosmopolitan. This Baltimore Magazine feature shows another side of the story: food, hospitality, agriculture, and the evolution of our farm experience.
For anyone searching for the best winery food in Maryland, a winery near Baltimore with great food, a Maryland winery with wood fired pizza, or a food and wine destination near DC, Baltimore, or Frederick, this is the point:
Old Westminster is not just a place to taste wine.
It’s a place to eat, gather, celebrate, slow down, and experience Maryland wine country through food and farming.
A Family Farm, Still Growing
Baltimore Magazine also captured the family story behind Old Westminster: siblings Lisa Hinton, Drew Baker, and Ashli Johnson building a winery from their family farm, growing through challenges, and continuing to evolve while staying rooted in the same purpose.
That part means everything to us.
We started with a farm, a few vines, a wild idea, and a lot to learn. Today, Old Westminster has grown into a Maryland wine destination with national recognition, a serious food program, and a team of people pushing the experience forward every season.
Tae joining the team feels like one of those moments where the next chapter becomes visible.
Not louder.
Deeper.
More intentional.
More delicious.
More connected to the land.
Maryland Wine Country Is Becoming a Serious Food and Wine Destination
So, what does this new culinary era mean?
It means Old Westminster is continuing to grow into one of Maryland’s defining food and wine destinations.
It means our wood fired kitchen is getting stronger.
It means Maryland wine has a better table to sit on.
It means local agriculture remains central to the experience.
It means our guests can expect the same warmth and ease they love, with more depth, creativity, and intention behind every bite.
And it means the Old Westminster plus Burnt Hill ecosystem is helping make Maryland wine country more serious, more generous, and more exciting.
We’re grateful to Baltimore Magazine for telling this story with such care. You can read their full feature on Chef Tae Strain, Old Westminster Winery, and Burnt Hill Farm here.
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, seasonal dishes, vineyard views, and a farm hospitality experience shaped by wine, food, agriculture, and family.
Come taste the new culinary era at Old Westminster.