Watermelons are here!

Richard with the test watermelon!

Taylor hooks up the irrigation system

I probably don't even need to say it but woah, what a HOT week! The few brief storms we had didn't accumulate much so we turned on irrigation in both vineyards this week. Fortunately our AC is working fine, and there's plenty to do around the winery so we're staying cool. Our frozen wine drinks certainly have been a hit this week, especially our new wine Margaritas!

The watermelons arrived on Thursday and we're getting ready for the Great Watermelon Scoop part 2! Next Tuesday morning, bright and early at 8am, we'll be here cutting up melons for our next batch of Alison's Wonderful Watermelon Wine. We had a blast last year and I know this year is going to be great too! Volunteers are invited so get your friends and come on out for the morning to help out. Make sure you stick around for the Pizza & Wine party afterwards!

Nellie wrestles with the thick summer vines

To distract you from the heat we have a few fun things coming up here at the winery. Tonight we're hosting Bob Windsor for a Karaoke Night Happy Hour (5:30-8:30), a special midsummer Happy Hour with our regular buffet. Next Tuesday Jennifer Layton is hosting a Mom's Night Out- an evening of food, wine, facials and great company. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door (includes childcare for kids 2 & up!).

We are also hosting an online auction for special experiences at the winery, with proceeds to benfit a wounded veterans organization. Click here to see items available now for bidding, including a year of Professional Winemaker Consulting for home winemakers, Event Room rental, and seats at our Blending and Sugar trials! Items are listed on eBay, just search Layton's Chance to find all listings. The auction ends July 31st with an End-of-Auction Party here at the winery from 1-4pm. Don't miss out!

Sticky Hands and Puppy Dog Kisses

Friday already.....Can you believe that it is the middle of summer already? We all get so busy during the summer that we forget to take the time to relax.....Well we have the answer for that! Barren Creek will be at the winery this Saturday, July 16th from 6-9pm as part of our Summer Concert Series. Bring your lawn chairs and dance the night away with a glass of wine and great music.

The water was for drinking?

We have had a such a great week. We had another great Dog Days at the Winery. Wicomico Humane Society brought some adorable puppies that would turn even a cat person into a dog person....too cute! The dogs had a great time and their owners loved the Frappe Vino!
Check out our Facebook page for pictures from the Taste of Cambridge. We had so much fun talking with people who love our wine and meeting people who had not been out to see us yet. We have so much support from our community and we love the chance to get out and say Hi! The event was a great time with great food....and did I mention great wine!!


Gettin ready for Watermelon Wine!


Last week I mentioned that we were waiting on the final permits to be able to ship wine. Well, the permit is in! Cool Joe is officially on the road.....You can call and order any of our wine to be shipped right to your door.

The watermelons are coming, the watermelons are coming....We had such a great time at the last Great Watermelon Scoop that we are doing it again. Sometime in the next two weeks or so those watermelons will be sacrificing the rinds for Alison's Wonderful Watermelon Wine(I think it is a worthy cause!) Keep your eyes on Facebook and your email because those watermelons can't scoop themselves and we need your help!Come out for some sticky fun! Details to follow soon....

We hope to see you all soon, until then.....Have a Joe's Cool kind of day!

Joe Is Being Shipped Out!

Vineyard Sunset

Pruning vines all summer long!

Happy Friday everyone!! It's been a busy week at the winery getting ready for shipping. We are just waiting for our final license and then Joe is on the road! Yes, you will be able to have any of the Layton's Chance wines shipped right to your front door. What a great gift, I know I would love to open my door to a bottle of wine.

If you haven't been to the Taste of Cambridge before, make this the year you plan to attend. This is a great event that gives everyone the chance to sample food from local bars and restaurants....in other words a great reason to eat, drink, and hang out with friends! You will find Layton's Chance wine in front of A Few of My Favorite Things on Race Street. Stop by and say Hi!

Ice cream sundaes on the porch

 If you won't be in Cambridge, we are having our Sundaes at Sunset as well Saturday evening.  Sit on the porch with your ice cream and wine.....ahhhh what a feeling!
We haven't left our man's best friend behind in all of the events this week....Dog Days at the Winery is back this Sunday from 1-4pm. Bring your pooch out for games and fun!


Summer is such a great time for family and friends. Our Summer concert series is the perfect opportunity to enjoy them. Barren Creek is here on the 16th from 6-9pm. Make sure you don't miss it. Keep an eye on our website and Facebook pages for all of the great events at the winery. See you soon!

New Faces, Bluegrass, and 4th of July!

Blue Marsh Trio plays at the winery Saturday at 6pm!

It's summertime and I hope everyone is getting geared up for a great weekend! The weather is perfect for heading to the beach or hanging out by the pool. And although some of us (me!) believe it's always good weather for drinking wine, a cold glass of Joe's Cool Red or Joe's Cool White will go great with the 4th of July festivities.

Tuesday night meeting with our
AWESOME tasting room staff

This week has been a whirlwind of activity. On Monday we welcomed our new tasting room manager, Jennifer Hoffman, and proceeded to inundate her with information and details about the winery. Fortunately she is calm, well-organized, and a quick learner and will be huge asset to the team. Tuesday night we had a staff meeting and Barbara, recently home from a 3-week trip to Germany, brought some delicious sweets and candies to share with us. Gummi bears made with real juice!

Meet Jennifer Hoffman,
our new tasting room manager

Wednesday morning brought a large bus tour from Montgomery County and we had a good time showing them around the winery. It's a pleasure to show folks from the Western Shore that there are great wineries on the peninsula too. Thursday afternoon and evening was devoted to inventory, and adjusting the system to accommodate the increase in alcohol sales tax from 6%-9%. We have raised prices by 50 cents on all of our wines except Joe's Cool Red, but the price of wine tastings and glasses of wines has stayed the same.

Today we've been getting ready for the weekend! We've got a great band playing here on Saturday night- the bluegrass group Blue Marsh Trio starts at 6pm and is gonna be awesome! Then on Monday we'll be open all day and cooking up burgers and hot dogs from 1-4pm. Join Cool Joe and the rest of us for a cook-out before heading into Cambridge for fireworks. Happy Independence Day!

Happy Father's Day!

The Dog Days of Summer have begun!
Bring your loyal friends out to the winery on 2nd Sundays!

 Thank goodness for the rain last night! Joe and William have been cutting wheat all week while keeping an eye on the forecast for rain to keep the corn going. We got 1 inch last night which will definitely help stabilize things in the field. After they finish the wheat it'll be time to plant more soybeans.

Garland prunes Chambourcin vines

This week has gone by quickly...the vines are growing fast but the boys have been in the vineyard pruning (though Nellie & Janet are still the toughest pruners!) and it's about halfway finished. The grapes look good- small and green, and aren't suffering too much from the drought. Grapes actually do better with a little stress, growing deep roots to find water.

Claudia and Caitlyn get the event
room prepped for the weekend.

Inside the winery we are keeping busy with a summer full of good events. Coming up this weekend is "A Night in Margaritaville", where we'll play your favorite Jimmy Buffet tunes and drink Wine-A-Ritas: Margaritas with our Vidal Blanc white wine. Plus, Keith Graffius from Crabi Gras in Cambridge is bringing Buoy Bay Original Chesapeake Salsa- fresh and delicious and the first salsa produced in the Crabi Gras kitchen! Free entry and free samples! Don't forget your Hawaiian shirt!

We also have a special Father's Day Buffet on Sunday, from 12-3pm, catered by Jerry Fletcher. It'll be a great day to bring dad to the winery and let him relax with a glass of wine. Challenge him to some horseshoes or a game of volleyball, or just find a good spot on the porch to sit and enjoy. Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there!

Grape Blossom Festival

 CBF Butter Pecan ice cream with Costa Ventosa's
Sparking Chardonnay was wonderful!

Our 1st annual Grape Blossom Festival was a great success! The thunderstorms came early and although the day heated up quickly, we all enjoyed starting off with a refreshingly cool morning. The 4 on the Shore wineries (Costa Ventosa, Fenwick Wine Cellars, Bordeleau, and Layton's Chance!) arrived early to set up and local artists and vendors quickly filled in the circle, creating a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Emily's Produce brought fresh berries and veggies!

Some of the highlights were Sarah and Robbie from Amused Studios with their beautiful (and functional) ceramics, and Sue Henry with her do-it-yourself charm bracelets. We also had Miche Bags, Nadina's Cremes, Mama Girl's original paper mache folk art, and Susan Taylor with her handcrafted baskets. Rescue Fire Company came from Cambridge and served traditional festival fare- hamburgers, kilbasas and BBQ, plus plenty of goodies from other local producers, including ice cream from Chesapeake Bay Farms, Pecan Yummies, Kettle Corn and Emily's Produce. Costa Ventosa even brought their own chocolatier!!

Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed the wines, and to our wonderful volunteers! We're already looking forward to hosting this annual event here at Layton's Chance, and we'll be offering more fun events at each of the 4 on the Shore wineries. Next up, a HalloWINE Carnival at Costa Ventosa this October!

Joe's Cool Red is back

Laura & Richard with Joe's Cool Red!

William with the first Joe's Cool White

It's been a long 5 weeks but finally we are full restocked with Joe's Cool! Bottling went very well on Thursday, our smoothest bottling operation yet. We filled more than 10,000 bottles with Joe's Cool Red, and thousands more with Joe's Cool White. Cat, one of the new members of our Tasting Room team, joined us for the morning, as well as our experienced bottlers- Janet and Barbara. Another bonus to the excitement of the day- beautiful weather!

Chloe & Toby

Gotta love the beautiful weather in May. This weekend we had perfect weather for sitting on the porch and sipping wine. Happy hour on Friday night with Chris English was a hit, and people spread out around the winery and outside. On Saturday I brought Toby, my sweet black lab, to enjoy the beautiful day at the winery. He made friends fast with anyone who would throw the Frisbee for him!

We've partnered up with the Art Institute & Gallery and have been pouring wine at gallery openings on 3rd Fridays in Salisbury. Jennifer attended and poured this past Friday for the "Whimsy" and "Found and Recycled" exhibition openings. Click here to see some of the beautiful art created from, well, everything!

Enjoying wine on the porch

This week all the energy will be in preparing for our 1st Anniversary. It's hard to believe it's already been a year! This Saturday, May 28th- we open at 11, music starts at 2, party goes all day! Bring your lawn chairs and friends and we'll provide the wine!