Wine in the Woods returns to Columbia's Symphony Woods, this time with beer, too

Katie V. Jones, Howard County Times, Columbia, Md.
·2 min read

May 17—The popular Wine in the Woods event returns Saturday and Sunday to Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods in Columbia after a two-year absence due to the pandemic. Promising a weekend full of wine tasting, live entertainment, food, crafts and for the first time, locally brewed beer, the two-day event that began in 1993 is hoping to make a splash.

Fourteen Maryland wineries will offer free tastings as well as glasses and bottles of wine for sale. Festivalgoers will also have the option to purchase a Maryland Wine Explorer Pass wristband, which provides access to the new Explorer Tent featuring "premium wine samples" from Black Ankle Vineyard, Love Point Vineyards and Winery, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, Thanksgiving Farm Winery and Clear Skies Meadery, according to Anna Hunter, superintendent of public information for Howard County's Department of Recreation and Parks.

"Past participants have requested some higher-end Maryland wines, so we decided to pilot this new ticket option for this year," Hunter said in an email. "It is definitely something surveys captured accurately as the Explorer Tent tickets sold out for Saturday."

Only 1,000 wristbands are available daily.

Five local breweries will offer beer for purchase for the first time this year. Free tastings will not be offered.

"We hope that by adding a few breweries, all Wine in the Woods ticket holders will enjoy some good beverages at the event as some groups that go to the event may include wine drinkers and beer drinkers," Hunter said.

Pub Dog Pizza and Drafthouse in Columbia will offer its brews, Unleashed IPA and White Dog, and a hard cider.

"[Hard cider] tends to appeal to non-beer drinkers so we thought wine drinkers might want to try something different," said Drew Walston, Pub Dog's director of operations.

The festival boasts plenty of attractions aside from drinks. Two stages, the Chrysalis stage and the Vineyard stage, will feature three bands each day performing everything from big band music to jazz, blues and rock n' roll, throughout the weekend. Twenty food vendors will be on-site, and a juried craft show will feature more than 25 crafters.

Wine in the Woods will take place Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Symphony Woods, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia. Ticket prices vary and can be bought in advance at wineinthewoods.com or at the gate.