A brief history of Boordy VIneyards
Boordy Vineyards holds a special place in the story of American wine—born from prohibition-era curiosity, matured through post-war experimentation, and sustained by a multigenerational Maryland family. The winery’s road from a backyard nursery to one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most recognized labels mirrors the rise, setbacks, and steady professionalization of East Coast wine.
The seeds for Boordy were planted during Prohibition, when Baltimore newspaperman Philip Wagner—later editorial page editor of The Baltimore Sun—and his wife, Jocelyn, began experimenting with grape growing and home winemaking. Fascinated by the resilience and flavors of French-American hybrid grapes, Wagner imported and propagated vines from noted European breeders (such as Baco, Seibel, and Seyve-Villard) to test what might thrive on the humid East Coast. His small nursery quickly became a regional hub for cuttings and practical know-how, and by 1945 the Wagners took the next step: they bonded Boordy Vineyards as Maryland’s first commercial winery in the post-Prohibition era.
That founding year—1945—matters. Across the United States, only a handful of brands can claim continuous post-Repeal histories stretching back eight decades. Boordy’s early years fused a nursery’s experimental spirit with a winery’s consumer focus: the Wagners sold vines, taught home winemaking, and bottled wines that reflected the practical realities of the mid-Atlantic climate. In doing so, they laid groundwork for a sustainable regional industry by normalizing the use of hybrids where vinifera struggled, and by circulating best practices through Wagner’s widely read books and articles.
A relationship that would shape Boordy’s future began in 1965, when the Deford family—multi-generation farmers north of Baltimore City—planted grapes on their Long Green Farm in the valley historically known as “Long Green.” The Defords became “cooperating growers” for the Wagners, tending vineyards that supplied the winery while honing skills they would soon bring in-house. In 1980, after thirty-five years of ownership, Philip and Jocelyn Wagner sold Boordy to their friends and growers, the Defords, who moved the winery from its suburban site to the Hydes farm in Baltimore County. The transfer married Boordy’s brand and winemaking legacy with a landscape that had been farmed since the early 1700s.
Long Green Farm itself is part of the larger Long Green Valley Historic District, a 6,000-plus-acre agricultural sweep dotted with 18th–20th-century farmsteads. The site’s rolling terrain and cooler air moving off the Chesapeake Bay create favorable meso-climates for grapes—especially aromatic whites and lighter reds that benefit from well-drained schist and granitic soils. Boordy’s Long Green Vineyard sits on the hillsides around the winery and remains central to its identity.
Under proprietor Rob Deford, Boordy entered a decades-long modernization. The family restored and adapted a 19th-century fieldstone barn as the public heart of the winery—today’s tasting room—and gradually updated the cellar. The visible blend of old-barn hospitality with upgraded equipment became part of Boordy’s brand: historically rooted, but technically serious.
A major leap came in the early 2010s, when Boordy unveiled a purpose-built production facility adjacent to the barns. The expansion—reported as roughly 7,200 to 11,000 square feet—added a bank of 32 temperature-controlled stainless-steel fermenters and climate-stable spaces for more precise winemaking. Local news coverage at the time captured the inflection point for Maryland’s oldest bonded winery: investment on a scale that signaled confidence in the region’s potential and in Boordy’s growing estate program.
This era also saw Boordy deepen its vineyard footprint and tier its portfolio. Wines are grouped into accessible “Chesapeake Icons,” more terroir-expressive bottlings, and limited releases, anchored by vineyards in Long Green and at South Mountain in western Maryland. The Defords have often emphasized site selection, canopy management, and picking decisions as the quiet engines behind quality advances. Their Landmark Reserve red blend from South Mountain, for example, has been a repeated top performer in statewide competitions, including Boordy’s win of the 2020 Maryland Governor’s Cup Best in Show.
Boordy’s history is not just a chronology of owners or a list of awards. It’s a case study in agricultural stewardship adapted to a modern market. The Defords have approached vineyard farming as part of a broader land ethic—using careful siting, sustainable practices, and incremental upgrades to limit environmental impact while preserving the historic character of the farm. Public notes from the Chesapeake Bay Program and others have highlighted Boordy’s emphasis on responsible land management and community engagement as integral to the business model.
Community has long been part of the brand’s story. The barn has hosted concerts, farmers markets, and seasonal festivities, making the winery both a tourist destination and a gathering place for locals. This blend of culture and agriculture sustains an audience for Maryland wine beyond tasting flights—helping to normalize local wine on dinner tables and in retail, and supporting a small-farm economy in a county where development pressure is real.
Boordy’s 75th anniversary in 2020 coincided with continued critical recognition and the maturation of its estate focus. By early 2025, the winery marked its 80th year since bonding—one of the oldest continuous wine labels on the East Coast—while the State of Maryland inducted the Deford family into the Governor’s Agriculture Hall of Fame (February 6, 2025), underscoring both their winery achievements and their decades of contributions to Maryland agriculture. The winery also completed sensitive renovations to the historic barn, maintaining its character while improving guest experience—small details that reflect Boordy’s long habit of honoring the old while investing in the new.
Boordy’s influence extends far beyond Hydes. In the 1940s–50s, Philip Wagner’s advocacy for French-American hybrids—grounded in practical field trials at Boordy—helped stabilize grape growing along the Eastern Seaboard. The nursery shipped vines widely, and Wagner’s writings demystified winemaking for amateurs and professionals at a time when technical resources were scarce. Decades later, the Defords’ methodical vineyard work, cellar investment, and public-facing hospitality helped shift perceptions of Maryland wine from novelty to seriousness. The continuity between these eras—experimentation, then refinement—explains Boordy’s staying power.
To tell Boordy’s story is to tell the story of a place. Long Green Valley’s gently rolling fields have been farmed since the early 18th century, and the Defords’ farm—once part of the Gittings family’s “Long Green” estate—embodies that continuity. Today, visitors taste wine in a 19th-century stone barn, stroll past vines rooted in schist and granite, and look across a landscape protected as a historic agricultural district. In the glass, the aim is clarity: Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris that carry the valley’s lift; reds and blends that speak more of Maryland’s hillsides than of distant winemaking fashions. The steady hand behind it all is a philosophy that has endured since 1945: understand your site, farm it carefully, equip the cellar to respect what the vineyard gives, and welcome the community in. That, as much as any medal, is Boordy’s legacy.
