orchid cellar meadery and winery

Tasty local wine isn't always easy to come by. I'm a California/France wine snob who was dragged along on a trip to Orchid Cellar. After a friendly greeting by Carmen (the winery's adorable labrador) and Dan, our tasting 'flight attendant', I was convinced to give their wine and mead a try. To my surprise, I was thrilled not only by their wine and mead, but also by Dan's friendly professionalism. There's no cheeky sales pitch, or murky details. Dan carefully and politely shared the ins and outs of both the products and the winery. I believe he said the meads were of an Eastern European style-- If this is true, I need to plan a trip asap! Delicious!It didn't hurt that Dan wasn't hard on the eyes ;)

We loved visiting Orchid Cellar. The mead was soooo delicious and the owner was the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. We will be back soon! Some of our friends make the drive just to get mead from them!

We heard about the place from an orchard we were originally visiting. Since it was close, we figured we'd check it out since we'd never been to a meadery before. The place looks just like a house, and the signs are a little confusing. We almost didn't stop, but I'm glad we did! The winery's tasting room is actually in the basement. The atmosphere is warm and the owners are inviting and knowledgeable on the topic. Plus their mead is delicious! It was definitely worth the stop. I look forward to going back, especially once they've finished their new tasting room.

A visit to Orchid Cellar Winery is a rare and memorable treat. The meads, wines made with honey, are just fantastic. The very welcoming owners explained that they make them using traditional recipes (some about 500 years old) from monasteries in Poland. If you have tasted meads, Orchid Cellar's offerings are unlike the super sweet ones we often find. Here I tasted at least 4 or 5 kinds with a surprising diversity of flavors; one even had chilis! (A tasting is now $7 per person and worth it.) As another reviewer said, the Merlot is top notch. We bought a bottle of the Merlot and one of the meads to take home. The patio outside the tasting room has spectacular views if you'd rather enjoy a bottle on the premises. The owners have a very friendly dog and welcome your dog as well. In short, I can't recommend Orchid Cellar Winery more highly. A great experience!

One of the most beautiful wineries in Frederick County Maryland. Danny the host was friendly and very knowledgeable about the wine. The wines are fabulous. Definitely a great place for a Sunday afternoon visit.

Its a Winery because that's how they're licensed but they have wonderful Meads and a good Merlot. First, the Merlot, the best local (MD, VA, PA) Merlot I've tried. Wouldn't hesitate to put it on my table and serve my friends. My 5 friends who were with me all agreed. What makes this place special id the Meads. They are wonderfully done, with complex flavors and great nose. Forget what you may have tried in the past. These are not the sometimes sickly sweet offerings served up in some places. They vary from light almost Chardonnay like to bold liquor like, almost like a B&B with less alcohol. One we tried, Hunter, has a light pepper note. It would be great with Mexican food or BBQ. This was one of three we bought. The tasting room is very nice and well done. They are also building a larger facility separate from the main building which if is as well done as the current tasting room, it will be incredible. The owner are staff are knowledgeable and friendly and very amiable to explaining everything you may want to know about their Meads and wine and to answer any questions. Its only 5 minutes North of Middletown, so its easy to get to. We will be going back. you should go too! There is the typical small tasting fee if you want to taste, but well worth it.

This little meadery makes a number of delicious meads in a variety of interesting flavors. I did a tasting of six of their products (their merlot and five different meads) for $6--they gave me what I thought was a nice selection of different flavors, some of which I may not have otherwise tried, and they were incredibly friendly and did a good job explaining how they make their mead. It's about an hour from the DC area, but it's a straight shot up 270 (I was afraid the meadery would be on a hard-to-find backroad, but the directions were very simple) and it is a gorgeous area. I would highly recommend.

We like to drink this winery's Mead at the holidays as our dessert wine. We visited them at the Wine Trail Passport weekend. They make some very nice meads, and some have delicious spicy flavors. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable. They had a very sweet dog there to greet us when we arrived for our tasting. They also let us sample a mead with hops in it, to make a beer like mead. Although I am not much of a beer drinker, I think beer drinkers would enjoy this. Their location is very pretty.

Orchid Cellars makes award winning Polish mead - the gold standard of European Meads. The owners, who emigrated from Lodz, Poland to the US, decided to make Polish mead when they settled in Middletown, Maryland. They are committed, talented and know how to delight and entertain. Their meads, best served with dessert or during that long, wonderful part of a dinner when you bring out cheese, fruit and nuts, are amazing and very complex. Tastings cover 4-5 meads for 6.00 and the merlot made by Orchid Cellars is also served. If you are a good guest this generous couple will pull out other meads to try as well - Orchid Cellars makes about 10 different meads ranging from the traditional (honey and lemon) to the unusual (rose petals) to meads that embrace newer tastes (with the kick of hot pepper). Meads were traditionally made by medieval monks and the tradition carries on at Orchid Cellars. You will see a full range of meads made with fruits, spices, honey and flowers.The Tasting Room is lovely and 6-7 people can sit comfortably at the tasting bar. There are a few tables in the room as well. Outside a lovely patio provides a panoramic view of farms, fields and the Catoctin Mountains. Orchid Cellars is also one of the wineries on the Antietam Trail and there is a lot of history in the area. Don't miss this winery if you are out and about around Frederick.