The Vineyards at Dodon is owned and operated by Polly Pittman and her husband, Dr. Tom Croghan. They operate the 17-acre vineyard on a 555-acre historic family farm in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, focusing on sustainable and regenerative viticulture, often collaborating with extended family to manage the land. The vineyards include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.
Polly grew up at Dodon when it was still a tobacco farm. After 16 years in Argentina, where she worked in human rights and raised her three daughters, she was excited to return home. Polly and Tom moved to Dodon in 2005. Polly is also a professor of health policy at George Washington University. The property has been in the family for eight generations. The broader farm was established by Polly and her six siblings in the late 1980s. The farm is held under the Dodon Land Trust to preserve the land.
Steve Blais, is the consulting winemaker. He received his Oenology degree from the University of Bordeaux and has consulting experience in 9 countries with more than 40 grape varieties. We worked extensively with the Michel Rolland consulting group.
The winemaker is Kurtis Flaherty, who joined the team in January 2023. After graduating from The Culinary Institute of America, he started his career in the restaurant industry. Kurtis served as a harvest intern at Dodon in 2020 and 2021 at Antiyal in Chile’s Maipo Valley. He also interned at The Wine Collective in Baltimore as Assistant Winemaker. Kurtis recently completed the Winemaking Certificate Program at UC Davis.
The Vineyards at Dodon "South Slope" is a signature red blend from the The Vineyards at Dodon. The wine is a blend of 65% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Petit Verdot. The fruit was hand-harvested and sorted, fermented in stainless steel with a 30-day maceration, and aged for 21 months in French oak.
The Vineyard at Dodon South Slope Red Blend is a fascinating wine. It is at once a medium-bodied red wine, and yet, has the complexities of both something quaffable as well as something waaay more complex. The nose starts off with black cherry, stewed plum, and dark raspberry. It's fresh and vibrant. Those notes follow through on the palate. But there are other notes, a savory element of spices, cedar, an earthiness. There's black tea and black pepper. There's also slate, And a nice acidity that keeps the fruit fresh and vibrant at the end, for a long lasting finish. Complex and layered, this wine is a wonder.
This is a fascinating wine, seemingly straight forward, but really dazzling once you get to know it. A terrific wine.