Slack Winery

Beautiful setting, interesting varietal choices (thank you for trying to stick with vinifera!), and laid back atmosphere. $ 10 might be a bit steep for the 6 or 7 wines on the list, but this was reconciled by 2 or 3 surprise pours not listed. Cool beagle. Wish the winemaker had more people helping him so he could take more time to chat and answer questions. Otherwise, highly recommended!

Very friendly and welcoming staff. Jim was very attentive and made the three of us feel at home — no rush to finish our tastings. We had the full flight of six plus the botrytis dessert wine. And mini cupcakes and cheese and crackers — everything paired nicely! The amazing setting along the shore made it absolutely perfect. We left with two bottles of Black Drum Red, a bottle of Ebb Tide white and a bottle of yellowlegs white — bottled in a blue Bordeaux bottle. A wonderful way to spend 3 hours on a chilly February afternoon! Cannot wait to go back in the spring, summer and fall!

A mile down the dirt-​gravel road is a small historic white manor house perched elegantly along a small bay off the Potomac River surrounded by a smattering of gnarly trees, immediately you’ll think… this place has got character.
Once inside, whether the Wine Cottage or inside the manor’s open kitchen overlooking the bay and spectacular sunsets if you’re there late enough, you are greeted with warm smiles and friendly conversation. The owners really know their stuff when it comes to the wines they create and they are passionate about it too. Their focus is more boutique in comparison to other wineries, they are small batch and cater more to their extensive wine club and true wine connoisseurs than weekend winos who demand cheap sweetness. They truly care about their patrons and visitors so remember this is a small scale winery, its not about the money, its about the craft, there aren’t a bunch of employees running about, this is a local families passion. Have patience and understanding if you go and they seem a bit stretched thin, they just might be, but they are excited you are there, so speak up if you feel neglected, I’m sure its not their intention, ever.
Don’t be fooled, even though Slack Winery’s vineyard isn’t located at Woodlawn, it can be found 20 miles down the road on a farm called Jubilee and impressively enough all their wines are made with their estate-​grown grapes. Slack Winery is a true Maryland wine experience!
If you decide to go, go for an experience, look around, enjoy the scenery, make a new friend, sip the wine and think about what you’re tasting instead of gulping it for a buzz, support local, and most of all live in the moment. The prices are a bit high for their bottles but they don’t have economy of scale to make them as low as those high producers out in California.

After emailing the company and then posting the review on Unilocal I finally received a reply from the company– they offered to make amends. 2 months later– they have yet to follow through. Another example of the Slack Wineries lack of actual customer service.

First let me say that I think I have invented a invisibility cloak. We visited this place as part of a wine tour on Saturday Oct 11^th. I think we had at least 4 or 5 people that worked there walk by, around, and past us.
If you are thinking about driving to this place… give them a call and explain to them what you look like. If they don’t know what you look like they won’t recognize you as a customer and walk by, around, and past you also.
Or…Save your time, gas, and money and just don’t visit this business.

My friend and I took a short, scenic drive from Washington, DC to visit Slack Winery. We had a great experience! Slack is a top-​notch establishment that borders quiet Calvert Creek. The ambiance at the winery is very laid-​back and relaxed. The staff and owners are extremely friendly. My two favorite wines were the «Ebb Tide Blanc» and the «Slacker.» I also got to sample a few of Slack’s beers that will be released soon!

The wine is amazing and the staff is very knowledgeable!!! The view is beautiful and I just tried a sample of their beer and was very impressed! If you are looking for a relaxing day this is the place to be!

Great winery, beautiful property, and super friendly people. The wines were all great with exception of a couple that seemed a bit lacking. I didn’t care much for the sparkling wines. However they have a solid sangiovese and Chardonnay/​chardonnel blend. Jim is the owner of the property who was pleasant and a great person to carry on a conversation with. The estate is off the beaten path but worth the trip if you are in the area.

We were camping in the area that weekend and saw the wine sign. We decided to go for wine tasting Sunday afternoon. Slack Winery property is beautiful! The price for tasting was $ 10, but so worth it, since we got more than a glass in tasting altogether. The wine sales-​person was also very accommodating and asked for the kind of wines that we liked, and gave us sampling according to our taste, not only the featured wine list. Their place is nice, and you get a small tour of the house and their antique collections. The tour was given by the owners, Jim and his wide were very helpful.
We had our 5yo with us and they did not mind. Then we saw other families with children as well. The place is so welcoming and perfect for a picnic or simply to sit around, and sip on wine while enjoying the peaceful view. The water view is marvelous and the whole place will be perfect for wedding or similar special occasions. Wine was great and we plan to come back!

I was very impressed by Slack Winery. The wines were tasty, the pourings are generous, and the setting is absolutely gorgeous. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon — enjoying a couple glasses of good wine, sitting in rocking chairs and looking out over the water, listening to live music. My fiancé and I came here for a day trip out of DC, and I highly recommend it — you will really feel removed from the city, in a great way.

Their wine is very good (award-​winning, actually) and there is never any pressure to «taste and get out.» Slack is not a McWinery. It’s a local business run by a handful of remarkably normal people.

The views are fantastic, as is the atmosphere, and of course the wine.
I’m surprised by the one bad rating previously, but it sounds like that reviewer arrived at a busy time and while able to taste wines was unhappy it was 10 minutes before the *owner* was able to spend 10 minutes chatting with him, in turn. Honestly, even that review is an advertisement in itself. I would love for all my wine tastings to take 40 minutes amid beautiful scenery and have the chance to chat with the owner and wine-​maker about the wine during it, too. Sipping wine on my own for 10 minutes in a beautiful place wouldn’t cause a complaint from me!
I have friends who live closer than I do and love to spend their Sundays going to Woodlawn to taste Slack wine. I have not been as many times as I’d like, but have enjoyed every one and always left feeling far more relaxed and peaceful than when I arrived (from the place and the pace not just the amount of wine drunk!)
I recently got married at the vineyard where Slack wine is grown. It was beautiful. We served local food and local wine. Everyone loved the Slack wines. The rose was perfect for a spring day, particularly sophisticated and not the kind of sweet stuff that gives rose a bad name.
Since we got married at the vineyard perhaps I will manage an anniversary trip each year to Woodlawn. We have stayed there a few times — both in the main house and in the cottages — and it’s always been an amazing getaway. The wines are fantastic, the opportunity to talk to the winemakers amazing, and the place just really relaxing and peaceful.
I recommend a visit. As another reviewer said, bring your camera because it’s beautiful. And consider an overnight stay so you can drink more wine, too :)

Went here with some local friends and the drive onto the property was breathtaking. Located on the water, the winery is reminiscent of an old world estate. A very quaint wine tasting building with friendly staff. Bring a camera because the view is breathtaking.

I recently traveled from Ontario to visit my daughter and her fiancé in Maryland. She highly recommended that we visit some local wineries, which sounded great to me.
Of the three wineries we visited, Slack was definitely the most enjoyable! The property was gorgeous and the staff was very friendly and even made us a complimentary cheese and cracker plate to go along with our wine tasting.
But I have to say that the best part of the visit was the wines. It was great to taste some high quality (not overly sweet) wines made from Maryland grapes. They produce reds, whites, rose and even several sparkling wines. I love Italian full body reds and Slack is one of the only to produce Sangiovese and Montepulciano. I can definitely see why they are winning so many awards.
Nancy Horlock

A friend and I made the regrettable decision to go to Slack recently. When we walked in, there were two groups of people already there, one of 6, and another of 3 people. We were waiting on the sidelines for a space to open up, when the old gent at the bar, Jim, beckoned us over. He poured out the first of the wines for the tasting, and then turned his back on us and for the next 10 minutes, continued to talk to the larger group. Maggie, the owner and second person at the bar, was already busy with the other group. After 10 minutes of us wondering if we had offended them, or maybe they have a habit of ignoring customers in groups of 2 or less, Jim turned to us and said, «oh your glasses are empty». A second tasting later, he went back to talking to the large group, made sure they were comfortable in the supposedly scenic area outside, and replenished their plate of cheese and fruits. Glancing over, one could see that the other group had also been offered fruit and cheese. Which, of course, neither Maggie or Jim offered to us while we were there.
Finally, after the large group departed, as did the other one, Jim finally turned to us [by this point we had contemplated just walking out or asking them if this is what their idea of customer service was], and poured out another glass. And then vanished. After 5 minutes, Maggie decided to give us some attention, and while she did chat with us for 10 minutes about the different wines that were on the list, we already had a sour taste in our mouths.
Basically — while the wines at Slack were nice, and the view [which we would’ve admired, had it not taken us 40 minutes to get through a tasting] is pretty, the owners at Slack either need to limit people they allow in, or hire some help. They should also probably not make snap judgments about whether they’ll make more money off of a group of six, or a group of two [who may have wanted to purchase 10 of their finest wines, for all they know].
BTW — we just went to about 10 different wineries in July in Sonoma, California. Their staff, even though dealing with far more clientele, did not discriminate between the size of the groups, and had better training in giving everyone equal attention.

This place is awesome. My wife and I stopped in yesterday for a tasting and brought along some food for a picnic. The setting is a restored 200+ year old estate right on the water that now serves as a bed and breakfast and wine tasting area for the winery. They make great wine. They even grow their own grapes for the red wine which is rare for an east coast winery. The owners as well as the inn keeper are really nice people. We tasted about 8 wines and wound up purchasing a bottle of red and white. We also purchased two glasses and spent the afternoon on one of the tables outside enjoying our picnic food we brought and the great view. We will definitely come back for some more wine and to stay at the inn as well.

last saturday, 3÷24÷12 while out riding around st. mary’s county, i coaxed my partner in crime robin into taking a cruise down to slack winery in ridge. when we got there, we were not sure we were at the right place, until guy covered in fresh cut grass let us know we were at the right spot. the house is a step back in history and the tasting area overlooks water in all directions, facing out to the northern neck of VA. after sitting and sampling the prime vinted grapeage for a while, it turned out to be like an afternoon at friends. it was by far the best winery/​vineyard experience i’d ever had, including our trip to sonoma. we were so impressed we both joined thier VIP wine club. i have learned now to truly appreciate our own award winning Maryland wine’s.
IF YOU HAVE NOT VISITED SLACK… GO…JUST GO… NOW !

My friend and I were down near PAX River to pay a visit to our mutual friend and her new baby and decided to make a pit stop at Slack Winery. The tasting room is located on the grounds of the Woodlawn B&B and is definetely worth a visit.
With the exception of Black Ankle, I have yet to be wowed by any Maryland reds… until visiting here! I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of all of their wines and their reds were pretty much on par with those at BA, without the hefty pricetag.
Additionally, the owner was amazingly gracious and accomodating. We both wanted a particular wine and there were no more bottles at the site. After a phone call, the owner’s wife met us on the road on our way home, bottles in tow. Who does that!!! That was amazing customer service and that alone makes me want to return although the wine is a tremendous draw as are the beautiful grounds.