Wine at the Shrine 2024

We visited the 2024 Wine at the Shrine fundraiser for Little Portion Farm and the Franciscan Center of Baltimore. Little Portion Farm is a small farm run on the grounds of the Shrine of Saint Anthony in Ellicott City, Maryland. They grow food and donate it to the poor through the Franciscan Center, so pairing the charities is natural. The event is hosted at the Shrine with tours of the farm, a stage for live music, food trucks, crafts, and wine sampling from many local vineyards. Other events were held throughout the day. We started with a tour of the farm.

Little Portion Farm display

A guide led us through the farm, showing the various plants and answering any questions.

Pathways in the farm

Wildflowers and beds

Starting an orchard

We were allowed to sample some of the fruits, like the raspberries below.

Raspberry bushes

Guide wasn't sure what these berries were

Squash--not sampled

All the produce is organic, so they take a lot of care in growing the food. The weeding is done by hand! They also use nature-friendly protection for the plants.

Covering the more delicate (and delectable) plants

Bugs can't get in!

Some peppers

We went inside the larger greenhouse tents. Tomato plants were set up along strings tied to the tent structure!

In the tent

Tomatoes!

A cool spider web outside the garden

The Franciscan Center also hands out toiletries. Visitors were able to put together bags of essential items as a way of helping out the center.

My kids doing there part

Special programs were held, like kids in the kitchen and wine appreciation workshops. We did not attend any but saw the kitchen set up inside the shrine.

Kitchen ready to go

I sampled a good variety of of wines. They also had meads and beers!

Charm City Meadworks offerings

Beers from Key Brewing Company

Wines from The Wine Collective

Penn Oaks offerings

I did really enjoy Circe Red from Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard and bought a bottle to bring home. It was a fun afternoon, though there wasn't as much for the kids to do. We will probably attend again next year.