Whaleyville winery uncorked

Kathryn Danko-Lord and her nephew, Mitch Dess, 8, stand in front of the wine tanks in the Costa Ventosa winery in Whaleyville. OCEAN CITY TODAY/NANCY POWELL (July 9, 2010) The owners of Costa Ventosa, Worcester County’s first and only winery, consider themselves to be in the business of fun

There are three reasons why they started the winery, said Kathryn Danko- Lord on Monday. One, to share their love of nature. Two, to have fun making and drinking wine with friends and family, and three, to make money so they can continue with the first two reasons

Other endeavors, growing strawberries and produce, were too labor intensive. Growing grapes is more fun and the end product is more fun, too. So they started growing grapes and soon they had four acres of grapes. The varietals are cabernet sauvignon, merlot, Riesling, chardonnay, pinot grigio and Cayuga

After planting so many vines, building a winery seemed like a natural thing to do next so they started building it last year. This week, they were still putting the finishing touches on the tasting room

“We did everything with volunteers,” Danko- Lord said

Those volunteers planted vines, trimmed and pruned those vines, crushed the grapes and bottled the wines. It’s fairly safe to assume they also drank some wine. They bottled 1,800 bottles of wine May 15 and an additional 2,200 bottles May 22

“We did 4,000 bottles by hand,” Danko-Lord said

The grape vines are easy to see because they’re adjacent to the Costa Ventosa winery and tasting room, located about three and half miles from Route 50 on Route 610 in Whaleyville. The new 60- foot by 40-foot building houses both and both are the same size. The tasting room, with tables and chairs plus a comfortable sofa and chairs, has ample room for visitors for wine tastings. T-shirts, wine charms and wine jelly, made by a friend are also for sale in the tasting room

Danko-Lord and her husband, Jack Lord, a retired state trooper, plan to open Costa Ventosa to the public Friday, July 16. Wine tastings will be held Friday, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. For $5, tasters will sample seven wines and may keep the Costa Ventosa wine glass. People may also buy one glass of wine for $5. They may also purchase wines by the bottle or case. Prices range from $13 to $19 per bottle

Eventually, they want to have catered events at the winery and would welcome groups of friends, book clubs and organizations

Behind the tasting room is where the wines are made. Each of four tanks is named after the Lords’ favorite Italian cities. They are Orvieto, Sorrento, Rome and Venice. The destemmer, a contraption that removes stems from the grapes, is named Don the Squeezer and the grape press is named Carl

Danko-Lord said she is often asked if the top of the grape press can be removed so people can stomp the grapes with their feet. Even children who have never seen the old, but very memorable “I Love Lucy” episode when Lucy and Ethel stomped grapes have asked her if people stomp the grapes, she said. The answer is no, she said with a laugh. Need more information regarding water tanks Victoria?

For more information, visit www.costaventosa.com