Before our family…
The vineyard and surrounding property has roots in the establishment of Southern Maryland. We have heard that soldiers probably traversed our land while heading to defend the Patuxent River during the War of 1812. We have old structures including houses, mill stones (which point to a time when a significant creek used to flow nearby), a chimney of a former cook house, and even an enslaved persons cemetery with over 100 graves.
Doc Conrad Era
In 1941 our grandfather, Charles F. “Doc” Conrad of Arlington, Virginia, purchased our farm “on the road to the Patuxent.” The property was known as Long Looked For Come At Last which is where we get our LLC name. Doc Conrad was a podiatrist in Washington, DC who spent a couple of days each week puttering around the farm. He had tenants who grew tobacco and raised pigs.
As tobacco faded out in the 1990s, we leased fields on our land to farmers who grew corn, grains, and vegetables.
Today
Why Corteau?
In 2004, Doc Conrad's two surviving children, Peter Corteau Conrad and Charles Conrad Jr., along with current owners Peter and Gerald Byrne, and other family members decided to plant a small vineyard (25 vines) to see if grapes would prosper in our area. We were successful and our vineyard has continued to expand ever since.
Long Looked For Come At Last was a founding member of Port of Leonardtown Winery and we maintain a strong relationship with them. However, we now keep all of our grapes for our own estate production.
We currently have 14 blocks in commercial production with more planted and planned. In addition to growing grapes, we continue to cultivate Christmas trees and timber for lumber.
We are open on Fridays from 3-8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 12-6 pm. We will continue to evaluate our hours as the weather warms and demand requires. Keep an eye out - we often have fun events outside of our standard hours, and you can usually find some seasonal additions such as wine cocktails in warmer weather!
We have several varietals that have not yet reached full maturity, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Gamay (also known as Beaujolais), Pinotage, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Touriga Nacional (in a port-style). Keep an eye out for them in the coming years!
In addition, our tasting room is available for classes and parties of under 50 people. Contact info@corteauvineyards.com to discuss your needs.
Doc Conrad’s eldest son, Peter Corteau Conrad, got his middle name from his mother’s family. Originally, the Courteau family lived in Quebec. When they moved to the United States, Napoleon Courteau changed the surname to Short. To honor her ancestors, Julia Short Conrad named her son after them. Unfortunately, she misspelled his name resulting in a word that has no meaning in French Canada or English. We embrace the uniqueness of the name and the love we have for Uncle Peter and all his efforts in establishing our vineyard.