States, feds pour money into wineries
By Bloomberg Businessweek
Dick Seibert has lost money every year since he opened Knob Hall Winery in rural Maryland in 2006. Now he’s looking for the financing needed to double his vines to 60 acres by year end.
“We’re not making money yet, although we’re not that far away,” says Seibert, 58.
Seibert’s optimism is buoyed by the silent partner he shares with many young wineries: his state government.
He has received about $8,000 in aid from the state, including $1.50 of the $3.50 cost of each of the 4,000 vines he planted in his first two years. Five other vineyard owners in Maryland – where the number of wineries has doubled to almost 50 since 2005 – are getting a total of $75,000 in state grants this year to expand.