Dodon Vineyards: Pure, Simple, Always Touched by Human Hands

After hundreds of years of growing tobacco, followed by decades of grazing livestock, one family in Davidsonville is doing an entirely different kind of farming, and doing it in a way that keeps South County rural while protecting the environment. 

Operating since 2007, Davidsonville's first vineyard—and one of only three in Anne Arundel County—The Vineyards at Dodon is working to set the standard for sustainable agriculture and niche farming in the county. 

The 550-acre farm has been in vineyard co-owner Polly Pittman's family since 1725 and is still co-owned by six siblings. Pittman, together with co-owner and husband Tom Croghan, is making sustainable farming work in the 21st century. 

"It's transformed the county and transformed the way people think about farming," Pittman said about Dodon, and vineyards in general. 

Currently, Dodon boasts 10,500 vines on 6.75 acres of property, with 40 miles of trellis wire, all done by hand. They plan to increase that to 16,000 vines on 15 acres by next year. 

In addition to Pittman and Croghan, there are two full time staff people at Dodon with part time help during the growing season.

"Virtually every cluster is touched every week by a human," Pittman said. 

This means the demand for unskilled labor at Dodon is huge, but so is the demand for more skilled labor and for those who want to learn about viniculture. There are no local viniculture programs in Anne Arundel County, but Pittman would like to see some, because she said it would be beneficial to the county.

"It would be solving our need, but it could also bring more vineyards to the area," Pittman said. "It could really work here."

Why is this vineyard, and vineyards in general, transformative, and what makes the farm sustainable? Grape vines, Pittman and Croghan explain, grow deep—as deep as 15 to 20 feet—which helps control erosion. They are also a 100 percent cover crop, and Pittman and Croghan don't use herbicides. 

They also add 110 tons of compost to the soil, compost that comes from Pittman's brother's horse farm operation, on the shared property. They also plant rye grass in the winter to add organic matter and to prevent erosion. 

In the coming years, Pittman and Croghan hope to move more toward organics, not only because they think it's the right thing to do, but because they think it will produce a better tasting wine. 

"Doing right by the environment will produce better fruit," Croghan said. 

As of now, Dodon produces about 550 cases—6,600 bottles—of wine a year. Pittman and Croghan don't host weddings or attend wine festivals and the farm does tastings by appointment only.

"We're winemakers. We're farmers. We're not in the entertainment business," Pittman said. 

They also don't sell their wine in liquor stores. Dodon is looking to reach a different clientele. Pittman and Croghan hope to sell about 30 to 40 percent to restaurants, and will eventually have a club with membership benefits for lovers of wine. 

"The goal is to make the best wine possible in this region," Pittman.