After much deliberation, the Board of the Maryland Wineries Association has voted to end its partnership with Howard County's Wine in the Woods.
Maryland Wine alleges Howard County's leadership wanted to reduce annual revenue-sharing, which made their participation 'untenable.'
The Maryland Wine Association co-created the event 30 years ago.
"While we are saddened and disappointed by the outcome, our commitment to supporting and promoting Maryland Wine remains unwavering. We will explore alternative programming to meet the financial needs of the association," the Maryland Wine Association said on social media.
In response, Howard County said that the Department of Recreation and Parks was told on January 11 that Grow and Fortified, the entity used to support Wine in the Woods, was no longer in business and was transitioning to a new company.
DRP staff and representatives from MWA and new vendor Cultivate and Craft met on February 1 to discuss a transition.
They say due to contractual obligations, they have a 'fiduciary responsibility' to ensure that county costs are 'directly for the procurement of goods and services that the county requires.'
"We valued MWA’s involvement in Wine in the Woods in the past, and are disappointed that the two parties were not able to agree to mutually beneficial terms after several rounds of negotiation," Howard County said in a statement.
Howard County also says that the 30th Wine in the Woods will go on as scheduled.
