Temperance

A New Kind of Tasting: The Burnt Hill Temperance Program

At Burnt Hill Farm, I’ve always believed wine should connect people to the land, the season, and to one another. Making wine has never been about consumption. It’s about cultivating joy and translating what this farm gives us into something that brings people closer to it.

After my cancer battle and the reality of long term daily chemotherapy, my relationship with alcohol changed. Drinking less was not a philosophical choice, but a necessity. What surprised me was what that constraint revealed. I realized that discovery should not be limited by whether someone drinks at all. If Burnt Hill is truly a place of exploration, then every guest should be able to engage fully with it without sacrificing any part of the experience.

That belief led to the Burnt Hill Temperance Program. It is not a rejection of wine, but an extension of the same values that guide our winemaking.

This work is deeply collaborative. I’m building the Temperance Program alongside my sisters, Lisa Hinton and Ashli Johnson. Lisa, our winemaker, brings the same fermentation first mindset, agricultural sensitivity, and restraint that defines our wines. Ashli, who has led the cocktail and non alcoholic programs at Old Westminster for over a decade, brings a deep understanding of balance, texture, and hospitality. Together, they are shaping a program rooted in fermentation, sourcing, and flavor that speaks to the magic of Burnt Hill.

Beginning this weekend, guests visiting the farm will be invited to experience the Temperance Flight as part of their visit. The flight can be enjoyed in place of the estate wine flight or alongside it, allowing guests to choose how they want to engage with the farm.

The Temperance Flight includes a rotating seasonal water kefir, a house shrub, and fresh pressed grape juice. Each is made with the same agricultural focus that shapes our wines and is paired thoughtfully with Chef Tae Strain’s seasonal garden snacks and stone milled bread service. These drinks are meant to sit naturally at the table and carry the same sense of intention and care as our wines.

Fermentation remains central to the water kefirs. They begin with spring water drawn from our circa 1890 spring house and are fermented using Lisa’s own living kefir culture, a SCOBY she has maintained and evolved over time. Flavor comes from fruits, herbs, and botanicals grown on the farm or sourced within the Chesapeake watershed. The result is lightly effervescent, alive, and shaped by the season.

The house shrub offers a different expression of structure and balance. Herbs from our kitchen garden are cold macerated in vinegar from Keep Well, then blended with wildflower honey from our own apiary. Finished with sparkling water, it is bright, layered, and refreshing.

The fresh pressed grape juice is made at harvest, when the fruit is at its most expressive, and frozen immediately to preserve varietal character without addition or alteration. It is a direct expression of Burnt Hill terroir without fermentation.

I think of these beverages as parallels to wine. They reflect the same commitment to stewardship, care, and sense of place that defines everything we do at Burnt Hill Farm. The Temperance Flight simply opens that experience to more people, in more ways, without asking anyone to compromise how they show up at the table.

-Drew Baker

From left to right: water kefir, house shrub, and fresh pressed grape juice.