THE BANNER
September 17, 2025
“At the roots of an anticipated winery? A trio of Maryland siblings.” | Hau Chu
Burnt Hill Farm was one of the most anticipated projects in the region’s food and drink landscape when it opened in August. Food & Wine named it one of 12 “stunning” vineyards to visit this fall. At the moment, it’s open Saturdays and Sundays by reservation, but they’re booked through early December. Guests get a short tour of the property, and taste three red wines from grapes grown on-site and seasonal small bites for $85 per person.
Step onto the 117-acre property and you’ll see an apiary with six beehives; areas for Mangalica pigs and Leicester Longwool sheep; and an under-construction building that will host an eight-to-10 seat tasting menu restaurant that will open at a later date, as well as a grain mill.
PENN LIVE
September 6, 2025
“Md. winery called Burnt Hill Farm officially opens today” | Paul Vigna
The 177-acre property at 25001 Burnt Hill Road, in Clarksburg, Maryland, is located 30 miles north of Washington, D.C., and 45 miles west of Baltimore, and overlooks Sugarloaf Mountain and the Appalachians. It’s founded and run by three siblings in their 30s — Lisa Hinton (winemaker), Ashli Johnson (operations), and Drew Baker (farmer) — who have overseen the growth of Old Westminster Winery over the past 10 years.
THE MOCO SHOW
September 6, 2025
“Maryland Vineyard Named Among Most Beautiful in the Country by Food & Wine” | MCS Staff
Burnt Hill Farm, located in Clarksburg, MD in upper Montgomery County, has been recognized by Food & Wine as one of America’s Most Beautiful Vineyards. Featured in the magazine’s “12 Stunning U.S. Vineyards to Visit This Harvest Season” list, Burnt Hill stands alongside celebrated estates across the country, earning praise for its scenic beauty, culinary offerings, and immersive experiences.
FOOD & WINE
September 5, 2025
“Food & Wine Names Burnt Hill Farm One of America’s Most Beautiful Vineyards” | Katie Kelly Bell
Gastronomy and wine come together at this new winery where wine flights are paired with seasonal garden snacks and house-milled bread. Founder and co-owner Drew Baker recruited chef Tae Strain — formerly of Momofuku — to create a personal tasting menu of Burnt Hill Farm and Chesapeake Bay ingredients served at the winery’s eight-seat chef’s counter. Opens in September (chef’s counter opens later in the year).
FORBES
September 2, 2025
“In The Vines With Lisa Hinton Of Maryland’s New Burnt Hill Farm” | Jenn Rice
Mid-Atlantic wine country? You bet! While the broader U.S. wine industry faces headwinds with declining volumes and shifting consumer preferences, Maryland’s regional wine scene continues to grow. At the forefront of this expansion sits Old Westminster Winery, where siblings Lisa Hinton, Drew Baker and Ashli Johnson have helped define what modern Maryland wine hospitality can achieve—and a place where terroir-driven wine, farm-to-table dining, and sustainable hospitality co-exist to showcase local agriculture.
For Hinton, who has served as Old Westminster’s winemaker since the family planted their first vines in 2011, Burnt Hill represents both the maturation of Maryland’s wine scene and the ultimate expression of lessons learned from building a reservation-only destination that draws wine enthusiasts from across the region. The strategic partnership with chef Tae Strain elevates the project into Michelin-starred territory, complete with Mangalitsa pigs, on-site orchards, and ceramic plates made with dirt from the vineyard itself. With weekend tastings already booked through October and a 10-seat chef's table restaurant planned for early 2026, Burnt Hill signals not just Old Westminster's evolution, but Maryland wine country's ability to thrive even as national wine consumption trends face challenges.
This week, we sat down with Lisa Hinton to chat all things Maryland, Burnt Hill and American wine for ‘In The Vines With.’
EATER
August 29, 2025
“At Long Last, Maryland’s Picturesque Winery Burnt Hill Farm Has Arrived” | Emily Venezky
The siblings behind Old Westminster Winery, a name seen across wine lists in the Baltimore and D.C. area, are welcoming guests to their newest 117-acre vineyard and farm that they’ve been quietly setting up in Montgomery County for almost a decade. From raising their own Mangalica pigs (called the “wagyu” of pork) to growing their own orchards, Drew Baker, Lisa Hinton, and Ashli Johnson are taking the original vision of their respected Carroll County vineyard to brand new culinary heights at Burnt Hill Farm, with the help of executive chef-partner Tae Strain (known for running D.C.’s Momofuku and his pop-up Ggoma Supper Club).
Penn Live
August 12, 2025
“Siblings have lots to celebrate at ribbon-cutting ahead of opening their 2nd Md. winery” | Paul Vigna
Burnt Hill Farm, almost 10 years in the making, drew family, friends and officials Friday for a ribbon-cutting ahead of a September opening.
The tasting room for the winery, founded and run by three siblings in their 30s — Lisa Hinton (winemaker), Ashli Johnson (operations), and Drew Baker (farmer) — who have overseen the growth of Old Westminster Winery over the past 10 years, is scheduled to open on Sept. 6.
“With the next generation at the helm,” they wrote in the winery bio, “we are doubling down on our commitments to regenerative agriculture, extraordinary wine, sustainable gastronomy, and warm hospitality.”
Baltimore Business Journal
June 23, 2025
“Local winery to open tasting room at family-owned farm” | Morgan Simpson
The Siblings behind Old Westminster Winery have joined forces with Chef Tae Strain—alum of Momofuku and The Progress in San Francisco—to launch a bold new culinary destination at Burnt Hill Farm in Clarksburg, Maryland. Strain now leads the kitchen at Old Westminster Winery and will also spearhead the food program at Burnt Hill, which is set to open its wine tasting room this fall. Plans include seasonal menus, a chef’s counter experience, and estate-grown ingredients from their regenerative farm.
The partnership is rooted in shared values: sustainability, community, and a deep love of food and wine. A new stone mill transforms grains grown at Burnt Hill into flour for wood-fired sourdough bread and baked goods.
The sibling-run farms operate in tandem, blending agriculture, hospitality, and craftsmanship. Together, they are reimagining what it means to be a farm winery in Maryland—one that’s driven by purpose and built for joy.
EATER
April 29, 2025
“9 Exciting Restaurant Openings to Look Forward to Around D.C.” | Emily Venezky
An annual food festival previews new culinary destinations, and Chef Tae Strain—formerly of Momofuku CCDC—is one to watch. In recent years, he’s gained acclaim for his produce-driven Ggoma Supper Club and collaborative dinners throughout Maryland and D.C. Now, the chef with deep farming roots has found his ideal home in partnership with a family-run winery and regenerative farm in Clarksburg, Maryland.
Strain took the helm at Old Westminster Winery’s kitchen in March and will also lead the culinary program at the nearby 100-acre Burnt Hill Farm. The farm is set to open its wine tasting room in August, followed by the launch of a restaurant and private chef’s table experience.
Baltimore Magazine
April 28, 2025
“Ushering in a New Culinary Era” | Lydia Woolever
As the family-run winery approaches its 15th anniversary, we caught up with the team to talk about Chef Tae Strain’s new menu and the highly anticipated restaurant opening at Burnt Hill—their 100-acre regenerative farm in Clarksburg, Maryland.
Strain now serves as culinary director at Old Westminster and will later this year step into the role of executive chef-partner at Burnt Hill, a visionary farm-to-table restaurant and organic winery set amid rolling farmland about an hour outside of Baltimore. For the family, the addition of Strain and the launch of Burnt Hill represent a natural evolution—an ambitious new chapter built on everything that’s come before.
“Looking back on the last 15 years, to when we really got started,” says co-owner Andrew Baker, “I feel such a sense of pride in where we are and where we’re going—because I’m always reminded of where we came from.”
Wine Enthusiast
April 22, 2025
“Is Local Wood the Key to Terroir? Some American Winemakers Say ‘Yes’” | AMY BETH WRIGHT
Back in the U.S., Andrew Baker—co-owner of Old Westminster Winery in Maryland—led a conservation-driven project at its sister estate, Burnt Hill Farm, a hillside vineyard known for its historic hardwoods.
“With the emerald ash borer decimating ash trees across the region, we wanted to honor and preserve what we could,” says Baker, who partnered with Missouri-based Foeder Crafters of America in 2018 to design a custom barrel using removed ash and oak from the property.
“Ash imparts subtle notes of forest floor—mushroom, soil—and lends a soft texture that reflects the wood’s natural character and microbiology,” adds winemaker and co-owner Lisa Hinton. Looking ahead, Baker hopes to harvest estate black cherry, elm, and mid-Atlantic hickory to craft new aging vessels that continue to express the vineyard’s distinctive terroir.
Edible DC
April 20, 2019
“MARYLAND’S FIRST NATURAL WINE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER” | Jessica Wolfrom
Winemakers from across the world gathered under a giant tent in Clarksburg, Maryland to celebrate Summer Solstice, a natural wine festival put on by Drew Baker and his sisters, Lisa Hinton, and Ashli Johnson of Old Westminster Winery.
Maryland isn't considered an epicenter for the natural wine movement, but this is starting to change.
“If you were to tell me that something like this would have happened when I moved here last year,” said Eric Moorer of Domestique, a natural wine shop in D.C., “I don’t know if I would have necessarily believed you.”
The Washington Post
May 10, 2019
“Can Maryland produce an iconic red wine? One maker is determined to find out.” | Dave McIntyre
The John Deere chugged along the hillside, guided by GPS, in a precise line five degrees to the northeast. Its plow churned up the rocky soil, while two people in the back of the tractor fed vines into a contraption that resembled two Ferris wheels. The contraption then turned downward toward the center, planting the vines a few feet apart.
It was twilight, April 25, the fourth day of planting at Burnt Hill Farm, the new vineyard of Old Westminster Winery near Clarksburg, Md., in northern Montgomery County. This patch of hillside was the last of 13 acres planted with approximately 20,000 vines…
The Washington Post
June 17, 2017
“Before the vines go in, it’s busy down on THE farm” | Dave McIntyre
The hole was six feet deep, and despite the symbolism, I was eager to jump in. This wasn’t a final resting place, but a soil pit carved in a hillside in upper Montgomery County that in a few years will become one of Maryland’s top vineyards. Crouching in the dirt, I could see grass roots reaching deep into the soil, and crumbling rock called phyllite that spoke of centuries of evolution and decay. It was a visual representation of what wine lovers call terroir.
The Washington Post
January 14, 2017
“How does a top-rated winery in Maryland get even better? Buy a farm.” | Dave McIntyre
The alert popped up on Drew Baker’s phone one Sunday morning in July. A 117-acre parcel of farmland near Clarksburg in northern Montgomery County, Md., had come on the market. And he recognized the address.
“We had already looked in that area, so we knew it was promising,” says Baker, vineyard manager for Old Westminster Winery in Westminster, Md. “My wife and I went there, saw the site and immediately dropped a pin,” he says, referring again to his phone…