MD Winemaker Profiles
Throughout the year we will be profiling the characters behind the wines you buy - the winemakers of Maryland. Their stories provide great insight into Maryland wine's deep history and bright future.
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Don Tilmon
Tilmon's Island Winery
755 Millington Road
Sudlersville, MD 21668
755 Millington Road
Sudlersville, MD 21668
Winemaker Don Tilmon is a native of Missouri, raised on a cotton farm in the Southeast part of the State. From the start, he was committed to agriculture, and received degrees in Animal Science (U. Missouri), Production Management (U. Delaware), and Ag Marketing (Purdue University).
From 1971 to 1978, Tilmon was a professor of Business Administration at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia. He chaired the department from 1973 through 1978. In 1978 he returned to the University of Delaware as Farm Management Specialist and Professor with the Delaware Cooperative Extension Service. He has served in that capacity for the past 29 years.
In the spring of 1999 Don moved to Sudlersville, Maryland and subsequently planted 15 Concord vines for "home made" wine. By 2003 small amounts of wine were being shared with neighbors who seemed to like it and hinted for more...and so the process of becoming a winery began.By December 2005, Tilmon’s Island Winery was officially the first commercial winery in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.
Tilmon’s Island Winery purchases local vinifera grapes where possible in Caroline, Talbot and Queen Anne’s Counties. The winery is small, producing about 500 cases of wine annually in a basement garage of his home.
From 1971 to 1978, Tilmon was a professor of Business Administration at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia. He chaired the department from 1973 through 1978. In 1978 he returned to the University of Delaware as Farm Management Specialist and Professor with the Delaware Cooperative Extension Service. He has served in that capacity for the past 29 years.
In the spring of 1999 Don moved to Sudlersville, Maryland and subsequently planted 15 Concord vines for "home made" wine. By 2003 small amounts of wine were being shared with neighbors who seemed to like it and hinted for more...and so the process of becoming a winery began.By December 2005, Tilmon’s Island Winery was officially the first commercial winery in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.
Tilmon’s Island Winery purchases local vinifera grapes where possible in Caroline, Talbot and Queen Anne’s Counties. The winery is small, producing about 500 cases of wine annually in a basement garage of his home.
