Article: South county winery breaks ground

Thanksgiving Farm, the county's only full-fledged winery, has broken ground for a new production facility.

The 57-acre Harwood farm, once part of a sprawling tobacco plantation like many of its south county neighbors, is run by a semiretired couple set on putting their label on the Mid-Atlantic winemaking map while staying small.

Doug Heimbuch bought the property in 1996 with proceeds from the sale of his fisheries science company. He and wife Maureen Heimbuch, a semiretired environmental lawyer now running a consulting business, moved there soon after.

"Neither of us has a farming background. We both enjoy wine," Maureen Heimbuch said. "We started planting grapes and making wine as a hobby, ...