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Maryland
When Cousin Angie becomes Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks
I was waiting in a fancy chair in a dark, exquisitely decorated room in Baltimore’s historic Clifton Mansion, taking a last-minute glance at the questions I had prepared for a VIP. I had been going back and forth with press people for months for an interview and credentialing and now it was finally happening.
I knew I probably only had 10 minutes or so to talk, a limited time I’d usually protest. I once accepted a 5-minute phone chat with Ringo Starr, which is OK because he’s a Beatle and that makes sense. And while the person about to walk into the room was a big deal, too, the difference is that Ringo doesn’t have me over for his New Year’s potluck every year.
“There she is!” said Prince George’s County Executive and Maryland’s Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Angela Alsobrooks, also known as my cousin Angie. If she wins, she would be the fourth Black female senator, and the first Black senator from Maryland. It blows my mind that these milestones haven’t been achieved yet, but even more so that it could potentially be done by my relative.
It is not usual for me to hug interview subjects, but I’ve never before had to write about someone I’ve known all my life — who taught me how to do the Electric Slide in my little pink bedroom in Northwood, and whose daughter was one of the flower girls in my wedding.
Writing this column about Angie — sorry, County Executive Alsobrooks — is new and weird to me. I was living in Florida when she first ran for the top job in Prince George’s County (though my son, mother and I surprised her by coming to her announcement). In 2022, I declined to attend her second inauguration because I was already here at The Banner and wanted to avoid an ethical conflict.
I also avoided writing about her during the Senate primary. Once she won that, though, and the chance of becoming a U.S. senator was now a real possibility, I knew I needed to chronicle the unique experience of having to go through layers of representatives and staff to interview someone I would once text, “Girl, when we talking?”
This column is not about swaying your vote. That’s not my business. It’s about how surreal it is to watch your cousin become a national star, speaking at the Democratic National Convention and getting so many huge endorsements. I literally got a text asking for donations for her from Mark “Luke Skywalker” Hamill! (As a journalist, I don’t donate to her or any candidate, no matter how good hugs are.)
So when we sat down Thursday, I started by asking “How’s Angie?” — meaning how was she feeling as a human, not a candidate. “I am doing well, because I am doing the things we were raised to do,” she said. That includes prayer, exercise “and I just try to keep first things first. If I didn’t believe in what I was doing, I would have collapsed by now.”
For clarification, Angie and I are second cousins on our maternal side. Our mothers, Tina Streeter Smith and Patricia Alsobrooks, are first cousins who were raised like sisters in Prince George’s and, for a while, South Carolina. My twin sister Lynne and I are just two months younger than Angie, who, along with her older sister Kim, were the cool cousins.
“No, we were not,” the Senate candidate said last week. It sure felt that way. (My sister and I wore bifocals.) I admit Angie’s dance tutelage was less than successful, because I’m not a great dancer. And while Lynne and I adored Kim and Angie, them being in Prince George’s and we in Baltimore meant we only got to see them a few times a year for holidays and the occasional sleepover growing up.
About 20 years ago, though, the four of us pledged to be closer as adults. We’ve tried, including a weekend in Palm Beach when I lived there, and a hilarious karaoke night outside Annapolis. Angie was my sister’s hype woman during her rendition of Nelly Furtado’s “I’m Like A Bird.”
We renewed that pledge when my son and I moved back to Maryland in 2020 — even in a pandemic, we kept up a weekly family Zoom. But then somebody decided to run for office. Angie was already bad at responding to messages before her Senate run, and it hasn’t gotten any better.
“I have a bad reputation with texting in our family,” she said, admitting she has 3,000 unanswered texts. “I got to get my reputation together.” That’s alright. We know you’ve been busy.
Even though the Alsobrookses and the Streeters didn’t live down the street from each other, “we were raised the same way,” she said, with an emphasis on faith, family and education. We have always showed up for each other, in good and in bad times.
She was at my 2010 wedding in Florida, and five years later, she was the first relative to call me in the terrible, hazy hours after my husband died. I was on my way to pick out his casket, and she said simply, “Cousin, this sucks.” She didn’t try to tell me Scott was with the Lord or there was some higher reason he had suddenly passed or any of that crap. She just acknowledged how terrible it was.
I try to create professional distance, but sometimes that’s hard when every five minutes there’s a commercial targeting your cousin. I’m from Baltimore. We don’t take it lightly when folks talk trash about family!
“It’s been hard, especially when it’s something that’s not true,” Angie said, noting her parents “sometimes turn off the TV” to avoid the negative ads. She’s also grateful her daughter, Alexandra, in her sophomore year in college, “isn’t here to see it.”
But alongside the difficulty also comes moments of excitement.
My son and I watched Angie debate former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan a few weeks ago, and when moderator Chuck Todd asked whether she was a Ben Cardin Democrat or a Chris Van Hollen Democrat, she confidently answered, “Neither. I’m Angela Alsobrooks.” My reaction? Screaming, “It’s handled! Gladiators!” because it seemed like we were watching her Olivia Pope moment. (For the record, she has always looked like Kerry Washington from “Scandal” to me.)
We have no idea what’s going to happen on Election Day, but I asked Angie what she’s going to do, win or lose, on Wednesday, Nov. 6. “I think a day without a schedule — I don’t even know what I might do,” she said. “Get up and drink coffee at the table?”
No matter what, though, “we’re going to see each other at the holidays, and we are going to get together more,” she promised. And I know we’re going to try. I’ll be happy if she just texts me back.
11 Delaware restaurants earn 2026 Wine Spectator Restaurant Award
Eleven Delaware restaurants earned Wine Spectator honors that named them the best dining destinations for wine lovers.
When it comes to wineries, people residing in or visiting Sussex County have the most in-state options.
But though Delaware has few such destinations within its borders, a slew of wineries nearby across state lines provide easy access and opportunity for those seeking a relaxing atmosphere and perhaps some music and food to accompany their liquid delights from the vineyard.
Northern Delaware residents, especially those in the Newark area and suburbs north of Wilmington, are particularly fortunate because of the numerous options available in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and Cecil County, Maryland.
But Sussex County gets to lead off this list of local wineries, because nobody needs to leave the state to get there.
Salted Vines Vineyard
Adrian Mobilia’s vineyard roots go deep, stretching four generations back to Italy, and more recently to his family’s vineyard in northeastern Pennsylvania. He’s planting another legacy in Delaware, first at Fenwick Wine Cellars and now at Salted Vines in Frankford since 2016. The name stems from the winery’s location near the sea and bays, as salty ocean air wafts across the grapes.
Mobilia and his wife, Jessica, slowly plant their 26-acre plot in Frankford at an acre a year. So far, that includes cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec and Italian vermentino grapes, with chardonnay and pinot noir soon to follow.
A summer concert series is among the winery’s many attractions.
Hours: Sunday to Thursday: noon to 6 p.m.; Friday: noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday: noon to 7 p.m.
Address: 32512 Blackwater Road, Frankford, Delaware
Website: saltedvines.com
Twin Branch Winery
Twin Branch is the newest winery in Delaware, founded in 2023. But it already may be one of the most famous, after appearing on New Jersey psychic Theresa Caputo’s Lifetime show, “Raising Spirits.”
The vineyard planted its first grapes in 2013, but Twin Branch didn’t open to the public until April of 2023, hosting weddings and weekly live music and plenty of tasters.
Food trucks also stop by the vineyard to offer tasty bites alongside smooth wine, often with musical accompaniment.
Hours: Wednesday to Thursday: 3 to 9 p.m.; Friday to Saturday: noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday: noon to 6 p.m.
Address: 14756 Twin Branch Road, Milton, Delaware
Website: twinbranchwinery.com
Nassau Valley Vineyard
Delaware’s oldest active winery, tucked behind a mini-mall near car detailers and equipment stores, has the character of a sudden green oasis. The vineyards appear as if by surprise, a jumpscare of rusticity with picnic tables placed within shade-rows of trees.
Peg Raley and her father Bob Raley founded the vineyards in 1987 – planting chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot on a family farm outside Lewes. Decades later, the Raleys are the founding family of Delaware grapes.
Hours: Daily: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Closed Mondays in the off-season). Last call for tastings is 4:30 p.m.
Address: 32165 Winery Way, Lewes, Delaware
Website: nassauvalley.com
Harvest Ridge Winery
The winery, in a rural area along the Mason-Dixon line, straddles the Delaware/Maryland state line on the far western edge of Kent County.
“I always looked at it like Kevin Costner’s ‘Field of Dreams.’ Build it and they will come,” co-owner Chuck Nunan told Delaware Online/The News Journal in 2014.
He and his wife, Chris, founded Harvest Ridge Winery in November 2013, expanding their acreage in 2018 and adding a tasting room in Toughkemon, Pennsylvania, a short drive from Wilmington. Along the way, they founded what they claim is the first modern hard cider brand in Delaware, Rebel Seed.
Hours: Sunday to Thursday: noon to 5 p.m.; Friday to Saturday: noon to 8 p.m.
Address: 447 Westville Road, Marydel, Delaware
Website: harvestridge.wpenginepowered.com
Paradoxc Winery
Just four miles across the Delaware border, Paradoxc offers a particularly wide variety of indoor and outdoor settings, making it a year-round destination.
Especially appealing is the Meadow, bordered by grape vines, where there’s a musical stage and room for as many as 500 visitors on pleasant days. A large selection of reds, whites and specially designated sweets provide plenty of choices for wine drinkers.
Hours: Thursday to Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Monday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Address: 1833 Flint Hill Road, Landenberg, Pennsylvania.
Website: paradocx.com/
1723 Vineyards
This winery’s name is derived from its location having been chartered as New London Township in 1723, though subsequent re-mapping means it is now in Franklin Township.
More importantly, owners Sarah and Ben Cody’s winery is barely three miles across the Delaware border. They tout their cabernet franc, petit verdot and chambourcin reds and a “go-to” sauvignon blanc among the whites. But there are many tastes to sample, including rosé and sparkling wines.
The tasting room and patio afford views of the vineyards from which the grapes are grown that make those wines.
Hours: Thursday to Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.’; Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Address: 5 McMaster Blvd., Landenberg, Pennsylvania.
Website: 1723vineyards.com/
Penns Woods Winery
Founded in 2001 by Italian immigrant and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Gino Razzi, Penns Woods Winery opened its tasting room in 2006. In 2010, Razzi brought his daughter in to help grow the up-and-coming business.
As the winery took off, Razzi and a partner planted a second vineyard site in 2013, and in 2019, expanded to a third location.
Visitors can enjoy vineyard views, wine by the glass and bottle as well as local beer, cider and more in the family- (and dog-) friendly space. Live music is a staple and other events tied in with holidays or other happenings are frequent.
Tasting room hours: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: noon to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: noon to 7 p.m.
Address: 124 Beaver Valley Road, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
Website: pennswoodswinery.com
Chaddsford Winery
Sold recently to a Wilmington real estate developer and his family − who own the New Jersey-based White Horse Winery − Chaddsford Winery is one of Pennsylvania’s oldest and largest wineries.
It was founded in 1982 by innovative winemaker Eric Miller, a California native who once lived in Burgundy and made wine in upstate New York, and his wife, Lee Miller.
The Millers made European-style wines and were among the first locally to produce unoaked chardonnay and produce red wines from northern Italian varietals.
The couple retired and stepped away from the business in 2012. The winery’s most recent owners before last year’s sale were the Petrillo family of New York, who had worked with the Millers.
Among the attractions from May through September are Live on the Lawn outdoor concerts on Saturdays and Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m.
Hours: Monday to Thursday: noon to 5 p.m.; Friday to Sunday: noon-6 p.m.
Address: 632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
Website: chaddsford.com
Acadian Wine Company
Acadian Wine Company touts drinking wine as “a communal experience,” and certainly provides that opportunity at its picturesque, rural setting well off the main road.
Its tasting room is also adorned with paintings by local artists and offers outdoor seating and vineyard views. Visitors can choose from more than a dozen locally grown wine offerings.
Hours: Thursday 4 to 8 p.m.; Friday 2 to 8 p.m.; Saturday noon to 8 p.m. Sunday noon to 6 p.m; Monday to Wednesday by appointment.
Address: 553 S, Guernsey Road, West Grove, Pennsylvania.
Website: acadianwinecompany.com/
Vala Vineyards
Vala Vineyards is situated on seven hillside acres where both history and grapes emanate from the area’s verdant black mushroom soils.
The land has been owned by the same family since 1928 with the first grapes planted in 1999. Northern Italian and French wine varieties dot the menu’s earthy offerings of small-batch dry table wines.
Hours: Friday noon to 5:30 p.m. Saturday to Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
Address: 8822 Gap Newport Pike #41, Avondale, Pennsylvania.
Website: valavineyards.com/
Wayvine Winery & Vineyard Farm
Wayvine’s rural setting in southern Chester County offers visitors vast views of fields covered with 14,000 vines that yield numerous varieties to sample. That can be done sitting outside while listening to musicians or inside the neighboring tasting room. A second tasting room in Kennett Square is also open.
Hours: Thursday 4 to 8 p.m.; Friday 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturday noon to 8 p.m. Sunday noon to 6 p.m..
Address: 5150 Forge Road, Nottingham, Pennsylvania.
Website: wayvine.wine/
Casa Carmen Farm and Winery
This pleasant hillside setting is on property long-ago owned by William Penn. It is owned and operated now by brothers Enrique and Felipe Pallares, former polo players turned winemakers, and their families.
Visitors can choose from a large selection of red, white and sparkling wines as well as many vermouths that can be enjoyed with tapas, sandwiches and other food offerings.
Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 8 p.m.; Friday 4 to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon to 9 p.m. Sunday noon to 6 p.m..
Address: 49 Camino Way, West Grove, Pennsylvania.
Website: casacarmenwines.com/
Dove Valley
Harry and Janet Hepbron’s 100-acre farm has produced a vast array of wines since the first vines were planted in 1998. They can be enjoyed on-site outside or in the shade of a large entertainment venue where bands regularly visit and themed festivals are frequently held, such as the Aug. 1 Caribbean Wine Splash.
Hours: Thursday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
Address: 645 Harrington Road, Rising Sun, Maryland.
Website: dovevalleywine.com/
Bohemia Manor Winery
Bohemia Manor’s hilltop setting off Route 213 south of Chesapeake City offers spectacular views of the Bohemia River as it flows by. The 22 acres of vines have been producing wine since 2014.
Since 2024, visitors have been able to sample many selections at an on-site restaurant and bar with the option of luxury overnight stays also at the Manor House or Vintner’s Cottage.
Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday Noon to 8 p.m.; Sunday Noon to 6 p.m.
Address: 237 Bohemia Manor Farm Lane, Chesapeake City, Maryland.
Website: bohemiamanorwine.com/
Staff reporter Isabel Hughes contributed to this story. Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
Maryland
Dog who called Maryland shelter home for 7 years finally adopted: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house”
The SPCA of Anne Arundel County announced that their longest running shelter resident has been adopted. Kylo Jace found his forever home after living at the SPCA of Anne Arundel County for 7 years.
The SPCA said on their Facebook page thar Kylo is a dog who “takes many meetings with someone in order to fully trust them and feel comfortable enough to show his true silly, wonderful personality.”
Over the years, he had specific volunteers and staff who had earned his trust and would take turns walking and caring for him day after day, the shelter said.
Over the course of the past 7 months, the woman who adopted Kylo came to visit him twice a week and slowly, but surely, worked her way into his trusted inner circle.
The team at SPCA even worked to ensure Kylo was comfortable getting into his new owner’s car, doing home visits before the big day. On Sunday, he officially left the building that he has spent the past few years in for the final time.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house and we truly are on Cloud 9 knowing he gets to spend the rest of his life loved for exactly who he is!” shelter staff said on social media.
Kylo’s adoption fee was fully paid for in memory of Jim Ehrig, a fan favorite of Kylo’s who passed away.
The SPCA hopes Kylo’s story will encourage more people to take a chance on a shelter dog.
Watch Tide to Table of Ocean City’s crew in action in Instagram reel
Instagram reel offers inside look at Tide to Table crew in action. Provided bby Jason Schwinabart, Vision Jet Media.
Vision Jet Media
The results are in for Delmarva Now’s reader poll of the best local ice cream shop on Maryland’s Lower Shore.
The 10 ice cream shops featured in the poll from the Ocean City, Salisbury and Berlin areas are often sought out by beachgoers with a sweet tooth during the hot summer months.
Get to know the winner and runner-up below.
Island Creamery voted best ice cream shop on Lower Shore
Island Creamery finished in first place with 47 votes, or 62.67% of the total, in Delmarva Now’s reader poll.
The creamery, named “Best Ice Cream Place in America” on July 7, 2023, for its use of fresh, quality ingredients and creativity, is best known for unique flavors such as Wallops Rocket Fuel and Rum Raisin.
It operates three locations across the Delmarva Peninsula: 120 N. Main St. in Berlin, 306 Dogwood Drive in Salisbury and 6243 Maddox Blvd. in Chincoteague, Virginia.
Dumser’s Dairyland secures second place in ice cream poll
Dumser’s Dairyland secured second place in Delmarva Now’s reader poll with 16 votes, or 21.33% of the total.
The family-owned business first opened in 1939 and offers a wide variety of fresh ice cream flavors, including coconut chocolate chip, butter pecan and mint Oreo.
Dumser’s Dairyland operates seven locations in Ocean City, including on the Boardwalk, in West Ocean City and along Coastal Highway. Some locations capture the look of a 1950s diner.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
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