Howard County Maryland Wine in the Woods Festival
Each May, the lawns of Symphony Woods fill with live music and people moving between tasting tables, and Columbia’s best-known wine weekend takes over the park beside Merriweather Post Pavilion. The Howard County Maryland Wine in the Woods Festival, printed in the organiser’s own layer as Wine in the Woods, gathers more than thirty Maryland wineries in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods for a two-day tasting weekend. Howard County Recreation & Parks produces the event, and the organiser’s own layer describes the entire department working together as a team to make it happen. The most recent dated edition is the thirty-second annual, held on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May 2026, and the organiser’s own layer already bills a thirty-third annual for the following May. Columbia hosts the weekend, though visitors should not mistake the planned city for the county seat: Ellicott City holds that role.
About
Wine in the Woods is a tasting festival first and a park weekend second. More than thirty Maryland wineries pour across the two days, joined by craft breweries and a distillery for visitors who want something beyond the vine. Live music runs through the weekend, artisan vendors and specialty crafters set out their stalls among the trees, and food comes from high-quality restaurants and caterers. The organiser’s own layer and a blog layer describe two ways into the tasting: a taster ticket with a souvenir wine glass and unlimited wine tastings, and a premium pass with a curated selection of Maryland-grown wines, a larger glass, a gift, beer samples and a private area. The taster ticket carries the main crowd; the premium pass offers a quieter corner and a deeper pour list.
The venue matters as much as the programme. Symphony Woods sits in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, beside Merriweather Post Pavilion, and the festival uses open lawns and shaded paths rather than a fenced fairground. People move slowly between tables, find a patch of grass, and drift back for another pour. The festival has run for over twenty years, according to a county tourism layer, and the thirty-second annual billing in the 2026 layer is recorded as printed, with no founding year worked out from the billing. A regional magazine voted it Best Outdoor Event in 1997 and 1998, and a county magazine has voted it Best Annual Festival in Howard County for many years, according to the organiser’s own layer.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail |
| Sheet title | Howard County Maryland Wine in the Woods Festival |
| Published name | Wine in the Woods, also printed as Wine in the Woods Festival |
| Host town | Columbia, Maryland |
| County seat | Ellicott City, Maryland |
| Venue | Symphony Woods, in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, Columbia |
| Organiser | Howard County Recreation & Parks |
| Latest dated edition | Thirty-second annual, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May 2026 |
| Next billed edition | Thirty-third annual, billed for May 2027 |
| Admission | Ticketed, with taster and premium tiers |
| Wineries | More than thirty Maryland wineries |
History
The history of Wine in the Woods, as the layers read present it, is a history of steady recognition rather than a single founding moment. A regional magazine voted the festival Best Outdoor Event in 1997 and 1998, and a county magazine has voted it Best Annual Festival in Howard County for many years. A county tourism layer says the festival has run for over twenty years, and the dated editions continue the story: the thirty-first annual fell on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May in a department newsletter layer, the thirty-second annual on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May 2026, and the thirty-third annual is already billed for May 2027. The thirty-first annual’s year is fenced to its edition, and no founding year is derived from the billings.
The producing body has stayed constant across those editions. Howard County Recreation & Parks organises the festival, and the organiser’s own layer puts it plainly: the entire department has worked together as a team to produce this event. The venue has not moved: Symphony Woods, by Merriweather Post Pavilion, in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, is the festival’s home in every dated edition the layers record. Longevity, repeat honours and a settled venue explain why the event reads as an institution in Howard County’s calendar, even though the layers read offer no founding account to quote.
For a useful comparison, see the Howard County Maryland Columbia Arts Festival for another county festival.
What to Expect
A visitor arriving at Symphony Woods on a festival Saturday finds a park given over to tasting. More than thirty Maryland wineries pour across the weekend, and the taster ticket is the usual way in, with a souvenir wine glass and unlimited wine tastings. Craft breweries and a distillery stand alongside the wineries for visitors who want something beyond wine. Live music plays through the day, artisans display their work, and food comes from high-quality restaurants and caterers.
The premium pass changes the shape of the day for those who buy it, opening a curated selection of Maryland-grown wines, a larger glass, a gift, beer samples and a private area. The private area gives premium holders somewhere quieter to sit, with pours the main tasting floor does not carry. For the 2026 edition, hours run from eleven in the morning to six in the evening on Saturday and to five in the evening on Sunday. The county tourism layer records that tickets are non-refundable and that the event is held rain or shine, so a wet forecast changes what a visitor wears rather than whether the festival happens.
Planning Your Visit
The first decision is the ticket tier. A blog layer gives 2026 figures for both: a taster ticket of forty dollars on Saturday and thirty-five dollars on Sunday, and a premium pass of eighty-five dollars on Saturday and seventy-nine dollars on Sunday, fenced to that layer and year. The organiser’s own layer does not state a 2026 price in the layers read, so the blog layer’s figures are the only prices on record for that edition. Tickets are non-refundable and the event is held rain or shine, both per a county tourism layer, so a buyer commits once the purchase is made.
The second decision is the day. Saturday runs longer, from eleven in the morning to six in the evening, and carries the fuller crowd; Sunday runs to five in the evening and suits a slower visit. The taster ticket is cheaper on Sunday in the blog layer’s 2026 figures, which makes Sunday the gentler entry point for a first-time visitor. Symphony Woods is open lawn and shaded paths, so comfortable shoes and a plan for sun or rain matter more than formal dress. No layer records an organiser address or phone number as a value, so practical questions are best settled against the organiser’s own layer nearer the date.
A Sample Itinerary
A Saturday visit could open at eleven in the morning, when the tasting tables are ready and the park is still filling. Spend the first hour moving between winery tables with the souvenir glass from the taster ticket, noting which Maryland vineyards pour the styles you like best. By early afternoon, take a break for food from the restaurant and catering stalls, then browse the artisan vendors while the crowd thickens around the music. A premium pass holder might slip into the private area in the afternoon for the curated Maryland-grown wines and the beer samples.
A Sunday visit runs shorter, from eleven in the morning to five in the evening, and suits a different rhythm. Arrive at opening, taste across the wineries missed on Saturday, and spend the middle of the day with the food stalls and the crafters. The Sunday taster ticket is the cheaper of the two days in the blog layer’s 2026 figures, which makes a Sunday-only visit the lightest commitment for someone testing the festival for the first time. Either day rewards the same approach: taste slowly, eat properly, and sit under the trees while the music plays.
How It Compares
The layers read are careful about which Maryland wine weekends are the same event and which are not. The Wanderland Craft Beverage Festival takes place at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, the very same venue, and a careless reader could fold the two together; the layers keep them apart, and the Wanderland event is a different festival that happens to share the park. Wine festivals in other Maryland counties are different events too, including the Harford County Wine Festival, which belongs to its own county, its own venue and its own organiser.
Within Howard County itself, the festival’s character is distinct from the county’s other large gatherings. It is a ticketed tasting event with defined tiers, a souvenir glass and a premium pass, and its programme is built around Maryland wine rather than a single town’s history or a single craft. The awards it has collected, Best Outdoor Event in 1997 and 1998 and Best Annual Festival in Howard County for many years, speak to a reputation built over decades rather than a single season. The thirty-second annual billing in 2026 and the thirty-third already billed for 2027 show a festival that returns each May with the same venue, organiser and shape.
Checklist
- Decide between a taster ticket and a premium pass before the weekend, using the blog layer’s 2026 figures as a guide.
- Pick Saturday for the longest day or Sunday for the shorter, cheaper entry in the blog layer’s figures.
- Wear comfortable shoes for open lawn and shaded paths in Symphony Woods.
- Plan for rain or shine, since the county tourism layer records non-refundable tickets and a rain-or-shine event.
- Bring a plan for getting home safely after a day of tasting.
- Remember that Columbia hosts the festival while Ellicott City is the county seat.
Beyond the Festival
Symphony Woods gives the festival a setting that rewards staying a little longer in the park. The lawns and shaded paths of Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods invite a slow walk between tasting tables, and Merriweather Post Pavilion stands beside the park as the neighbourhood’s best-known stage. A visitor who has finished tasting can linger in the park as the music plays.
Ellicott City, the county seat, lies elsewhere in the county and offers a different kind of visit for anyone staying longer in Howard County. The layers read do not describe its streets or shops in detail, but the seat’s role is documented by a Maryland State Archives reference layer. A visitor who confuses the two towns will look for the festival in the wrong place; its home is Symphony Woods in Columbia, and its audience is drawn from across Maryland to a park that, for two days each May, becomes the county’s tasting room.
Why It Matters
Wine in the Woods matters because it puts Maryland wine in front of Maryland drinkers in the county’s own park. More than thirty Maryland wineries pour at the festival, and the premium pass’s curated selection of Maryland-grown wines turns that breadth into a guided tour of what the state’s vineyards can do. The festival is produced by Howard County Recreation & Parks, with the entire department working together as a team, according to the organiser’s own layer, which makes the weekend a public endeavour rather than a purely commercial fair. The honours it has collected, Best Outdoor Event in 1997 and 1998 and Best Annual Festival in Howard County for many years, show that the wider region has noticed.
The festival also matters as a fixture in Howard County’s calendar. It has run for over twenty years, it returns each May to the same venue with the same organiser, and its next edition is already billed before the current one has faded from memory. A visitor who comes in 2026 can expect the same park, the same shape and the same Maryland focus in 2027, with the dates the only element the layers leave unsettled. The dated editions, the awards and the departmental effort behind it are enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which wines can visitors expect to sample at the festival?
More than thirty Maryland wineries pour across the weekend, according to the organiser’s own layer and the county tourism layer, and the premium pass adds a curated selection of Maryland-grown wines. Craft breweries and a distillery also pour, but Maryland wine is the centre of the event.
What does a premium pass add beyond a taster ticket?
A premium pass opens a curated selection of Maryland-grown wines, a larger glass, a gift, beer samples and a private area, per the organiser’s own layer and a blog layer. The taster ticket comes with a souvenir wine glass and unlimited wine tastings.
What happens if rain falls on the festival weekend?
The event is held rain or shine, and tickets are non-refundable, both per a county tourism layer. A wet forecast changes what a visitor wears and how much time is spent under the trees rather than whether the festival takes place.
Why do two layers give different dates for the 2027 edition?
The organiser’s own layer bills the thirty-third annual for Friday 15 and Saturday 16 May 2027, while a county tourism layer gives Friday 22 and Saturday 23 May 2027 for the same edition. The two are recorded unmerged, so check the organiser’s own layer nearer the date.
What to Expect From the Next Howard County Maryland Wine in the Woods Festival
How often is Howard County Maryland Wine in the Woods Festival held?
The festival returns each May to Symphony Woods, and the layers read bill it as an annual event, with the thirty-first, thirty-second and thirty-third annual editions following one another in successive years. The county tourism layer says it has run for over twenty years.
When is the next Howard County Maryland Wine in the Woods Festival?
The organiser’s own layer bills the thirty-third annual for Friday 15 and Saturday 16 May 2027, while a county tourism layer gives Friday 22 and Saturday 23 May 2027 for the same edition, and the two are recorded unmerged. Until the organiser’s own layer settles the question, the next edition is best described as billed for May 2027.
Will the dates change?
The two layers already give different days for the 2027 edition, so the dates for the next edition are not yet settled in the layers read. The festival’s May rhythm has held across the dated editions on record, but the exact days for 2027 should be checked against the organiser’s own layer before making firm plans.
The Howard County Maryland Wine in the Woods Festival is a May weekend built on Maryland wine, a county park and a department-wide effort. The thirty-second annual filled Symphony Woods in May 2026, the thirty-third annual is billed for May 2027, and the only open question is which of two May weekends the next edition will take. Check the organiser’s own layer nearer the date, choose a tier, and arrive ready to taste slowly under the trees.
