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In 2023, Ifeoma Onyia opened , one of a handful of vineyards operating in Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland.
Born in Nigeria and raised in London before establishing roots in the D.C. region, Onyia said she was the first African immigrant to open a winery in the U.S.
Clyopatra is also the only Black-owned vineyard in Maryland.
Her small company is aging as well as the wine she makes. It鈥檚 also getting a lot bigger.
Last week, Onyia broke ground on a new vineyard and winery on 40 acres off Duckettown Road, less than two miles from Old Town Bowie.
鈥淚 think at the beginning, when we opened up two years ago, folks thought it was going to be a passing phase,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut they didn’t know the tenacity that is behind it.鈥�
The project is ambitious. By the fall, the goal is to have a new tasting room and the first of two banquet halls up and running, with room for 400 guests. Eventually, a boutique-style hotel and another banquet hall that can accommodate 1,000 people will also be built.
Surrounding the site will be a nature trail lined with fruit-bearing trees that guests can pick from as they walk around.
鈥淚’m excited about the agritourism that we are bringing out here,鈥� Onyia said. 鈥淚’m excited about the fact that we’re going to be employing a whole lot of people.鈥�
Prince George鈥檚 County Executive Aisha Braveboy said that between 50 and 100 permanent jobs will be associated with this project.
The site’s restaurant will be farm-to-table, serving dishes with fruits and vegetables grown on-site. Onyia said she hopes that will provide a learning experience for children, whether they鈥檙e with their parents or there on a field trip.
鈥淭he idea is to get them to dirty their hands and play with the soil,鈥� Onyia said. 鈥淎nd to understand that everything they eat, where it comes from and how it’s done, how it’s grown.鈥�
Anything that isn鈥檛 grown there will come from other small businesses based in Maryland.
Setting down vine roots
The wine industry includes few Black people overall 鈥� and even fewer Black women.
But when the new venue is finished, Onyia said it鈥檒l be the largest Black-owned vineyard on the East Coast. County leaders expect it to be an international destination.
鈥淚 want the legacy to be: Black folks can join this,鈥� Onyia said. 鈥淢ost Black people that own wineries are all first generation. We haven’t built that generational wealth. So let me use part of this here 鈥� we鈥檙e also going to be teaching the kids everything about farming and horticulture. Let me use this opportunity to show the Black people you can do this.鈥�
While there鈥檚 a lot of support within the Black and African communities, she said there鈥檚 actually a lot of support for Clyopatra everywhere.
鈥淓verybody loves it,鈥� Onyia said. 鈥淚t’s wine! Everybody loves wine, as long as you鈥檙e over 21. So they’re happy.鈥�
In fact, she鈥檚 more interested in promoting the wine-growing industry in Maryland, which now has more than 100 vineyards spanning both sides of the Chesapeake Bay, even if you haven鈥檛 heard of many of them.
鈥淣o shade to folks in Virginia, but I think we’re tired of going to Virginia all the time,鈥� she said with a smile. 鈥淭his is something local. This is where you can come in, have your celebrations, come and have a date night, come in and have a wedding 鈥� any kind of party that you want to but it’s in your local area.”
That proximity means area guests are able to more freely indulge in the wine.
鈥淚t’s an area where you can take an Uber or Lyft to come in,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou don’t have to get into your car. You’re not driving for hours to get here.鈥�
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