Groundbreaking for Clyopatra Winery and Vineyard Village Resort Held in Laurel

The Clyopatra Winery & Vineyard Village Resort held a public groundbreaking at 4:00 PM Friday, Feb. 6, at the intersection of Jupiter and Duckettown Roads in Laurel, a Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation event that organizers said convened elected officials, economic development leaders, community stakeholders and residents. The PGCEDC first announced the ceremony in a Feb. 2 press release and promoted it on its Feb. 3 Facebook post, which included a “REGISTER TODAY” call-to-action and the slogan “Expansion Starts Here!”

PGCEDC materials describe the project as a “Transformational Vineyard Village Resort,” calling it a “multi-million-dollar private investment advancing in phases” and saying it has been “led entirely by private capital to date.” The corporation’s Feb. 2 press release lists Phase One work as vineyard planting, agricultural infrastructure, a winery tasting room, access road construction and supporting site work. The release describes the site as “approximately 41 acres”; WTOP reported the property as “40 acres off Duckettown Road, less than two miles from Old Town Bowie.” Both figures were reported and neither outlet explained the discrepancy.

Founder Ifeoma Onyia, who opened Clyopatra Winery and Vineyard in 2023, was identified in WTOP’s profile as born in Nigeria, raised in London and later establishing roots in the D.C. region. WTOP quoted Onyia at length: “I want the legacy to be: Black folks can join this,” Onyia said. “Most Black people that own wineries are all first generation. We haven’t built that generational wealth. So let me use part of this here - we’re 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.” WTOP also characterized Clyopatra as “one of a handful of vineyards operating in Prince George’s County” and as “the only Black-owned vineyard in Maryland.”

County and news coverage framed several ambitious “firsts” around the project while noting attribution. NBC4 reported Prince George’s County as saying the winery is “the first African-immigrant-owned winery in the United States” and “will become the largest Black-female-owned winery and vineyard on the East Coast.” NBC4 also reported the project is expected to bring “between 50 and 100 jobs throughout peak and off-peak seasons.” At the Laurel groundbreaking, NBC4 quoted County Executive Aisha Braveboy: “We will stand out,” Aisha Braveboy said. “We will not only have a phenomenal vineyard here, wonderful wines and spirits here, but we also will have a place that so many can call home.”

The ceremony drew mixed reaction from neighbors. NBC4 quoted Tonya Stephens, president of the Seven Crossings Homeowners Association and a resident who lives across the street from the site: “This is a land of where sharecroppers were,” said Tonya Stephens. “Their family and their descendants are still there. The formerly enslaved built its own colony right here and they are still here.” NBC4 reported some neighbors saying they “didn't know about the plans for the expansion.”

The county press release and social posts did not publish an overall dollar figure for the “multi-million-dollar” investment, and media accounts recommend verifying acreage, the developer’s “first” claims and the source of the 50-to-100 job estimate. PGCEDC listed Rhett Butler, Marketing & Communications Manager, as the press contact (rbutler@co.pg.md.us; cell 240-427-7926). Do you have memories, concerns or documentation about the land or the sharecropper community near Jupiter and Duckettown Roads? Contact Rhett Butler or share your perspective with our newsroom.