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Maine’s oldest winery, Bartlett Maine Estate Winery in Gouldsboro, is up for sale for the first time.

Bob and Kathe Bartlett founded it in 1983; rather than produce wine from the usual grapes, which didn’t grow well in the chilly Hancock County climate, the Bartletts chose to make blueberry wine, according to a history on the winery website. Former Press Herald wine critic Joe Appel once described the winery as “the original producer of really high-quality wine from blueberries in Maine.”

The winery expanded over the years, eventually producing white wines made from apples and pears, as well as dessert wines made from blackberries, raspberries and honey. Bartlett’s Rusticator Rum won a gold medal in the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Bartlett Maine Estate Winery sits on 20 acres. A real estate website, The Knowles Company, stated the asking price as $1,795,000. The Bartletts were not immediately available to share more details.

Corey is a University of Florida student and an intern with the Press Herald food team.

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