A plan by a Hyattsville resident to build a mobile winery is just a few thousand dollars short as it approaches a deadline on Saturday, July 14.

Nathan Zeender, head brewer at Right Proper Brewing Company in Washington, D.C., and Hyattsville’s Bret Stevenson have raised $18,000 towards a $20,000 goal on Kickstarter to build a low-intervention winery called Hibernaculum inside a 20-foot shipping container on Baltimore Avenue.

The goal is for a solar-powered, self-contained mobile winery that can function off the grid without being connected to any utilities.

The mobile winery, which was stored until recently in a parking lot next to the old Hyattsville Armory (now Crossover Church) across the street from Busboys and Poets, will be housed for the time being at Distillery Land Ciderworks in Frederick County. Later, it can be easily transported to various host wineries, where it will use existing licenses to allow the winery to get started without building a brick and mortar winery.

Zeender and Stevenson say their goal is to produce a “naked” or “raw” wine that does not use any sulfites or additives — now common in commercial winemaking — which they believe will lead to “wine with charm, dignity and personality.”

Aside from free-run wine, the pair also plan to craft unfortified vermouth-style aperitifs and possibly mead and cider using the equipment, which is designed to use minimal electricity and require little human intervention.

“Low-intervention wine is still very much on the fringes (where we have always been most comfortable),” the two explain. “It’s going to take a lot of effort and storytelling to get folks interested in why they should care about, drink and support living wine. We are more than up to the challenge of producing honest and distinct wines with good personalities for the thirsty and curious alike.”

To support their Kickstarter campaign, click here by 10 a.m. tomorrow, July 14, to make a donation.