We're Wining Again
Ohio Wineries Gaining Respect, Quality by the Year

Living in Ohio these days, it's hard not to notice all the new wineries. While anyone can buy some juice, pour it into bottles, and label it as their own, the wineries that grow their own grapes are the ones to be celebrated. Vintage Ohio at Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland (held this August 7-8), features the wines of Ohio in one location for the cost of admission and the time it takes to stand in lines. Vintage Ohio allows those who enjoy native wines and those who enjoy European-style wines to re-experience the wines they have eschewed and it's a great introduction to wineries from Wolf Creek Winery in Akron to Marietta Wine Cellars in Marietta. The festival offers entertainment, exhibits, gourmet food, crafts, and cooking lessons in addition to the wines.

But it's also a far cry from experiencing all of the wineries of the Lake Erie Vines and Wines Trail of Northeast Ohio along the lake.

When one visits a winery, one can see where the grapes are grown, learn a wine maker’s familiarity with making the wine, and hear the stories behind the winery’s origin. The Natural Areas Wine Tour on August 22 will pair a Cleveland Natural History Museum trip to Burkholder Preserve with the opportunity to taste the vintages of Laurello Vineyards in Geneva afterwards. Read more here.

If you would rather tour at your own pace, drive out to Ashtabula County one weekend. The Vines and Wines Trail now boasts over twenty wineries. Details of their location and links to their websites can be found on the Ohio Wine Association’s website. The wineries range from boutique wineries with a commitment to quality reserve wines (Tarsitano, South River, Buccia) to large producers frequented by people destined to spend an evening (Grand River, Debonne, Ferrante) to those specializing in native Ohio wines (Old Firehouse and Old Mill). One of our most pleasurable evenings was spent at the end of a wine-tasting day at Lakehouse Winery where we enjoyed watching the waves from above Lake Erie and the chef cooking dinner next to our table, while drinking wine.

During our most recent wine country adventure, Paul and I visited four wineries. We started at Markko winery in Conneaut first because it’s our favorite. While we sampled their wonderful chardonnays and cabernets, we chatted with winemaker Arnie Esterer and the interesting hostess. The winery is rustic and situated at the end of a long lane off a dirt road through the woods, and feels a bit unkempt, but the tastings are generous and wine making is taken seriously. Arnie's the guru who planted vinifera grapes in 1968 and has been teaching others how to make European wines in Ohio ever since.

"Concord wine" is a dirty word at Markko. We talked about difference in flavors because of non-ripening years and about the beauty of a non-vintage Chardonnay which is a blend of more than one year. We always learn something about wines when we’re at Markko winery (http://www.Markko.com). We enjoyed their homage wines (chardonnay/pinot gris blends), on sale for $12.99, and wine making from the heart, as Arnie says on the website, “a tradition almost as old as mankind itself—the making of wine, the blood of life. But most important of all, it has given us renewed faith in the Lord and our purpose for living—meaningful work producing a food, the beverage of moderation.”

After that, we took 90 a few exists west to visit Farinacci, Laurello, and Harpersfield along Route 307. Farinacci Winery was new for us, but we found Diane Farinacci to be inviting—she let us in even though it was past five. Their wines are bold and inexpensive at $9.99 a bottle. The large selection of wines will eventually be cut down to a few of the mot popular, but for now, there must be close to twenty varieties, some made from local grapes and some from Finger Lake grapes and others.

The whites offered include a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a Charonnette, which is a unique form of Chardonnay, a little less dry and supported by vanilla oak. Only a few grapes are grown on the property, and their Vintners Select semi-sweet white wine is a blend of their proprietary white wine varietal with their unique sweet elderflower wine. They offer a Riesling Ice Wine, a Cabernet Franc Ice Wine, and a Blackberry Shiraz for those who like sweet wines. The red wines, including their first Estate Wine, a Landot Noir, are really good—we liked the Landot Noir, the Gildone, the Merlot, and both the Cabernet and the Reserve Cabernet, with the reserve being bigger red http://www.FarinacciWinery.com.

From there, we drove to Laurello. From the road, the place looks like an Old West tavern; however, the tasting room is gorgeous with its massive stone wall fireplace and recessed lighting, pictures of Italian scenes, and a Tuscan feel. Like most wineries, Laurello is a family winery. They’re still working on their own grapes (their juice comes from elsewhere) but the winery has a history that began with Cosmo Anthony Laurello’s small winery in Ashtabula, started in 1944. The current Laurello generation of Larry Laurello Jr. and his wife Kim began when Larry Jr. and his grandfather Cosmo stopped at Burkholder farm in 1974 and tasted the grapes; later, in 1991, Larry Jr. bought that farm and in 2002, the current winery was realized (http://www.LaurelloVineyards.com).

It’s a place where the tasting bar is often crowded, but their Rodavi and Cosmo Italian-style wines are exceptionally good, and their menu includes appetizers, sandwiches, and pizzas made in a hearth oven.

Then we sat and relaxed on the outside deck at the French-styled Harpersfield Winery. We ate flatbread pizza (irresistible after opening the door to the smell of baking bread) with a couple glasses of Musette, a red table wine. An accordian player made Italian music while the evening blues band set up. Harpersfield is, like their brochure says, “A Taste of Europe in the heart of the Grand River Valley,” with the deck surrounded by flowers, the additional seating under a tent along the side, the music, the yard with trees and picnic tables, and the vineyards one must drive through to reach the winery.

Inside space is cozy with the living room furniture near the medieval fireplace, and we’ve been there when it was cold outside and sat by the fire. Harpersfield grows their own vinifera grapes, including Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and Kerner. Winemaker and founder Wes Gerlosky states that his wines “banish depression.” Check out their site at http://www.Harpersfield.com.

While Vintage Ohio is a great introduction to Ohio wines, take the time to visit some of the wineries this summer and fall. The day will be an adventure in living life to the fullest.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com.
(:divend:)