I’ve been pretty fortunate in recent years and have enjoyed living in many spots throughout the US, many with deep and distinguished roots reaching back into the history of American winemaking. Having lived in Cleveland with a job which required a good amount of travel, I was able to take advantage of the many wineries north of I-70 (Columbus) .
The history of winemaking in Ohio reaches back to the 1820s, when Ohioans led wine production in the United States until the mid nineteenth century. Prohibition virtually obliterated the local wine industry, and the region never fully recovered until the 1960s. In the last 20 years the wine scene has really exploded and now boasts a great selection of vineyards spread over 5 distinct AVAs (American Viticultural Areas). My preferred Ohio wine is in the Lake Erie AVA, in the Grand River Valley.
What I love about Ohio wine is the plethora of Native American varietals and French-American Hybrids. Here you’ll find the Native Concord, Catawba, Niagra, and the Delaware. The hybrids are Marquette, Traminette, Vignoles, and Chambourcin, to name a few.
I am going to assume that most readers have only heard of one or two of these grape varieties, which is why I think it’s important to always widen your palate when given the opportunity to do so. The midwest as a wine grower region gets a bad wrap for focusing too much on sweet hybrids and native wines – which I admit is accurate to an extent – but there many local wineries making other amazing varietals, and each deserve to be discovered. As just one example of a world-class hidden gem, Ohio’s Iced Vidal Blancs are hands down some of the best dessert wines in the country!
Just about every winery near the lake offers a fantastic iced Vidal Blanc, which serves to reinforce the quality of the region. Everyone I’ve met here offered an outstanding iced Vidal Blanc; they were each so good it was difficult to choose a favorite between them. To all my readers: see if you can get your hands on some Grand River Valley Iced Vidal Blanc… It’s a supreme example of this class!
Alright, alright: I will readily admit that when compared to other wine regions throughout the United States, Ohio may not be your (or my) first choice for a weekend trip of tasting and vineyards. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great wineries and experiences to be had, and it’s certainly worth exploring if you’re considering a trip. Ohio wine has been rapidly closing the gap over recent years, and it’s a safe assumption that this trend will continue. All of this is why I’ve decided to name just TWO wineries here, which according to my palette could compete at the national level.
My top two Ohio wineries will be announced in tomorrow’s article, but in the meantime I’ll offer this: the goliath wineries in the area such as Ferrante, Debonne, and Gervasi (which I suspect just about every Ohioan has been to, and raves about) I found just “OK,” representing big fish in a small pond. I’d actually recommend both Quarry Hill and Kosicek Vineyards as the top wineries to watch out for in the next few years, offering very solid wine across the board at affordable prices (minor caveat to this endorsement: I did not taste any of their fruit wines). The award for honourable mention goes to St. Joseph Vineyard. As for my top two… that’ll have to wait until tomorrow.