BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.3//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:1614@coolcleveland.com DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20250801 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20250803 DTSTAMP:20260402T072250Z URL:https://coolcleveland.com/events/celebrate-ohios-distinctive-wines-thi s-summer-by-claudia-j-taller/ SUMMARY:Celebrate Ohio’s Distinctive Wines This Summer by Claudia J. Tall er DESCRIPTION:\nA summer day. Hot air cooled by a breeze rolling over a valle y. Vineyards along Gore Orphanage Road in Erie County stretch back past th e winery and the event pavilion\, the rows marked by varietal—Pinot Noir \, Lemberger\, Cabernet Sauvignon\, Sauvignon Blanc\, Riesling\, Chardonna y—the vines full of grapes that will be made into Lake Erie Appellation wines. All the wines are made from estate-grown grapes. Worth noting\, bec ause not all Ohio wineries use all their own grapes.\nFifteen years after publication of my book Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries\, some people still say things like “Ohio wines are not worth drinking” and “I can’t stan d the sweet wines produced by Ohio Wineries.” The reason I wrote my two Ohio wines books was to dispel those opinions by challenging people to vis it Ohio wineries. The comments irk me. What they often don’t know is tha t Ohio is the sixth largest wine-producing state in the United States and its wines win national competitions against wineries in California (which commands most of the wine produced in the country). Ohio was once called v ineland when it was settled\, because there were so many vineyards along t he Ohio River. Lake Erie has the perfect climate for growing grapes—the winds flow through the vines and keep the mildew away and the moderating t emperature extends the growing season.\nDid I fail? Possibly. I have frien ds that say those things to me. Lawyer and horticulturist Nicholas Longwor th\, the grandfather of winemaking in Ohio\, planted European grape variet ies into the 1840s. His entrepreneurial spirit enhanced Ohio’s reputatio n as a winemaking state\, and it is said that he gave South Bass Island's Philip Vroman grape stock from his Cincinnati vineyards\, which gave birth to the Lake Erie Appellation and Ohio’s Lake Erie wineries. Datus Kelle y planted Isabella grapes on Kelley’s Island in 1842 and founded the win e-growing industry on Kelley’s Island. The early vineyards were planted by German immigrants and the winemakers were often from France\, like Loui s Rhein of France\, who worked at Schaedler Winery on Kelley’s Island. B y 1870\, most everyone on the island was involved with the growing of grap es or making of wine.\nWhat makes the Lake Erie Appellation unique is the temperate climate that allows viticulturists to grow vinifera Cabernet Sau vignon\, Pinot Grigio\, Riesling\, and Chardonnay grapes\, as well as Vign oles\, Baco Noir\, and Lemberger varieties. Notable wineries that make som e\, if not all\, bottle estate-grown wines located west of Cleveland on th e mainland include Klingshirn\, Sandy Ridge\, Vermilion Valley\, Quarry Hi ll\, Paper Moon\, and Firelands. The wine industry continues to expand—s ome\, like Mulberry Creek\, are still on my list to visit. The experience of tasting wine ranges from standing in bottle storage room\, sitting by a cozy fire by with a view of Lake Erie\, or eating a sausage and cheese pl ate at a picnic table.\nI wrote my first book because I was living right h ere in Northeast Ohio\, but did not know how deep and rich our wineries hi story is—I only knew Heineman’s in Put-in-Bay and their Pink Catawba w ine. What? We have great vinifera (European noble wines) here in Ohio? Not only is there rich history and wines beyond Catawba\, but I soon learned how fun it is to talk with the winemakers and owners and come to understan d this rich industry of cooperative wineries\, with enologists\, viticultu rists\, wine associations\, mentors\, and schools to support them. I learn ed to look at the labels when tasting wines\, which can say “Lake Erie\, ” “Ohio\,” or “American”\; some may be more specific—the Grand River Valley and Isle St. George (also known as North Bass) each have the ir own sub-viticultural area. If you’re a wine snob\, stick with the Cab ernet Franc and Chardonnay—you’ll be surprised because you can’t fin d most of the wines in groceries that tend to sell the “sweet stuff.”\ nBack to Vermilion Valley. During our last visit\, we ate cheese and crack ers\, listened to acoustic guitar\, watched the red-winged blackbirds\, an d sipped slowly from our bottle of wine. We lingered. It was a peaceful an d pleasant afternoon in the country. I have pleasant memories of taking vi sitors to the winery for talks by David Benzing\, one of the original owne rs who stayed true to the vision of creating a sustainable winery. I can s till remember tasting my first glass of Lemberger wine under his tutelage. \nVineyards now appear in farm country all through the state--Ohio’s app roximately 300 wineries have made our state a wine destination. Wineries a re born\, and reborn\, when dreams become visions that become real. The be st way to explore wines is by visiting wineries\, but you have the chance to compare wines and the process behind them\, at the Vintage Ohio\, Ohio ’s iconic outdoor wine and food festival at the Lake Metro Parks’ Farm park in Kirtland this coming weekend from 12-9 on Friday and Saturday. Tic kets are $39.\n\nClaudia J. Taller has been writing for Cool Cleveland sin ce shortly after its inception. She is the author of four books and has wr itten many articles for local and national magazines\, including two books about Ohio wines and dozens of articles about Ohio’s wine industry. Fin d out more about her at http://claudiajtaller.com/.\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://coolcleveland.com/wp-content/uploads/202 5/07/Wine.jpeg CATEGORIES:Drinks,Education,Entrepreneurialism,Eats,Festival,----WRITERS-- --,Outdoors,Preview,Travel,Claudia Taller END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250309T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR