Winemaker’s Blog

Notes from the winemaker – June, 2025

Happy Summer Solstice to everyone! Seems like our weather has oscillated between swamping rains followed by high humidity and heat. This weather pattern challenges our ability to get weeds under control, certainly makes it difficult to get tractors into the vineyard. We do what we can to take the edge off the weed growth when the weather permits. Grapes are maturing well .. looks like a great crop so far.

A quick update on our tasting room. We finally received OH EPA registration of our public water system. This allowed us to proceed with required septic and water system upgrades as we work with Lake County for approval for onsite food service. We’re still selling our wines in Cash & Carry mode until we get final approvals from Lake County.

We released our Rosé in June and it's a great addition to our portfolio. It’s semi-sweet (3% residual sugar) and has a hint of cranberry on the palate. The Pinot Gris and Estate Cab need a bit more time in the cellar, but looks like August for the Pinot Gris release and September for our Estate Cab.

And finally, we were proud to pour our 2025 Ohio Wine Competition Bronze Medal winners at Wildwood Arts & Wine Festival on June 21st. We heard lots of positive comments on our wines and more on our shirts from Bree’s Happy Designs (photo). Kudos to City of Mentor Recreation Department for throwing a great event!

Follow us on Facebook to see our planned Saturday sales dates. You can always purchase from our website wine shop, with local pick-up, local delivery, or UPS shipment direct to your door.

Notes from the winemaker – Harvest, 2024

We were fortunate to enjoy a bountiful harvest, with warm weather through the growing season and minimal rain before harvest time. That made for nice clean fruit which are already showing great promise for wines from our cellar.

After another successful year with our Pick-Your-Own Concords, we sold ~14 tons of grapes to Agri-America Fruit Co-Op in Fredonia, NY. These grapes are destined for use in kosher wine production!

We had a great harvest for both our estate Riesling and our Bordeaux-style vineyard blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. These estate wines are settling nicely into the cellar for a bit of aging.

We’ve also contracted for some local grapes from nearby vineyards, such as Pinot Gris and Regent. These two will help to round out our wine program – another white wine to partner with our estate Riesling and GRV Chardonnay, as well as a Rosé to bridge between our other white and red wines.

Finally, we’re pleased with the maturation of our 2020 estate Bordeaux-style vineyard blend. Look for springtime releases of our estate Cab, the new Pinot Gris and Rosé wines – Stay tuned!