Ohio

This winery still exists but they were sold and utilize a completely different model for grapes these days.  But, back in the day, this was the best winery in Ohio.  It is located in the southern part of the state along the Ohio River.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, slight herbal notes and a bit of spice.  Medium to firm tannins.  On the palate, black cherries, green bell pepper, and some spice.  Good finish.  Overall, a pleasant, quality Cabernet that at age 19  is drinking just fine.  still, I would drink these sooner than later.  Probably b

The Traminette grape is a hybrid grape with ties to Gewurztraminer.  Pale golden with some green hues, clear and bright.  The nose has some lemon-lime notes.  Light bodied.  On the palate, this is sweet.  Some acidity to help cut it.  Moderate finish.  This is easy drinking and nice to sit outside on a warm late summer afternoon.  It would work well with fried foods.  Drink now.  

The Traminette is a hybrid grape with some resemblance (by design) to Gewurztraminer.  Very pale gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with slight lemon-lime.  Light to medium bodied.  12% abv.  On the palate, this is refreshing.  Easy drinking.  Light lemon-lime notes.  Good finish.  Nice balance.  A nice afternoon at the winery kind of wine.  Drink now.  This is very food friendly with lighter foods.  It would go well with fried chicken.  

The label lists this as 12% abv.  Silvery/green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with some lemony notes.  Light bodied.  On the palate, the label calls this  semi-dry but there isn't really a lot of sweetness going on.  It is refreshing with some lemon-lime qualities.  Easy to drink.  This is food friendly and would work well with fried foods or popcorn.  A fun wine for sitting outside at a winery listening to live music.  Drink now.  

Kelly's Island is part of a group of islands in the south western section of Lake Erie just off the Ohio coast.  Back in the mid-1800's this was one of the leading wine areas of the country.  Now it is kind of a summer resort escape area.  It is always difficult to make reds in Ohio due to late and early frosts and lots of thunderstorms and hail and very hot temperatures.  Yields were apparently way down in 2022, but luckily a friend lives right next to the winery and was able to snag a bottle for us.  This wine seems to be somewhere between a very serious rosé and a lighter red wine.  11.5

This is made in Solon, Ohio with purchased grapes from California.  It is a lighter styled, "Claret" Zinfandel.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has raspberries, cranberries and slight bramble.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this is solid.  Raspberries and bramble.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  This drinks easy on its own but is probably better with food.  It went well with just sitting around having mixed nuts and cheeses.  Drink over the next few years.  

This is really a nice wine.  This retails for $18 and that is a great value.  Light golden in color with a swirl of green hues, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with red apples, slight herbal note and nice minerality.  Light to medium bodied but with a slight viscosity in the glass.  On the palate, this is easy and refreshing.  Flavors of apples with underlying minerality.  Tasty.  Very nice on its own, this will make great summer sipping on the deck with light foods.  Drink over the next few years.  

This is made from grapes grown near the Lake Erie shore in northeastern Ohio.  It is cooler climate in style.  Of course, Pinot Noir is difficult to make anywhere, and this one is not only varietally correct, it is good.  Ruby in color with a few daker swirls, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, rhubarb, slight herbal note, and a bit of spice.  Medium bodied.

It northeast Ohio, it can be difficult to grow Cabernet Sauvignon and get it ripe.  The spring often limits when budbreak occurs, and cold autumns don't often allow sufficient hang time.  In an experiment to deal with this, the North Coast Wine Club, utilized the Appassimento method from northeast Italy, in an attempt to get a bit more volume and alcohol.  This means the grapes are allowed to partially air-dry out which reduces volume while raising the sugar levels.  it is the way Amarone is made, but in this case, instead of Italian grapes, this wine is made in that method but using Bordea

This has a deep salmon pink color, clear and bright.  The nose has a nice watermelon scent.  On the palate, this is sweet and visouce.  5% residual sugar.  Those who like sweet white Zinfandels should like this.