Winey Tasting Notes: A Winey Day in Ohio

What to do on a perfect July day in Ohio, when it is NOT raining (this year, that’s kind of rare) and you and two of your Winey friends want a girls’ day out? You hit the wineries, of course. For those of you who don’t know northeast Ohio, take that surprised look off of your winey little faces. We have quite the wine region up here, known as the Grand River Valley region, which stretches through Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties.

Lake Erie is the reason this region pretty much exists, since the waters to and from it carved out the Grand River valley. The lake also keeps the temperatures nice and moderate (just don’t ask how much snow they get up there….YIKES!) and provides a very happy climate for Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc grapes. It’s also very well known for its ice wines, thanks to the winters we struggle through have here.

And it’s less than an hour drive from our homes. Easy decision.

We started our day out at the largest of these wineries, which none of us had (gasp) never been to: Debonne Vineyards. This winery began life in the early 1900’s as a fruit farm, and became an official winery in 1972. They also have a great menu there, and since we all wanted lunch, Debonne was the perfect choice.

The dry varietal white wine tray (yes, you get to keep the glass).

Debonne also has these awesome tasting trays, where you get anywhere between 6-8 samples of wine and can choose from a number of wine combinations. We went with the dry varietal wine tray (reds and whites), the dry white wine tray, and the off dry to sweet varietal tray. Yes, we all made sure we had a different tray because we are a sharing little group..and this way we really got to sample a very full range of Debonne’s wines.

Since, between the three of us, we had about 18 different wines, I’m going to give a quick little overview of some of our favorites, in the hopes that it will help anyone else pick a Debonne wine to try. Here we go:

Chardonnay Reserve: aroma of pear and light oak, full of flavors of pear and nutmeg and a little toasty vanilla.

Semillon, Muddy Paw: (from Trebets Estate Wines, see my review of the Muddy Paw Cabernet Sauvignon for more info on Muddy Paw) Light and juicy, just shy of being fully tart. Peach and light citrus scented, flavors of peach and some citrus, hence the “almost” tart!

Pinot Grigio, 2013, 11%:  All three of us loved this one, and I went home with a bottle of it.  A nose of pear and pie spices followed by tastes of flowers, honey, citrus rind with a refreshingly tart finish. Sip it cold, but pay attention as it warms up, because that’s where the finish comes with a sweet note above it all. Great wine!!!

Jazz White: A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Riesling. A bottle of this one went home with one of my friends. Apple and pear aromas, followed by zesty lemon-lime flavors.

40th Anniversary White: A blend of Chardonnay with a little Riesling. A lovely, light wine. I tasted granny smith apples and light oak flavors.

Merlot: Berries on the nose. Raspberry and strawberry flavors with a medium tannic finish (not too drying, but it does have that Merlot pucker to it!).

South River Vineyard

South River Vineyard view of the back patio

After our lunch and mega catching up with each other session (kudos to the folks at Debonne who didn’t roll their eyes at us at all), we took a drive by some of the other nearby wineries. The staff at Debonne told us that we had to see South River Vineyard, which was pretty much just down the road from Debonne.

And we were so glad we did! A picturesque winery housed in an old church with gorgeous views off its back porch and patio. Being the responsible people that we are, we didn’t try any wines, because we know our limits…but we walked around the grounds and vowed to come back.

We had also been told that the newer Hundley Cellars was lovely, so this was another winery we stopped at. Our first thoughts upon walking into the tasting room was “our hubbies would love this place”. Lots of wood beams, antlers, rustic wooden tables and one of the friendliest tasting staffs I can remember. They were all so excited for us to try the wines there that even though we hadn’t planned on it, we wound up on their gorgeous back patio with a glass of wine.

Hundley Cellars view from the back porch

I had their Riesling (12%) because it was just so good! The nose was faint, but the flavors were not. There was a line of juicy peach running through the middle of it, surrounded by sour citrus flavors. A great combination! The finish was key lime, and as far as I’m concerned, you can never go wrong with key lime. (Side note: they also have a wine called Blonde Ambition, which I liked a lot when I tasted it and which would be a VERY fun gift for ladies of a certain hair color. Like me.)

We could not have asked for a more glorious day: lots of talking and laughing and eating and sipping and the chance to explore a stunningly beautiful area of our state. If you ever get the chance, give the Grand River Valley wineries a try. The wines will please everyone from the sweet wine sippers to the big red lovers. I suggest pairing the wines with your special date or a bunch of your best girlfriends. For more information on the Grand River Valley wine growers, head to their website.

O-H…..(the correct response here is for you to say “I….O”.)

Cheers!