Ohio Wine Facts

There are 150 licensed wineries in the state of Ohio. In 2009, Ohio winemakers produced more than 1.1 million gallons of wine.

The largest number of wineries are located in Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula counties. Most of the wine made in Ohio is made in the Northeast corner of the state. However, Ohio’s wineries are located all over the state.

Sweet Ohio Wines?

In 1830 Ohio’s semi-sweet Catawba wine was the pinnacle of good taste and much sought after across the United States. When Eastern Europeans came to the Lake Erie shores they made the style of wine they were familiar with from native grapes and that wine was sweet to semi-sweet.

Today with Ohio winemakers produce more sophisticated European varietals from very dry to semi-sweet to meet higher expectations of modern consumers. These wines win awards all over the country including California competitions.

The good news is that no matter what your level of experience with wine, you should be able to find one just right for your palate in Ohio.

Cool Climate Wines

Ohio and most Eastern Section wine states are known as "cool climate" wine producers. Ohio has five viticulture appellations determined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms: the Lake Erie region, the Ohio River Valley region, Isle St. George (North Bass Island) in Lake Erie, Laramie Creek, and Grand River Valley.

Winegrowers have found many small sites where the microclimate and soil conditions are perfect for growing grapes. The last census of grape acreage showed about 2,200 acres of grapes in Ohio and that number is growing.

Cool climate grapes regions include northern France, some of that countries finest wine producing regions, Germany, Austria, Washington and Oregon and much of the grape growing acres east of the Mississippi River. In cool climate regions grapes must come to full ripeness in a shorter growing season. The resultant wines tend to be crisper, fruitier, aromatic and extremely good matches with food.