Off the Beaten Path
Five wineries 13 to 30 miles from the Madison and Geneva cluster, each worth the drive: a meadery, a 1930s racehorse stable, a frozen wine dessert, a vineyard with rooms, and one of Ohio's first European-grape vineyards.
- Stops
- 5
- Distance
- 55.4 mi
- Drive time
- 106 min
Stops
Day Dream Farm Winery
A family farm meadery in Rock Creek. Try the mead before the wine.
Emerine Estates
Fruit wines and the Wineshake, a frozen wine dessert, in Jefferson. The family has made wine since 1917.
Stable Winery
Built in the 1930s for an Andover doctor's racehorses. There is a pond and a patio.
Markko Vineyard
Planted in 1968 to prove European grapes could grow by Lake Erie. Follow the winery's driveway directions, not the map pin.
Buccia Vineyard Winery and B&B
End in Conneaut, where Buccia makes a wine from Agawam, a grape bred in 1856, and has four suites if you want to stay the night.
How We Chose These Stops
Most visitors never leave Route 534. These are the wineries farthest from it in the regional directory, spread across Rock Creek, Andover, Jefferson and Conneaut. It is a lot of driving for one day, so the route ends at Buccia, which has four guest suites if you would rather stay the night.
More Day Trips
Vincent William Guest Favorites
The six wineries our guests come back and tell us about most. The loop starts and ends at Vincent William in Madison, so dinner or a room is waiting when you get back.
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For the Red Wine Lover
Most of the valley pours sweet and fruit wines. These wineries make serious dry reds: Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Dornfelder and a Meritage blend. The day ends with our own estate Cabernet Franc on the lake.
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For the White Wine Lover
Start with Riesling on the lake, then Riesling by a creek, Chardonnay and Grüner Veltliner from vines planted in 1979, a Sémillon poured in an old church, and the vineyard that planted European grapes by Lake Erie in 1968.
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For the Ambiance
Five wineries people remember for where they sat as much as what they drank, and our own stone house on the lake to finish: a horse barn with a fireplace, a patio in the woods above the Grand River, a pond, and a church moved here from another town.
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Beer, Wine and Spirits
For the friend who does not drink much wine. Every stop also pours beer, cider, cocktails, mead or bourbon.
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Ohio Fall Foliage Map: Things to Do near the Winery
Three covered bridges, a boardwalk above the Grand River, an observation tower over Lake Erie and a state park on the shore, all within 15 miles of Vincent William Wine, where the day ends.
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The Wine and Foliage Day Trip
The fall day we would plan for a friend: a boardwalk over the Grand River in the morning, estate wine among the vines, an 1868 covered bridge, lunch by a wood fire, a last glass on a patio above the river, and dinner on the lake.
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Wineries in Fall Color
Six wineries at their best in October: vineyards to walk, a trail down to the river, a patio in the woods and a fire for when it gets cold. The day ends on the lake at Vincent William.
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The Underrated Valley
Five wineries rated 4.6 or higher on Google that most people drive past. None has more than 135 reviews.
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