Grand River ValleyBy Vincent William Wine

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Guest FavoritesWine & FoliageRed Wine Lover
Vincent William, Lake Erie, OhioThe winery, restaurant and inn behind this guide.
The stone mansion at Vincent William Wine behind a red maple in October
Vincent William Wine

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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Stops
7
Distance
21.7 mi
Drive time
59 min

Stops

  1. Hogback Ridge Park

    Start with the leaves. The boardwalk runs 1,300 feet to an overlook above the river, and it is quiet before the tasting rooms open.

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    Woods along the Grand River at Hogback Ridge Park in Madison
    Photo: Nicholas A. Tonelli from Pennsylvania, USA · CC BY 2.0

  2. M Cellars

    First glass: estate Meritage and Pinot Noir on a patio looking into the vines.

    The M Cellars tasting room, terrace and vineyard from above

  3. Harpersfield Covered Bridge

    Ohio's third-longest covered bridge, 228 feet over the river since 1868. Park at the north end and walk across; ten minutes is enough.

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    The Harpersfield Covered Bridge over the Grand River
    Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from USA · Public domain

  4. Harpersfield Vineyard

    Lunch by the wood fire: small plates and a glass of the estate Chardonnay. Tables are first come, first served.

    The garden entrance at Harpersfield Vineyard

  5. Debonné Vineyards

    Spend the afternoon among 175 acres of vines changing color, with food and Double Wing beer on the same farm.

    Debonné Vineyards

  6. Benny Vino Winery

    Last glass on the wooded patio above the Grand River as the light goes.

    Benny Vino Winery

  7. Vincent William Wine

    Dinner on the lake. The dining room looks north over Lake Erie, and there are rooms upstairs if you would rather not drive.

    Lake Erie behind the Vincent William Wine estate
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How We Chose These Stops

It takes the best of our two fall routes and fits them into one day. Hogback Ridge and the Harpersfield bridge are the prettiest leaf stops on the river, and the four wineries are the ones where you will want to sit outside in October. The whole day is about 22 miles of back roads, so nobody is rushed.

Vincent William Wine

If you would rather not drive home, the inn has eight adults-only rooms upstairs, booked separately.

Visit Vincent WilliamGuest Favorites from the lake

More Day Trips

A bottle of wine being poured at Vincent William Wine

8 stops · Guest favorites

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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The M Cellars tasting room, terrace and vineyard from above

6 stops · Red wine

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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The garden entrance at Harpersfield Vineyard

6 stops · White wine

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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South River Vineyard

6 stops · Ambiance

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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Timber framing above the tasting bar at Cask 307

6 stops · Mixed group

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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Autumn treetops in orange and red across Madison, Ohio, seen from above at sunset

7 stops · Things to do

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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Red and orange maples above the rooftops with Lake Erie behind

7 stops · Autumn wineries

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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Markko Vineyard

5 stops · Far corners

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.

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Fossil Creek Winery

5 stops · Underrated

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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Sources and photo credits

Drive time from OpenStreetMap routing, checked 2026-09-22, without stops or traffic. Ratings are Google snapshots from 2026-09-09.

Photographs

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