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Brown County vineyards are full of sweet juice and history Few Ohioans may recall the birth of the American wine boom began in the Ohio River Valley in the 1820s financed by a man by the name of Nicholas Longworth. Longworth was working to develop a temperate alternative to whiskey and felt that the unglaciated limestone soils east of Cincinnati were ideally suited for the project.
He met with many difficulties. Since explorers first arrived from Europe, they had been trying to produce wine in the Americas. There were numerous wild species of grapes available, but they all had a musky flavor that was only enhanced by fermentation. When settlers tried to grow the European Vitis vinifera it always succumbed to diseases.
Longworth experimented with several different grapes and finally settled on Catawba. The grape grew well in Ohio, but was not well liked by the wine drinkers he tried to appeal to. The German immigrants that were quickly filling Cincinnati found the wine to be well suited for everyday use and Longsworth began to turn a profit. It was not until the 1850s that Longworth was able to achieve international recognition. He invested large sums of money into making a sparkling Catawba after he accidentally double-fermented a batch of wine and found the sparkling version had less of a musky taste. By 1859 there were over 2,000 acres of grapes along the Ohio River.
With the onset of the Civil War, several fungal blights and the prohibition movement that followed devastated the industry.
Fewer than 150 years later wine lovers are again turning the Ohio River Valley into a profitable wine region. Brown County now boasts four wineries each with their own unique styles and goals. Kinkead Ridge (www.KinkeadRidge.com), owned and operated by Ron Barrett and Nancy Bentley, is working to “renaissance the Ohio Valley region” by mentoring new growers and creating world class wines that will attract attention to the region.
Meranda-Nixon Winery (www.meranda-nixonwinery.com, led by Seth and Tina Meranda, is working on “revitalizing the Ohio River Valley Region one vine at a time.”
Renascent Vineyards (www.renascentvineyards.com), owned and operated by Tom and Kyoko Crush, is utilizing a long forgotten winery built in the 1830s to produce grape and fruit wines.
La Vigna River Heights Farm (www.lavignawines.com), under the care of Brad Hively, is working to differentiate itself from the competition by planting strictly European vinifera varietals and utilizing the Carbonneau Lyre trellis system common to the Bordeaux region of France. Each winery offers a unique wine and a unique experience while putting the Ohio River Valley back on the map.
Ron Barrett has been a part of the wine industry since the late 1970s. He worked in a winery in Oregon for a number of years before starting his own 40 acre vineyard. In the late 1990s Barrett and his business partner Nancy Bentley decided it was time to start anew. After much research Barrett settled on the hills just north of Ripley, Ohio.
“We really like the uniqueness of the site,” Barrett said. “It’s on the outer rim of the bluegrass region which used to be an inland sea. It has hundreds of feet of broken limestone that haven’t been made into a milkshake by years of tilling. We really believe some of the best grape soils in the world are here.”
Bentley compares the soils to those of the St. Emilion region of France. Not only are the soils well suited, the area is in a microclimate protected from adverse weather by the foothills of the Appalachian mountains to the east. The soil drains well into Eagle Creek as it makes its way into the Ohio River and on the ridge there is a lower instance of fog. The long growing season can sometimes stretch into late October and allows the grapes to fully ripen on the vines before they are harvested and carried down to the winery built in 2002 in Ripley, a mere five minutes away.
The vineyard is five acres and holds four red grape varietals; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and three white varietals; Riesling, Viognier, and Roussanne. Bentley said Kinkead Ridge is one of a very few vineyards in the United States to grow Roussanne.
After planting in 1999, Kinkead Ridge wasted no time in gaining International prestige. British wine writer Tom Stevenson has listed two of the Ripley wines in his annual “Top 100 Most Exciting Wines in the World” report: the 2003 Viognier/ Roussanne blend and the 2004 Cabernet Franc, which also won a Double Gold medal in the American Wine Society’s International competition. Every Kinkead Ridge wine entered into competition has won a medal. The 2005 Petit Verdot was named 2007 Wine of the Year by Ann Boucher, Columbus wine expert.
Bentley said the wines will only get better as they continue production. “The older the vines, the better the grapes,” Bentley said.
While Kinkead Ridge remains an ultra-premium estate-bottled boutique winery, they only produce between 1,500 and 1,600 cases per year. They do enjoy entertaining wine enthusiasts throughout the year.
Their biggest event is the release of their red wines over Labor Day weekend. On Saturday and Monday they open up their winery for tastings and their vineyard for tours.
“We encourage people to bring a little picnic lunch,” Bentley said. “They can sit down in the pasture and enjoy the view and a bottle of wine.”
Bentley said she will be in the winery and Barrett will be in the vineyard to answer any questions. They allow their guests to tour the sites as they please, appointments are not necessary.
The winery is then closed to public during harvest and will open again the Saturday after Thanksgiving for their “Annual Barrel Tasting” held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the winery. Bentley said this year guests will sample the 2007 and possible the 2008 vintage right out of the barrel.
“It’s a lot of fun for people,” Bentley said. “The winemaker is there to answer any questions.”
Memorial Day weekend Kinkead Ridge celebrates the release of their newest vintage of white wines with a tasting at the winery. They are also open for tastings throughout the year by appointment for groups. Bentley distributes all the wine herself and travels to over 100 wine stores, groceries and restaurants as far away as Cleveland and as close to home as the Georgetown IGA, Party Place in Georgetown, and the Jubilee in Ripley.
Bentley said as they work to renaissance they are mentoring their fellow wineries throughout the area. One such winery that has benefitted from Barrett’s 30 years of experience is Meranda-Nixon Winery, just a short trip up U.S. 68 from Kinkead Ridge.
Seth Meranda was a fourth generation tobacco grower when his wife Tina introduced him to wine. As the Ohio tobacco industry began to dwindle, Seth decided to try something new.
“I wanted to do something else to keep (our farm) sustainable,” Meranda said. “Wine sells on a world market.”
Meranda’s farm is on land that would be considered marginal for normal crop production, but it is much better for grapes. The glaciated soil provides the minerals necessary for quality wine. Since the area is raised up on a small plateau near the Ohio River Valley the vineyard has more frost free days than the surrounding area.
“You can’t replicate the Ohio River Valley anywhere in the world,” Meranda said.
The vineyard was first planted in 2003 and is now up to seven and a half acres. The winery was completed in 2006 in time for harvest the Meranda family proudly released their first vintage in April of 2007.
While Meranda-Nixon grows such staples Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay, they also grow Norton Praminecte and the long absent Catawba. In the 150 or so years separating Longworth from Meranda viticulturists have found ways to remove the muskiness that was once associated with Catawba wines. Meranda said his Catawba wine is very comparable to a Zinfandel of California.
“I tell people that if you like California Zinfandel you’ll like our Catawba,” Meranda said. “A lot of our European clients really like Catawba because it’s not something they have in Europe.”
Meranda also said his winery only uses American Oak as a result of the devaluation of the dollar and to maintain the heritage of the Ohio River Valley.
“We make American wine so we use American Oak,” Meranda said. “The American Oak adds a little bit of vanilla flavor to our wines.”
Meranda said his goal is to make a different wine for each of his customers’ individual palates.
“I tell them, ‘Drink what you like,’” Meranda said. “From sweet to dry and from red to white we’ve got them all covered.”
The Meranda-Nixon winery has also won acclaim for their work. All of the winery’s vintages have been certified and have won awards. Most recently Meranda-Nixon was designated an Ohio Quality Wine producer by Governor Ted Strickland.
“Today’s Ohio wines are better than ever,” Strickland said. “Ohio vineyards and winemakers produce a wide array of fine wines to please every consumer’s palate. These wines include award-winning vinifera and hybrid table wines, exciting sparkling wines and rich ice wines.”
Meranda-Nixon was one of only 13 of the 116 Ohio wineries to receive the distinction. “We want to show people that you don’t need to go to Napa Valley for high quality wine,” Meranda said.
Wine enthusiasts have plenty of opportunity to visit the Meranda-Nixon winery. They are open from February 1 to December 31 Thursday through Saturday each week. They have an excellent tasting room decorated in Tuscany style and every Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. they serve a fillet and salmon dinner with a bottle of wine. Each Memorial Day they have a vintage release tasting.
Their wines are available in several local grocery stores and their distribution stretches from Portsmouth to Cincinnati and to Dayton. “It’s nice because our wines are carried in local groceries,” Meranda said. “We encourage people to come out and taste them at the winery first, that way they can find what they like.”
Another local winery plans to begin selling strictly through a wine enthusiast club. La Vigna River Heights Farm, located high above the Ohio River, hopes to release its first vintage sometime in 2009. “As far as release date, the wine itself will be determining that,” wine grower Brad Hively said. “Our best estimate at this point is sometime in 2009.”
La Vigna began as a hobby project with the purchase of the property in 2001. Hively, who grew up on a farm, has a background in organic and biochemistry that he was looking to combine with his boyhood roots. The project developed into an additional career.
“We purchased the land in 2001 and the site was chosen for several reasons,” Hively said. “The proximity to the river provides protection with regards to temperature. We are always a few degrees warmer in the winter and a few degrees cooler in the summer than areas further from the river. We do not frost as frequently and the air drainage that is formed with our gentle downward slope to the river is optimal for growing vinifera (European varietals) grapes.”
Hively was able to find a unique soil to match the microclimate he was looking for. “We are on well-drained, glaciated soil, which means that ground rock flours are prevalent in the soil, supplying good mineral nutrition to the vines,” Hively said.
Hively also makes use of the Carbonneau Lyre trellis system, which Hively says is the Cadillac of trellis systems. The trellis has a distinct V shape that resembles the musical instrument. It spreads the vines out and allows more sunlight to trickle down onto the grapes.
Hively currently has 2 acres planted with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Manseng. He said he has room to expand to 20 acres. Hively said he picked his varietals carefully to ensure that he found European varietals that were well suited for the climate.
“They have thick skins and loose clusters, which are perfect for our challenging winters and humidity,” Hively said. “They have the potential to produce world- class wine.”
The winery was built on-site in 2004 and Hively said he will only produce estate bottled wine. The winery has the capacity to produce 1500 cases per year.
Hively said interested wine drinkers can join the wine club from the La Vigna website (www.lavignawines.com). Members will be able to purchase wine directly from the winery when it is released.
“We have not finalized our plans about opening the winery to the public for tastings and tours, but will be happy to let you know when we do,” Hively said.
The winery that is perhaps the most closely tied with the viticultural history of the Ohio River Valley is Renascent Vineyards owned by Tom and Kyoko Crush. Crush purchased the property in 2001 and was fascinated to learn that the dimly lit “dungeon” cellar he had purchased was an operational winery from the 1830s to the 1850s.
Crush said he was inspired by Kinkead Ridge and Stonebrook Vineyard in Kentucky and began planting grapes a couple of years ago. Crush then received his federal fermentation permit in January 2008 and his state license in May of 2008. He has also been working on the cellar. He poured concrete floors and put in a new ceiling using boards from a Civil War era tobacco.
Crush said he believes the winery, while not in continuous operation, it is now the oldest continually operating winery building in the United States. In addition to making wine from his 1.5 acres of wine grapes, which includes three reds, Cabernet Franc, Norton, Chambourcin, and two whites, Seyval Blanc and Cayuga, Crush said he also makes several other fruit wines. He has experimented with several locally grown fruits including a blackberry wine and a plum wine which he currently has for sale. Crush said that while others may sell fruit wines as table wines he markets his fruit wines as dessert wines because of their high sugar and alcohol content.
“We think they’re just better as dessert wines,” Crush said. “Fruit wine doesn’t require as much aging, but its much harder to make.”
This fall he will try to make wine from the Paw Paw fruits that grow wild on his property. Crush said the Paw Paws are a native fruit and therefore are not susceptible to disease. He said their taste is similar to a banana. The difficulty lies in finding enough fruits to make wine. The Paw Paw trees usually do not produce large numbers of fruit because of the way they are pollinated.
If he is successful Crush said the Paw Paw wine could be ready as soon as February. Crush said he has also been contemplating planting blackberries and currants to add to his fruit wine repertoire.
While Crush said his winery is not officially open, he will gladly give tours by appointment. His wines are also available by appointment (513) 313-2314. He currently has blackberry wine, plum wine, and both a red and a white table wine made from grapes he bought from California. He said he plans to be able to harvest his own grapes by the fall of 2009 and to have his own grape wine for sale by 2010.
The wineries of Brown County provide a unique glimpse into a revitalizing industry along the Ohio River Valley. It is not often that a person can glimpse greatness in its infancy, and the wineries provide just such an opportunity. On the Web... Kinkead Ridge
http://www.kinkeadridge.com
937-392-6077
Meranda-Nixon
www.meranda-
nixonwinery.com
937-392-4654
La Vigna River Heights Farm
www.lavignawines.com
Renascent Vineyard
www.renascentvineyards.com
513-313-2314 |
