Grand River Cellars

Several wineries in the Grand River Valley region of Ohio are seeking to promote the red grapes that grow  best in this region of  Northeast, Ohio. The participating wineries are members of the Winegrowers of the Grand River Valley. The members of the Winegrowers of the Grand River Valley include: Debonné Vineyards, Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Laurello Vineyards, Grand River Cellars and St. Joseph Vineyards.

The wineries participate in three main events including: Annual Ice Wine Festival, Turkey Trot and a CASK tasting.

The CASK wine project, designed by the participating wineries, focuses on the best red grape varieties produced in the Grand River Valley AVA.

St. Joseph Vineyard

According to the Wine Trail Traveler article based on a recent visit to St. Joseph Vineyard, “Cask wine is a marketing opportunity for wineries in Grand River Valley that features red grape varieties of the Grand River Valley. Each winery makes wines in a special cask ranging in size from 135 gallons to 520 gallons. The winemaker at each winery decides on the blend of Grand River Valley AVA grapes to go into the cask. This is a multi-vintage wine. In the name CASK 1015 the 10 represents the year, 2010, for the first harvest vintage of grapes to make CASK wines and 15 represents the most recent wine vintage, 2015. CASK 1015 was the fourth vintage bottled. At St. Joseph, the wine was aged in oak barrels made with American and French staves. The St Joseph CASK 1015 was made with Shiraz, Petite Sirah and Pinot Noir. The CASK wine is similar to the solera-style wines where the cask is never quite emptied from year to year. The Saint Joseph CASK 1015 offered an aroma of dark fruit notes. The taste included blackberries, pepper and clove notes. The wine was full-bodied with medium tannins. The finish was fruity.”

Grand River Cellars CASK 1015, recently released, was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The wine was aged in a 540 gallon Hungarian oak cask,. The price is $29.95.

At Debonné Vineyards, visitors will find Cask is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine aged in French oak. Information on the Debonné website includes, “Each year 1/3 of wine will be removed from the barrel, bottled and replaced with a new vintage making it a continual red wine blend.”

Visitors to the Laurello Vineyards in Geneva, Ohio will find CASK 2014 available. This red blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in French Oak. This is a limited edition and available at $29.99.

Ferrante Winery’s CASK wine is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon with a price of $29.99.