In 2019 Clifford Annis, Jr. published the book Magic in a Bottle: The Untold Story of Arnie Esterer and Markko Vineyard. 

This non-fiction book is written in a conversational style that makes it a friendly, easy-to-read book. Magic in a Bottle centers around Arnie Esterer the renowned winemaker and vineyard owner of Markko Vineyard. The winery is located in northeast Ohio near Lake Erie. Esterer was one of the first successful wine growers to produce quality vinifera wines with his own vineyard grapes. 

Through a series of interviews with Esterer, the author was able to write about Esterer’s early childhood and his intense interest in growing vinifera grapes in Ohio. Esterer is concerned with producing quality vinifera wines in Ohio. 

While Magic in a Bottle covers a wide range of winery and vineyard topics seen through the eyes of Esterer, what I find interesting was the number of very knowledgeable people that Esterer met during his wine journey. A few were notables like Dr. Konstantin Frank but many of these fellow wine enthusiasts are not well known to the general public. These “unknown” people, not in the limelight, are people who have played an important part in the success of Esterer at Markko Vineyard and they rightfully deserve recognition in Magic in the Bottle.

If you have any interest in Ohio and enjoy wine, this is a must read book. On the other hand, if you live in an area that does not have a large vineyard areas, and want to start your own vineyard and winery, you might want to heed some of the advice that you will come across in Magic in the Bottle.

For a more detailed review, visit the Wine Trail Traveler book review section.

Magic in a Bottle: The Untold Story of Arnie Esterer and Markko Vineyard is available online.

Cheers,

Kathy