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If Ohio doesn’t come to your mind when you think of wine destinations, it should. The Midwest, (Ohio in particular)is gaining in importance as a viticultural region. Valley Vineyards in Morrow, Ohio is leading the charge, with its finely crafted wines and all around reputation as a fun place to visit.
Location and Hours
Valley Vineyards is located right off of US Route 22 and Route 3 in Morrow, Ohio. The winery is close to South Lebanon and only 40 minutes or so from downtown Cincinnati.
Unlike a lot of area wineries, this one is open 7 days a week.
Hours:
- Monday and Tuesday from 11:00am to 6:00pm
- Wednesdays from 11:00am to 9:00pm
- Thursdays from 11:00am to 10:00pm
- Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00am to 11:00pm
- Sundays from 1:00pm to 8:00pm
Valley Vineyards is one of 13 wineries on the Ohio River Valley Wine Trail, which celebrates Ohio’s first and most historic wine region.
The Winery at Valley Vineyards
Valley Vineyards was founded more than 50 years ago when Ken Schuter planted his first vines on the family’s farm near the Little Miami River Valley. Mr. Schuter was longing for a way to leave his desk job behind and make a living farming when he met a viticulturist from Ohio State University. The viticulturist encouraged him to plant a vineyard because the climate, growing season and soil in the area was prime real estate for growing grapes.
Mr. Schuter jumped in head first and never looked back and today his vineyard is the 2nd largest estate winery in Ohio. They produce over 35 different varietals of grapes and bottle 2 dozen types of wine.
Wine publication, Wine Enthusiast, called Valley Vineyards “one of the 5 wineries to know,” in its article about Ohio as an important midwest wine destination.
The senior Mr. Schuter passed away in 2016 but the winery is still a family affair. His son and daughter-in-law and other family members now run the winery and vineyard.
The Wine List
Valley Vineyard’s Wine list is a bit unique compared to other Ohio wines. They do offer the traditional, dry, semi-dry and sweet wines but they also make mead and wine cocktails.
Their dry wines are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Oaked and Unoaked Chardonnay and a red blend called Hillside Red.
For semi-dry wines, they make a Vidal Blanc, a white blend called White Reflections, a blush called Pink Reflections and a red called Red reflections.
Their sweet offerings are the usual Ohio wines like Niagara, Catawba and Concord, as well as Sangria, Raspberry and Blackberry. Not so typical is their sparkling wine, a semi-sweet demi-sec champagne.
They have two types of mead made from locally sourced clover honey.
The wine cocktails they offer are two types of wines mixed together. Purple Rain is blackberry wine mixed with champagne; Raspberry Beret is raspberry wine and champagne, Bee Sting is honey mead and champagne and Candy Apple is sangria mixed with apple cider.
Wine Tastings
When I visited, Valley Vineyards was offering tasting flights, not individual tastings. I’m assuming this may change once the pandemic is over and they will also offer traditional tastings. They have 6 different wine flights: Premium, Dry, Medium (sweetness) Sparkling, Fruit Flight and the Sweet Flight. A flight consists of 3, 3 ounce pours and they vary in price form $9-$15. You can also mix and match wines from differnt flights. I made my own flight with Pink Reflections from the Medium Flight, Concord from the Sweet Flight and Champagne from the Sparkling Flight.
The Champagne was my favorite. It was slightly sweet and would be a great sparkling wine to use for Mimosas. My only complaint was that it had very few bubbles, which could have been because the bottle had been opened for awhile.
The Brewery
Not wanting to exclude beer lovers, Valley Vineyards added a microbrewery in 2011. They usually have around 10 beers on tap. You will find typical beers on their menu like lagers, pilsners and IPAs but they also serve specialty beers like raspberry chocolate stout and pineapple saison. The list changes frequently so Valley offers a tasting flight of 4 beers so you can find your favorites.
The Beer Tasting flights are any 4 beers for $10 for four ounce pours.
Food at Valley Vineyards
Valley Vineyards has a full service restaurant that serves snacks, sandwiches, salads and pizzas. Their snack offerings include shareables like the Caprese Platter and Creme Brie-le- warm brie drizzeld with a caramel sauce and served with crackers and baguette slices.
They serve traditional pizzas as well as specialty pizzas like barbecue chicken and white pizzas.
To see the complete food menu, click here.
Weekend Cookouts
Every Friday and Saturday, Valley Vineyards hosts cookouts. Guests choose between steak or seafood options and grill their entrees themselves. The winery makes the sides and desserts, which are all you can eat. They also have indoor grills so there is no need to worry about inclement weather.
These events are a guest favorite so reservations are recommended.
Events at Valley Vineyards
Music
Valley Vineyards hosts live music most weekends on Fridays and Saturdays and frequently on Sundays.
On Thursdays from 6:00pm to 10:00pm, they host an event called, “Wine, Beer and Music.” With live music and, you guessed it, wine and beer.
Trivia
On Wednesdays, the winery hosts a family-friendly event called “Name That Tune Trivia.” Trivia starts at 6:00pm and there will be sparkling grape juice for the kids and the regular winery food menu is available.
Valley Vineyards Wine and Beer Festival
On the first weekend in June, Valley Vineyards is hosting a Wine and Beer Festival to celebrate their award-winning hand crafted wine and beer. There will be entertainment and live music all weekend, as well as cellar tours and food vendors from all over Warren County.
Stay tuned for more events and check their website often.