User:Wineohio/South River Vineyard

South River Vineyard
South River Vineyard, located in Harpersfield, Ohio is a 40-acre vineyard estate that straddles South River Road. Founded by Gene and Heather Sigel in 2002, the farm is planted to almost 40 acres of premium vineyards that include Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Semillon. Interestingly, South River Vineyard is the only winery in the Grand River Valley to produce Semillon. A vinifera variety, it is the most widely planted grape in Europe, and the leading grape in Graves and the dessert wine, Sauternes. The Semillion will most likely be used in an existing blend.

The winery is housed in a century old church that was originally located in Shalersville, Ohio in Portage County. The chapel was dismantled in 2000 and shipped to Harpersfield. While many changes took place to create the winery, the original flooring, pews, interior door, woodwork around the windows, and some of the stained glass windows remain, keeping the history of the old chapel alive.

Several additions have been added to the winery, including a pavillion with an outdoor fireplace, veranda that overlooks the vineyards, and most recently, a wine cellar with additional seating on top. The wine cellar construction was begun in May 2009 and finally completed in mid October. The cellar is made from precast highway culverts which provide the right temperature and humidity for wine aging. There are two chambers in the cave; one for aging the wine, and the other for storing cases of wine. On top is a patio similar to the veranda, halfway covered. Inside the winery, customers are welcome to sit on the old church pews with their wine.

The church was originally not only restored to be a tasting room, but as a wedding chapel too. Several weddings have taken place on the premises but the owners have since moved on from weddings to concentrate on their wines.

Vineyards
The South River Vineyard has been producing grapes for over 100 years and lies at the heart of a large fruit farming district stretching along the shore of Lake Erie. Traditionally, farmers raised apples, plums, pears, and concord grapes. Concord grapes came to dominate fruit farming after WWII along South River Road, as most farmers planted Concords under contract to Welch's and Coca Cola.

This concord grape market came on hard times in the 1970's, and for the last 30 years many of the grape farms along the road have slowly faded into disrepair and decline.

At South River, old world European varieties are planted. These vines are more difficult to grow, and much more risky, because the tender vines can be damaged by cold winters. The South River Vineyard site was specifically chosen because it has proven to be one of the warmest farms in the neighborhood. The "old-timers" had always said that the warmest farms are high on the ridges, where you can see the lake off on the horizon. The warm breezes flow in off the lake and prevent frost in the Spring, while keeping the vineyards warmer in the winter as well. South River Vineyard has one of the best views of Lake Erie on the whole road.

In the Spring of 1995, an experimental 2-acre field was leased along the road next to the tiny farm house and planted to Riesling. In October 1998, that field along with 26 acres adjacent was sold to South River Vineyard. This new farm was planted almost completely with concord grapevines.

Two weeks after purchasing the farm, the 10,000 concord had been chainsawed, ripped from the trellis and burned in piles. Miles of rusty wire were rolled up, and the old posts were pulled and piled.

Over the next two years, the old barn was burned down to make way for the winery. Bulldozers were brought in to shape and level the farm and install nearly 20 miles of underground drainage pipes.

In April of 2000, 10,500 vines were planted behind the building in a 2-day period. In April 2002, another 2,500 vines were planted. In April 2003, 5,000 more vines were planted.

Wines
South River Vineyard produces twelve different wines. They offer a little bit of everything from dry whites to dry reds, semi-sweet to sweet, and even ice wine. They have several different blends of which help to add complexity to the wine. They also have wines from the classic grape varieties- Chardonnay, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. Trinity, a soft red blend of Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and Chambourcin, is the most popular red wine. On the white side, Riesling Reserve, with its fuity flavors and silky texture, is the most popular.

They offer two ice wines. Concord Ice that tastes like biting into a sweet grape. Blush Ice other displays intense cherry and apricot flavors. Ice wines are made from frozen grapes. The grapes are left on the vine after harvest, picked under freezing temperatures, and pressed frozen. The water in the grapes freezes but the sugar does not, creating the high sugar content. Dry Whites Semi-Sweet to Sweet Reds Ice wine

Church history
This century-old Chapel was first built in 1892, fifty miles away from its current location, in Shalersville, Ohio by carpenter John Libis.On the afternoon of December 5th, 1892, Libis slipped from the roof trusses while framing the building and plunged nearly 20 feet to the unfinished floor joists below. Though severely injured, he lived to complete the building in the Spring of 1894, a year behind schedule, at a cost of $2,200.

For 76 years, this structure served as a Methodist Episcopal (ME) church, until the building was abandoned by the congregation around 1970. It sat vacant for 30 years until it was dismantled to become a winery in 2002.