Wine in Sandusky

On July 5th, Joe and I set out on a wine-drinking adventure in Sandusky.  We spend a lot of time there, but until then it had only been to visit Cedar Point.  Finally we would take advantage of the other fun offered by north central Ohio.  Together, we channeled our joint love for wine-drinking and I planned for a us a day of the area's finest wineries.  Our original plan was to visit Hermes Vineyards, Firelands Winery, and Crush Wine Bar.

First stop: Hermes Vineyards.
On the 4th we drove out to Port Clinton where we'd be staying for the next couple of days.  That made it easy for us to make an 11:00AM-ish arrival at Hermes.  The vineyard is a couple of miles north of the Turnpike on Route 4 behind a barn that is more than 200 years old.  We pulled into the gravel parking lot and headed around the silo and into the tasting room, which is the entirety of the barn aside from a restroom and the storage room behind the bar.  At the bar we were greeted by an awkward lady and an informative young man.

Hermes offers a tasting flight for $5 or individual tastings for $1 each--we chose the latter.  We started with their Viognier (a variety that I had never tried anywhere), then Chardonnay (my go-to), and then we tasted a red (Cabernet?) that I can't remember (note to self for our next wine-tasting extravaganza: write down what I taste and flavor notes).  Throughout the tasting, the awkward lady and informative young man entertained with friendly conversation and a bit of history of the vineyard and tidbits about why the owner grows the grapes that he grows.


It was high-time for some lunch nibblies; Hermes offers light snacks good for sharing over wine, so we ordered a stone-fired pizza and each a glass of Sangiovese.  We ate at one of the small two-seater tables in front of the bar.  The pizza wasn't bad, but I'd call it forgettable if it weren't for the fact that the herbs on the pizza were fresh from the garden immediately outside of the large glass wall that lines the back side of the barn.  It wouldn't surprise me if the tomatoes were also grown on-site.  It was about noon on a Thursday, so only a few other people were in and out of the tasting room during our stay.  Once we finished the Sangiovese and the pizza, we took a walk out back through the garden and into the vineyard.  Despite the heat, it was a beautiful, sunny day and the scenery was lovely.  We frolicked, dodged a bee, and talked about stealing a raspberry and a grape to eat off of the vine.

Back into the tasting room we went to pay.  We also bought a souvenir glass and a bottle of Viognier. If we hadn't been stocked up on reds at home, we probably would have bought the Sangiovese instead, but the Viognier was very good and I look forward to drinking it again.

Next stop: Firelands Winery Mon Ami.
I was feeling a little tipsy after Hermes, so instead of diving straight into more fermented grape goodness, we made a pit stop at Kalahari for an appetizer and then drove back to the condo where we were staying in Port Clinton to kick back a little.  We got really comfortable and so we didn't make it to Firelands until about 5:15--fifteen minutes after they closed for the day.  This was the second time we tried to visit Firelands to find them closed, so I was kinda disappointed.  We didn't let it ruin our day, though.  I googled other wineries nearby and found Sand Hill on Hayes Avenue.  We were on our way, until we realized that Hayes Road is Route 4 and "Sand Hill" is an alias of "Hermes."  At that point, I was a little bummed.  I knew that Mon Ami was an option, but we had already stopped in there once before just to purchase bottles.  Since we had never done a tasting there, though, Joe encouraged me that it would be a good idea to go there, so we did.


The entire complex is a stone castle-resembling building near Catawba Island in Port Clinton.  Mon Ami's tasting room shares space with their retail store, which is right next to the restaurant.  The bar in the tasting room seemed well-staffed and service from our friendly hostess was exceptional.  Samples are $1, excluding ice wine and some imports.  I prefer dry but was feeling adventurous, so we went with the Gewuerztraminer to start and then Pinot Grigio.  It was then onto the reds with Lonz Blackberry.  Our hostess explained that she doesn't prefer the Lonz Blackberry because it is very sweet, but we were game to give it a go.  She was right about the sweetness so after a sip, she poured in a little of their Spumante which instantly made the Blackberry very refreshing, though not something I'd want beyond a few ounces.  Our last red was Shiraz, which I really, really liked.  Throughout the entire tasting, we had a variety of complimentary crackers and specialty cheeses that the retail store also sells.  We had a really nice bleu cheese and a few others, but my favorite was the drunken goat.  Our hostess and the tasting menu were very helpful with suggestions for pairing their wines and cheeses.


When it was time to go, we grabbed another souvenir glass and decided on a bottle of Gewuerztraminer, again paying mind to trying to even out our stock at home.

Not-so-final stop: Crush Wine Bar.
Crush Wine Bar is a relatively new restaurant in charming downtown Sandusky.  Although we know our way to downtown, I wanted us to follow the GPS.  As it turns out, the same address of Crush exists in a creepy, Deliverance-esque trailer park and shanty community called Crystal Rock.  I thought we were stuck in some creepy zombie town that only had a way in but not out.  No worries, we escaped.  But the image of the creepy lady who stared at us as to ask, "Ya'll ain't from these parts, is you?" is burned into my memory.

We ditched the GPS and drove the way we knew into downtown, found Crush, and were seated immediately at what I'm pretty sure was the last open table in the packed restaurant.  Crush Wine Bar had a really nice list of wines with a lot of variety, but it was nothing in comparison to some other super awesome places we've been that offer books of their wines.  Layer Cake Shiraz (mmm, cake) was our first pick, but we had to wait a while on our server.  As an appetizer we had some bread with oil and honey-truffle-balsamic and asiago crispy duck wings.  After ordering the appies, we didn't see much of our server.  Brought by a different server, the bread was good but pretty standard.  Its oil for dipping came in a deep bowl, which was not the best for dipping because it was difficult to catch any of the herbs resting at the bottom.  Those crispy duck wings, however, were OFF THE MOTHER F-ING CHAIN!

Before dinner came, we ordered a second glass of wine: "The Crusher" Petite Syrah.  We chose it because we wanted a red and we really liked the name.  Again, we waited a bit excessively to see our server, but she finally showed up with our wine.  I was a little disappointed that she didn't have much to say about the wines we had chosen.  Although Crush Wine Bar isn't a winery, "Wine Bar" is in the name.  It has been our experience at most upscale restaurants that upon ordering wine, we're often given a solid description of what we should smell and taste.  Not to say that ever makes us change our minds or enjoy our wine any more, but it makes dinner more of an experience.  Our server poured our wine and then brought out dinner shortly thereafter.  Joe had steak frites, which was a 12 ounce sirloin and a red wine sauce with fried shoestring potatoes, and I had ragu bolognese.  As delicious and filling as dinner was, Joe strong-armed me into helping him to take care of some creme brulee.

I can see us going to Crush again.  I think the waiting that we did was just due to the fact that it was really busy when we were there, so maybe we'll try to make our next stop earlier or later.

And spontaneously on the next day: Heineman's Winery.

On Friday we took the Jet Express to Put-in-Bay and walked all sweaty-like to Heineman's Winery.  Heineman's is about a 10-minute walk from the world's longest bar and fits well with the atmosphere of the island.  Heineman's ads boast that they offer tastings and a tour of their vineyard.  We entered the "tasting room" (quotes used to emphasize that the term is used very loosely at Heineman's), which was a low-ceiling, open-air room packed with tourists.  Surprisingly, there were lots of families with very small children.  To me, PIB is more of a party island than a destination for family outings, but there are apparently some brave parents.  Anywho, there were three or four hosts behind the bar, but only one rather long line leading up to it.  Guests stepped up to the bar one-by-one, paid $1, got a cup of wine (yes, a cup; small, clear, plastic). and then stepped out of the way for the next in line.  I thought that maybe this huge group of people waiting had just finished a vineyard tour, so we waited a few minutes for things to clear out.

When we were ready, we stepped up to the bar where no one else was waiting.  We each ordered a glass of Gewuerztraminer and then found a seat at one of their fast food restaurant-style tables.  Joe and I looked at each other as to say, "this is doo-doo" and we took our first sip.  The wine was very cold and the thickness and flavor made for more of a fruit juice than wine.  When it's hot and humid, I want crisp and dry, or at least more dry than this.  I know that Gewuerztraminer is not the driest of whites by any means, but it was so sweet at Heineman's that I wonder if the host poured from the wrong bottle.  Joe asked what I thought about just dumping the wine and heading to the monument.  I was down.

No wine bought at Heineman's.  I didn't even care to see if they were selling souvenir glasses.  At least we can say that we've been there!

And that was our mini wine tour.  It was a blasty and it reaffirmed that I like wine way more than beer. Wine, please forgive me.  I've missed you!