The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Wineries gear up for the growing season
Their vineyards are 110 miles apart, on the western and eastern ends of northern Ohio wine country.
As April turns to May every year, Claudio Salvador and Wes Gerlosky think about the buds breaking on tendrils of their winegrape vines.
Salvador is the winemaker and co-owner of Firelands Winery in Sandusky.
Gerlosky is the winemaker and former owner of Harpersfield Vineyard and Winery in Harpersfield Township.
These longtime friends have abiding respect for each other’s wines and a shared understanding of the work that needs to be done now, at the start of the growing season.
“You are constantly busy, either outside with the vines or inside at the winery,” Salvador said.
Salvador also is focused on Osteria Gusto, the newly opened restaurant in Ohio’s largest winery.
“The kitchen is meant to be a showcase for our wines and to educate people on pairing wines with good food,” he said.
Outside, the work of tying up and pruning vines is finished or nearly so at most area vineyards. Vineyard managers and their crews are treating for weeds and fertilizing. End posts and wires also are being inspected.
Gerlosky said spring brings a confluence in the craft of winemaking at which he marvels.
“When the vines begin to wake up, the wines begin to wake up,” Gerlosky said “When the vines begin to pick up sap and send out chutes, it’s time for the wine made from last season’s grapes to be bottled.”
Winery owners and vineyard managers across northern Ohio are reporting that their vines appear to be in great shape after a relatively docile winter.
“Winter and frost are hurdles for growers, and we made it through winter. You’ve made it through the start of the journey. There is so much ahead of you,” said Gene Sigel, owner of South River Winery & Vineyard in Harpersfield Township. Sigel also manages the vineyards of Chalet Debonne, in Madison.
“To get this right, you must see to every little detail,” Sigel said.
Lee Kingshirn, owner and winemaker of Klingshirn Winery in Avon Lake, said the warm spells experienced in February and March have his vines breaking buds well ahead of their normal schedule.
“We’re two weeks ahead and it’s kind of annoying,” Klingshirn said, smiling “The growth is two weeks ahead of schedule, we are not.”
Bob Matus said he and his girlfriend, Kelly Foster, “take care of just about everything” at Matus Winery in Wakeman.
“We grow grapes and we make wine at a down-home family winery,” Matus said. “This is our living. We’re not fancy or foo-foo. We’re a rock and roll kind of winery. We like to create with the wines If you enjoy drinking wine in a relaxed environment, come as you are.”
Matus said his vines are “looking fantastic” and are fully recovered from the socalled “polar vortex” freezes of winters 2013 and 2014.
M Cellars owner and winemaker Matt Meineke was behind the wheel of his tractor on a recent morning, applying fertilizer to rows of wine grapes in his Harpersfield Township vineyard. He also manages another 58 acres of vineyards for other wine-grape growers in the area.
“You’re watching the weather this time of the year and that can make for some sleepless night,” Meineke said. “If the weather cooperates, we re in shape for another good year.”
Meineke manages 10 acres of wine-grape vineyards for Scott Runyan, the owner of Vineyard Woods in Harpersfield Township. Runyan purchased the vineyard and an adjoining 16 acres from Harpersfield Vineyard in October 2015. His goal is to build upscale lodging geared to wine tourists. Already, he has a multi-suite villa and one-bedroom cottage built and ready to accept reservations.
“The vineyard is an asset,” Runyan said. “Coming out of 15 years in the finance industry, I did not want to get into winemaking, per se. “But the property was perfect and Matt (Meineke) told me the vines were beautiful, already established and productive.”
Meineke said the size of the labor force used by some area wineries has felt a negative impact from political rhetoric about immigration. Millions of immigrants from Mexico and other Central American countries have jobs in the United States. Many of those immigrants gravitate to seasonal jobs at vineyards and nurseries.
“There are fewer people available for those jobs now. It’s a fact of life,” Meineke said.
Ferrante Winery marketing director Alyssa Sekerak said the to-do list at the long-standing business in Harpersfield Township includes work on the 50 acres of wine grapes, a renovation of the winery’s restaurant and the release of two new wine varieties.