7 Ohio Wineries That Are Off the Beaten Path

Many of Ohio’s wineries are true hidden gems, tucked away on winding back roads, amongst quiet farmlands, or inside historic structures repurposed as places where visitors can sample award-winning wines as high-quality and flavorful as those in easier-to-find locations. For these seven off-the-beaten-path gems, one for each of Ohio’s wine regions, a journey to find them may well be part of the fun.

Black Sheep of Wine • Appalachian Region

You’ll traverse winding country roads and plentiful hills before reaching Black Sheep Vineyard in rural Jefferson County outside of Adena. Its name is a playful riff combining the names of owners John and Becky Black with the property’s former history as a sheep farm. 

Today, the sheep are gone, but the magnificent 1928 barn where they once resided still remains, its rustic tasting room featuring the original peg and beam construction complete with overhead lofts. Sit outdoors on the sizable deck to enjoy incomparable views, not just of the winery’s vineyards but also of the wooded hills lining the nearby Ohio River and historic brick farmhouses and barns alongside rolling pastures and meadows. 

The 12 wines produced here include both reds and whites and range from dry to sweet with playful names like Hair of the Dog, as well as a blackberry fruit wine. By far the biggest seller, however, is a wine called Bonnie, a sweet Catawba that makes up 60 percent of the winery’s sales, according to John Black. “Bonnie pays the bills and feeds the dogs,” he laughs. He explains the wine is named for his mother, and although it is indeed very sweet, “it’s not half as sweet as my mom.”

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Grain to Grapes • Canal Country Region

Walking into the Baltic Mill Winery, you’ll instantly feel transported in time as you enter the cozy tasting room with its massive overhead beams and supporting pillars, as well as chutes and machinery that date back to the time when the three-story brick structure operated as a flour mill in the historic town of Baltic on the edge of Ohio’s largest Amish community. The ambiance is enhanced by exposed brick walls, a fireplace, and leather sofas and armchairs. 

For a true trip into the past, don’t miss climbing the stairs to the second and third floors where much of the mill’s original machinery remains in pristine condition. Owners Dan and Judy Garver, who converted the structure into a winery in 2013, get many visitors who remember the building in a previous incarnation as a bulk food and candy store. Judy even tells of an older woman who recalled visiting as a little girl and taking off her shoes so she could “skate” on the flour strewn on the mill’s floor. Today, there’s a cowbell in the tasting room inviting guests to “Ring If You Love Us.” Spend just half an hour in this delightful place and you’ll surely be ringing that bell yourself.

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Family Ties • Central Ohio Region

There may be no other family winery in Ohio that more resembles an actual family home than Clearcreek Country Vineyards & Winery outside of Amanda. From the road, the main structure resembles a single-story frame home with a spacious wrap-around porch where guests can sit in rocking chairs and gliders to enjoy views of the surrounding farmland. Step inside to find the main tasting room to enjoy the hospitality of owner/operators Randy Evans and his wife Christine. An adjoining room with a large-screen television and leather couch looks exactly like a family living room. Another smaller nook is known as The History Room, with photos of the farm and their extended family. 

Clearcreek was started by Randy’s uncle, Gary Evans, who planted the vineyards and got the winery started after his retirement in 2009. After Gary passed away in 2010, his wife Shirley and nephew Randy stepped in to make sure his dream came true. Randy started from scratch to learn winemaking using his uncle’s detailed notes. Today, the wines he makes include best-selling Indian Summer, a sweet Catawba, and Coyote Red, a dry red, as well as a dry blackberry wine called Black Crow. Look for Hound Dog, a sweet wine using Steuben grapes, to join the line-up in 2026.

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Backyard Bash • Vines and Wines Region

On weekend evenings at Hartford Hill Winery in Fowler in rural Trumbull County, expect to find a dance floor filled with dancers swinging, cha-cha-chaing, and even dipping to the tunes performed by a lively band of musicians playing anything from Big Band numbers to Mustang Sally. The rafters those musicians are rocking are fairly high off the spirited dance floor since the winery is housed in a huge barn with a red roof and three high-up cupolas. 

The structure is two different repurposed barns that have been reconstructed and joined together on site with additions like tall windows and a large stone fireplace. Outside, guests can enjoy their wine and live music during the summer months. Owners Randy and Carolyn Wyand even allow visitors to do catch-and-release fishing on the adjacent pond. 

Wines at Hartford Hill frequently have floral notes in the menu description, with the name of the biggest seller, Rockin’ Randal, a sweet red blend, picking up on the rocking taking place on the dance floor. In fact, the names of most of the wines at Hartford Hill have stories behind them. If you want to know why your wine is named Quirky, just ask!

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Country Roads • Vino Region

Farmlands as far as the eye can see surround Sycamore Lake Wine Company, situated on a county road four miles outside Columbus Grove. The winery’s owners, Jeff and Janice Hanneman, have embraced the wide-open spaces around them by creating an enchanting outdoor setting on their property that includes a 17-acre lake and a covered bridge made with timbers salvaged from a barn blown down in a storm. Inside, the spacious tasting room with a large U-shaped bar has room for 100 guests, proof that plentiful visitors are more than willing to make their way down those country roads to enjoy the winery’s 20 varieties of wine. 

Windows lining the tasting room on three sides let the outdoors in and are copied from wineries the Hannemans visited in the Finger Lakes region. An outdoor patio allows for al fresco dining during the summer months. The wines the Hannemans serve include Chocolate Covered Bridge, a sweet chocolate red wine that tastes like a Cherry Tootsie Roll Pop, as well as other wines named for their grandchildren Lilly, Dirk, and Vera. In honor of this year’s America 250 celebrations, they created Declaration of Independence, mixing a sweet red wine with blueberries and a white wine. So yes — red, white, and blue, all in one bottle. 

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Sip & Soar • Lake Erie Shores & Islands Region

You might just spot an actual Monarch butterfly should you visit Monarch Winery in late August. That’s when the vibrantly colored insects begin their annual migration southward from their summertime homes in Canada, using the islands of Lake Erie as stepping stones along the way. 

Located near Kelleys Island State Park on the island’s northern edge, Monarch Winery also makes a nod to the history of winemaking on Kelleys Island. Their name is the same as a 19th-century winery that was once one of 26 wineries and 750 acres of vineyards that covered Kelleys Island in the 1800s. 

Today’s Monarch Winery is operated by Rodney and Abbey Rosado, who specialize in producing slushies and sweet fruit wines like Swallowtail Sweet Apple Wine and Painted Lady Peach Wine, as well as other varieties using pears and  blueberries. The pet-friendly winery added a dog park last year and features a large retail space selling souvenirs and handmade items produced by artisans on Kelleys Island, not to mention playful pet products like specialty toys, treats,
and bandanas. 

Making wine is part of Abbey’s heritage. She’s the daughter of Kirt and Robby Zettler, who established the nearby Kelleys Island Wine Company. Abbey manages both wineries while husband Rodney works as a wine maker, thus making a family affair of the two wineries that are helping to revive the once-flourishing wine industry on Kelleys Island. 

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Back to School • Ohio River Valley Region

From the road, the Olde Schoolhouse Vineyard and Winery in the countryside north of Eaton, looks exactly like its name suggests — an old brick one-room schoolhouse from the 1890s. Step inside, however, and that’s where the resemblance to a school ends. Instead, a space resembling an elegant Tuscan interior can be found with graceful chandeliers and wall sconces — only a chalkboard advertising coming events hints of the building’s previous function.

Winemaker Mark Zdobinski started making wine as a hobby in 1979, and in the decades since then he’s learned that winemaking is both a science and an art, involving mastery of both the chemistry behind the grapes’ fermentation as well as the artful adjusting and shaping of its flavors. More than 30 wines of all varieties are produced here — many of which can be sampled in the tasting room. Mark is particularly proud of the number of dry reds he makes as well as the fact that new visitors frequently proclaim after sampling a flight, “I like them all!” 

The bestseller here is Bad Ass Berry, one of a series of wines inspired by a miniature donkey named Peanut, who, according to the label, likes to roam through berry patches and sample his favorite indulgences. As the label advises you, “Be sure to get yours before he does!”

Sip Magazine is for Ohio wine lovers and is produced by Great Lakes Studios in partnership with the Ohio Grape Industries Committee. View a digital version of Sip Magazine 2026 here.