How Ohio’s Vineyard Expansion Assistance Program is Growing the Industry

For years, Shamrock Vineyard’s signature wine was its red hybrid Chancellor, created with grapes that founder Thomas Quilter had lovingly planted and tended with meticulous care. 

Quilter, who started planting in 1971 and opened the winery in 1984 in Waldo, was well-known for the hybrid red. The winery made the popular hybrid until a plant disease wiped out the vines that produced the Chancellor grapes Quilter used to make it. 

When Quilter passed away in 2006, his grandson, Van Creasap, who had been working at the winery with his grandparents since college, took over Shamrock Vineyard with his wife Emily. 

Thanks to a grant from the state of Ohio’s Vineyard Expansion Assistance Program (VEAP) two years ago, the Creasaps planted 1,200 additional grape vines, including the Chancellor grapes that will allow them to bring back Quilter’s signature red. The other varieties they planted will produce types of wine new to Shamrock Vineyard like the Aravelle grape, a Cayuga White/Riesling hybrid.

“He would sign every bottle that left the winery,” Van says of his grandfather’s signature wine. “I can’t wait to bring that back.”

Funded by the Ohio Grape Industries Committee (OGIC), the VEAP grants encourage new and existing Ohio vineyards to invest in planting high-quality vines instead of buying grapes from other states. 

It takes three to five years for vines to start producing grapes that are ready to harvest for wine. Without the VEAP grant, Shamrock would not have been able to afford to increase its vineyard acreage and try new types of grapes. Now, the Creasaps envision serving additional varieties of wine.

Paul O’Neill tends the grapes at Weymouth Farms in Hinckley. (photo courtesy of Weymouth Farms)

Similarly, Weymouth Farms in Hinckley has expanded its vineyard and planted varieties of grapes that are disease-resistant and better able to withstand extreme winters, say owners Paul and Brenda O’Neill, who have lost vines in past years to polar vortexes. Through the program, Weymouth Farms planted three acres of vines and extended their vineyard to 14 acres.

In addition to the grant funding, the VEAP program’s viticulture experts offer advice and support for selecting where to plant vines and how to care for the soil. 

“I’m a small grower,” Paul says. “Everything is hand-picked. If we didn’t get the grant, we probably wouldn’t have done new plantings.”

Troy and d’Linda Adams’ goal is to open their own winery. Currently, the couple grows grapes at d’Vine Delights Vineyard in Crooksville. (photo courtesy of d’Vine Delights Vineyard)

Troy and d’Linda Adams do not have a winery yet, so VEAP has enabled them to create their dream business on their property in Crooksville. Since 2014, they have grown grapes at d’Vine Delights Vineyard. They sell the grapes to wineries, but are hoping to grow enough to open a restaurant, run by d’Linda, who is an executive chef, and winery with wine made by the couple. 

Through VEAP grants awarded in the past two years, Troy and d’Linda planted nearly 2,000 vines of five different grape varieties and quadrupled the size of their vineyard, taking it from one acre to four acres. In 2024, they harvested 6,000 pounds of grapes, which would make an estimated 2,400 bottles of wine. They also kept some of the harvest to work on their own wines and bottled some dry reds that Troy made with Chambourcin grapes. “I would not be at the level I’m at if it weren’t for the VEAP grants,”  Troy says, “because I wouldn’t be able to afford it.”

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 2025 here.