The 8 Best Wine Festivals In Ohio

Ohio wine festivals are places where you can sample various regional wines in one location. You can taste wine from skilled winemakers who produce award-winning and incredible wines, such as Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir.

Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the most popular wines, though the varied tasting notes make attending a wine festival a learning and intriguing experience.

You may also discover that technological advances cultivated some hybrids in the state, such as Catawba, Frontenac, Valvin Muscat, La Crescent, Delaware, and Marquette.

Wine Festivals in Ohio share not only wine, but you and your friends can listen to live music, eat yummy food and view arts and crafts.

The Top Wine Festivals in Ohio

1. Ice Wine Festival
2. Vintners in Northwest Ohio (V.I.N.O.) Wine Festival
3. Vintage Ohio South Wine Festival
4. Vintage Ohio Wine Festival
5. Columbiana Wine Festival
6. Wine & Walleye Festival
7. Columbus Summer Wine Festival
8. Toast of Ohio Wine Festival

 

1. Ice Wine Festival

• Venue: Debonne Vineyards
• Event Date: March, the whole month
• Address: 7840 Doty Road, Madison, OH 44057
• Tickets: $7.00

Meet the wine growers of Grand River Valley in the northeastern region of Ohio: Ferrante Winery, Debonne Vineyards, Grand River Sellers, South River Vineyards & Red Eagle Distillery, and Laurello Vineyards & Cast 307. Sample some of the best ice wine in Ohio paired with appetizers.

The festival lasts the entire month of March, meaning you pay each day you come and try the ice wines. Saturdays and Sundays have more excitement, so try to go on any of these days with your friends.

The event planner also encourages you to come on Fridays to avoid the weekend crowds.

2. Vintners in Northwest Ohio (V.I.N.O.) Wine Festival

• Venue: Wood County Fair Grounds
• Event Date: October
• Address: 13800 West Poe Road, Bowling Green, OH 43402
• Tickets: $40.00 or $45.00, VIP: $50.00 in advance only and first 300 registered

Celebrate wine and food with Northwest Ohio wineries. You and your friends will enjoy fine wine, excellent food, shopping, live music, and tons of fun.

Expect a good turnout with over 1000 attendees for this first time during the fall ‘Crush’ season and the beautiful weather in Ohio.

Twenty wineries will pour reds, whites, blushes, fruit, and dessert wines. They’ll offer European-style vinifera, Ohio-grown natives, and French-American hybrid wines to delight every palate.

Yummy food choices will be available for purchase. Visit the vendors who will offer a wide range of retail therapy. Live entertainment will happen all day.

Take part in the wine education sessions if you are a novice to understand the wines and even if you are a connoisseur. Whatever level, everyone will learn more about being a wine taster.

VIP tickets include an extra tasting of one limited production, award-winning wine from each participating winery. Also included are a wine and food pairing wheel and gift coupons to visit wineries in the future after the festival.

3. Vintage Ohio South Wine Festival

• Venue: Clark County Fairgrounds
• Event Date: May
• Address: 4401 South Charleston Place, Springfield, OH 45502
• Tickets: $32.00 at the door

Taste some lovely wine from regions all across the state. Wineries will pour samples, so you can enjoy your favorites or find a new vintage to take home. Bottles will also be available to purchase.

Some wineries include Lincoln Way Vineyards, Olde Schoolhouse Vineyard, and Wooster Old Mason Winery & Vineyard. It’s Your Winery and Plum Run Winery.

This wine festival in Ohio offers relaxed live music, food trucks, and vendors. It’s a perfect way to flee the winter blues with some excellent reds, whites, and blushes.

4. Vintage Ohio Wine Festival

• Venue: Lake Metroparks Farmpark
• Event Date: August
• Address: 8800 Euclid Chardon Road, Kirtland, OH 44094
• Phone No: 440-466-4417
• Tickets: TBA

Enjoy the colorful tents, picnic tables, rolling hills, and groves of tall oaks that provide a peaceful setting for the Vintage Ohio Wine Festival. It’s the premier food and wine festival in Ohio.

You and your friends will sample wines from regional wineries, ranging from popular wines like Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc, or Riesling to fun-to-drink fruit wines.

Fruity wines come from fresh strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and peaches. Whether you savor red, white, blush, sweet, dry, or something in-between, take the opportunity to find a new favorite vintage.

Also, attend one of the cooking school demonstrations and fest on the delicious food. The festival also hosts two stages with live music, artisans, and shopping.

5. Columbiana Wine Festival

• Venue: TownCenter at Firestone Farms
• Event Date: June
• Address: 101 TownCenter Avenue, Columbiana, OH 44408
• Tickets: Advance: $25.00 Gate: $30.00

An annual, one-day wine festival features local music, delicious food, artisan vendors, and wine selections for the region. Participants include Deer’s Leap Winery, Lincoln Way Winery, Stable Winery, and Tipsy Farmer Winery.

You receive a commemorative glass, tasting booklet, and ten tasting tickets, two ounces each. Purchase extra tasting tickets and bottles to take home at the event, which runs from 4 to 9 PM.

6. Wine & Walleye Festival

• Venue: Ashtabula Harbor
• Event Date: July
• Address: Bridge Street, Ashtabula, OH 44004
• Tickets: TBA

The variety of festival activities should draw 12,000 visitors for the weekend. The Wine & Walleye Festival has had various vendors in the past, which typically blend with the likes of young and old, including many wine connoisseurs and visitors from up to three hours away.

Wear a wristband to enter the Wine Tent. Your choice of sessions is Friday, from 3 to 9 PM, and Saturday, from noon to 8 PM. Then, Sunday, from noon to 5 PM, as frequently as possible.

You’ll receive a goodie bag with a tasting glass and ten tasting tickets.

Once inside, you can buy additional tasting tickets if you would like. Local vineyards and wineries will pour, offering some of their favorites. Each determines how many tickets each wine selection costs.

Light snacks and refreshments are inside the tent and Hil-Mak food trailer directly outside Walnut Boulevard.

Try to check out other activities during the festival, such as Lighted Boat Parade and Fishing Tournament.

7. Columbus Summer Wine Festival

• Venue: The Kelley Green
• Event Date: July
• Address: 105 Norton Park Drive, Whitehall, OH
• Tickets: $35.00

The Columbus Summer Wine Festival returns each year, so expect to enjoy various wines from at least 20 different vineyards and wineries.

Though wine is the center of attention, the festival even features food, artisans, crafters, and live music. Tickets include ten wine-tasting tickets.

Vineyards and wineries include Coppola wines, Three Finger Jack wines, Castillero wines, Trivento wines and Duplin wines.

8. Toast of Ohio Wine Festival

• Venue: Jackson Street Pier
• Event Date: June
• Address: 229 West Shoreline Drive, Sandusky, OH
• Tickets: $20.00

The festival celebrates Ohio wines with local food trucks, vendors, and an art show. Wineries attended in the past are Firelands, Chateau Tebeau, D&D Smith, Matus, and Maize Valley.

Enjoy the day in the park, tasting wine, being with friends, and doing other activities. You can fish, sightsee, enjoy the sun stairs, go on the swings overlooking the bay, use the ferry service or relax on the great lawn.