Ohio Winery Visit: Harpersfield Vineyard

We paid our first visit to the Harpersfield Vineyard in December, during the Tannenbaum Trail event. The winery wasn’t officially part of the event, but we were told by others that it was worth the short trip from Ferrante.

A note that applies to both Harpersfield Vineyard and Ferrante. The scenery in the surrounding area is beautiful. We stopped at a park near a scenic covered bridge before hitting both wineries. It’s a great opportunity for photographers, and later you can celebrate your success with some tasty wine.

Harpersfield Vineyard has an Old World feel. We stepped into the tasting room and felt immediately at home. A log was flaming in the fireplace and a cool light filtered in through the windows, illuminating comfortable sofas, chairs and tables. The room was furnished with French country decorations.

Green Dragon immediately sank into a comfortable leather sofa and started playing with the winery dog. There was no commercial vibe here! In fact, they didn’t have a printed wine list because they said their wines are so limited that the print version would quickly be obsolete.

In addition to using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling, the winery has a nice breadth of grapes including Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Auxerrois  and Pinot Gris used in a late harvest wine.
My first taste was Cuvee De Deux 2008, a blend of Muscat Ottonell and Kerner. The flavors here were fruit notes of apricot and peaches. Green Dragon sampled the Chardonnay Cuvee Sans Chene, which is an unoaked Chard.

We sat down to have a pleasant conversation with some new found friends and enjoy our reds. It was obvious that the winery has a very loyal clientele.  During our short visit, almost everyone who came in was a friendly face to the server.

The Musette Red is a blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and
Chambourcin. The Cab Franc adds a bit of pepper, which we enjoy. Chambourcin in my experience doesn’t have much bouquet but has a delightful flavor. I don’t think I’ve had a blend featuring this trio of wines, but it is an original and enjoyable effort.

Our final glass was courtesy of our new wine friends who had purchased a bottle of Pinot Noir Clos Mes Amis. Due to the somewhat dim light on this overcast day, a lack of printed materials for a memory jogger and faltering handwriting, my tasting notes appear to read: “crunchy, chocolate and oak.” Our visit was a “crunchy” one, filled with handcrafted wine, friendly people, a rustic feel and a new “must visit” winery for our next trip to the Geneva area.

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