LAKE EFFECT IN A BOTTLE

Napa Valley wines don’t taste like Columbia Valley wines. Willamette Valley wines don’t taste like Cumberland Valley wines. And Lake Erie wines don’t taste like Finger Lakes wines. So to ask whether an Ohio-grown chardonnay tastes as good as one from Washington State completely misses the point, explains Arnie Esterer of Conneaut’s Markko Vineyard. “We make wines here different from every other place in the world.”

The singular combination of soil, climate, vine and winemaker
guarantees that every wine will be different from all others,
even those grown down the street. Just as no two poodles are the same,
no two pinots are identical. This is precisely what makes wine tasting
so interesting.

Fortunately for us Clevelanders, we don’t have to travel too far to
sample interesting wines. Hugging the shoreline between Sandusky and
the Pennsylvania border are scores of quality wineries, each with its
own roster of distinctive wines. Most have public tasting rooms, and
many boast full-service restaurants, making it easy to turn a quick
jaunt into a full-fledged outing.

The local wine community owes a huge debt of gratitude to Arnie
Esterer. When he set up shop 41 years ago, the best wines growing were
catawba and concord. With help from famed viticulturist Dr. Konstantin
Frank, who pioneered the use of cold-resistant root stock, Esterer
proved that Europe’s classic wine grapes could prosper here, thanks to
the region’s distinctive micro-climate.

To protect their vines from a devastating late-spring frost,
winemakers employ the use of massive propane-powered fans to expel the
cold air. Here, however, chilly Lake Erie pushes back the date of
springtime bud growth, all but eliminating the risk of frost damage. In
autumn, the lake’s accumulated summer heat extends the growing season,
giving the grapes plenty of time to fully ripen.

Markko Vineyard (4500 S. Ridge Rd., Conneaut, 800.252.3197,
markko.com) is set deep in the woods,
just down the road from its 14-acre vineyard. The tasting room is dated
and musty — a far cry from the more commercial wineries in the
area — and you won’t find any gourmet munchies. What you will
find is a wide array of excellent wines and vintages, all grown,
produced and bottled onsite.

“A wine drinker will never fully understand the variability of wine
until they taste a number of different vintages side by side,” says
Esterer. By sampling a 2005 cabernet sauvignon alongside a 2006, for
example, a taster can appreciate how climate shapes flavor. “We are not
trying to make our wine taste like Burgundy,” he says. “We are trying
to capture the natural character of each variety and vintage.”

In addition to cabernet, Markko crafts first-class chardonnay,
riesling and pinot noir.

As good as the wine is at Markko, it can’t supplant a proper meal.
For that, visitors should make the short trip to Tarsitano Winery
and Café (4871 Hatches Corners Rd., Conneaut,
440.224.2444,tarsitanowinery.com), which takes them over a covered
bridge and past acres of sun-dappled vineyards.

Ken Tarsitano describes his and his wife’s winery as a labor of
love. In addition to farming the land and crafting the wines, Tarsitano
cooks the food and schmoozes the guests. The relaxed restaurant is set
in a contemporary barn, where guests sit on mix-and-match furniture and
watch the action in the wide-open kitchen.

What’s nice about dining at a winery is being able to sample wines
before investing in a bottle. We tried three whites and three reds ($1
per sample) before settling on a 2004 cabernet franc ($17). Tarsitano
makes its pastas in-house, and the cheese-stuffed ravioli ($21) with
grilled chicken is a hearty and delicious affair. Steaks ($24) too are
done right; one is gilded with a rich and salty prosciutto cream sauce.
Starters include a cheese and bread board ($10) and a roasted
veggie-topped bruschetta ($8).

On a picture-perfect summer evening, it’s tough to beat a patio seat
at Harpersfield Winery (6387 N. River Rd., Geneva, 440.466.4739,
harpersfield.com). Tucked
alongside the apple trees and grape vines are picnic tables, where
guests sip recent vintages of estate-bottled chardonnay, riesling and
pinot noir. A light menu of cheese boards, sandwiches and savory
flatbreads is available, and on weekends, live bands perform on the
deck.

If you are serious about tasting Harpersfield’s offerings, it’s wise
to come well before the evening rush, when staffers will have more time
to discuss the wines.

There has been a serious and ongoing attempt to change the
perception of Ohio wines, which for far too long have been inexorably
linked to sickly sweet varieties. But old habits die hard.

“People still come in here asking for concord wine,” says Linda
Frisbie, Markko’s vineyard manager. “Around here, that’s a swear
word.”

dining@clevescene.com

This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2009.