Head to wine country for harvest season, cozy up with comfort food or raise a glass at a local brewery.
Crush Season
During fall in the Grand River Valley, grapes are ripening and release an aroma that begs a taste. “You can smell the grapes driving down the road,” says Cindy Lindberg, owner of Grand River Cellars Winery & Restaurant.
One of the best ways to taste that transformation is during Grand River Cellars’ Crush Tastings, offered Wednesdays Sept. 23 through Oct. 14. Fresh-pressed grape juice from that week’s harvest is poured alongside the finished wine it will eventually become, with four small-plate pairings completing the experience.
Grand River Cellars is also a full restaurant. Longtime favorites include bourbon-glazed salmon cooked over an open-flame grill, bourbon-and-blue steak and the popular brie-and-pear appetizer with house-made blackberry or caramel sauce. The winery also has a full liquor license and mixes cocktails — some featuring its own wines and spirits from local distilleries — along with craft beers.
>> Try the Flight Keep an eye out for the fall sangria flight, expected to feature four seasonal pours with flavors like apple, citrus and spice.
A Taste of Tradition
At Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, harvest season is a family tradition. The Ferrantes have been making wine since 1937, and today a fourth generation is carrying on a legacy that started in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood before moving to the vineyards of the Grand River Valley.
Outdoor fire pits invite guests to settle in with a glass overlooking the vineyards. “You get that aspect of being in the middle of Ohio wine country and a bit of that fall sweater weather,” says Alyssa Ollis, Ferrante’s marketing director.
Inside, the tasting room flows into a full-service restaurant where the family’s lasagna recipe remains a must, along with steamed mussels prepared in Ferrante Chardonnay broth.
>> Make a Sunday of It In October, the Covered Bridge Cavatelli Dinner combines visits to three of Ashtabula County’s covered bridges with a traditional Sunday cavatelli dinner back at the winery. Reservations are required for the event.
River Views & Brews
At Collision Bend Brewing Company in the Flats, grab a table on the sprawling waterfront patio and watch freighters navigate the Cuyahoga and bridges do their work.
The brewery opened in 2017 inside the historic Hausheer Building on Old River Road and takes its name from the notoriously tricky bend in the Cuyahoga that commercial ships have navigated for generations. Look for Collision Bend’s award-winning Oktoberfest, which took top honors for both best Oktoberfest and best overall beer at Berea’s Oktoberfest in 2025.
>>Art on Tap Collision Bend regularly taps Northeast Ohio artists to create its beer artwork, resulting in designs that range from Cleveland cityscapes to colorful illustrations.
Raise a Glass in Birdtown
Birdtown Brewing opened in April inside a former Lakewood church, following a 12-year journey to bring the brewery to life. Church pews were sourced to replace those removed from the property, a prayer candle area was restored and new stained glass was created based on historic photographs. Flooring from the old Lakewood High School gym was repurposed into tables and a bar top, with former bleachers incorporated into the space.
“We’ve had a lot of cool stories from people who were married here or whose parents were married here,” says general manager Ryan Grammerstorf.
On tap, Birdtown typically pours six to eight house beers from brewer Zach Deltiriore, whose background includes Platform and Market Garden. Two early favorites have emerged: Quail American Lager, named for the street Birdtown calls home, and Basement Jacuzzi Hazy IPA. That second name? When the owners bought the property, the neighboring rectory came complete with a carpeted basement room — and a hot tub in the corner.
Birdtown partnered with the 70-year-old Geraci’s, pairing its pizza and Italian favorites with the brewery’s own pub-inspired additions. The hot honey pie with sausage, pepperoni and hot honey is the runaway pizza favorite.
>> Prost! Birdtown goes all in on Oktoberfest Sept. 26 and 27 for a two-day bash with grilled German sausages, German-inspired pizzas, live music, games and a stein-hoisting competition.
Cozy Up, Cleveland
When sweater weather arrives, Prosperity Social Club already has your agenda: comfort food, cold drinks and a neighborhood tavern that feels like it’s been there forever.
The Tremont institution has been in continuous operation since 1938, and when Buildings & Food acquired it in 2021, preserving that history was part of the deal.
This fall, Vice President for Culinary Operations Jill Vedaa is leaning into the old-world Eastern European food that helped put Prosperity on the map. Expect favorites like stuffed cabbage and mac and cheese alongside smaller plates and shareables, with sauerkraut balls, German potato salad, roasted beet salad, cucumber salad and schnitzel among the ideas in the works.
Check out the patio with string lights, a mural, vintage TVs playing old movies and a wood-fired hearth — preferably with an apple cider margarita.
>> Stay Late Prosperity keeps its menu available until midnight Monday through Saturday, so that cabbage roll, schnitzel or round of shareables.