Wyandotte Winery: Uncork and Enjoy

Located just north of Morse Rd off Cherry Bottom on a quiet suburban road in a beautiful spot nestled among tall trees sits Wyandotte Winery. And although it’s not Napa Valley, Wyandotte does a wonderful job of duplicating the look and feel of any number of stops on the wine trails (if not of California) of Upstate New York or Virginia. Serving several good-tasting and drinkable wines at a good value in a nice setting so close to town, Wyandotte is definitely worth the trip for the casual wine lover or anyone looking for a sample of the uniquely enjoyable experience that is tasting wine on site where it’s made. A friendly and knowledgeable staff, a great happy hour, and frequent unique and recurring events ensure that most everyone can find a reason to enjoy a trip out to Wyandotte Winery.

Wyandotte was built in 1976 by original owners Floyd and Peggy Jones and began making wines from local plants-many grown on sight-including elderberry, red clover, dandelion, and rhubarb. The winery was built specifically to be both a residence and a winery, with a tasting room and wine shop attached to the house and wine making facilities in the basement. As time went by and ownership changed changed hands, Wyandotte began making more traditional wines from grapes and other fruits purchased from Ohio growers as well as some from New York and California. Current owners Robin and Valerie Coolidge have continued to expand the offering and improve the quality of the wines. Although still a winery and not a vineyard (none of the wines served here were made from grapes grown on site), Wyandotte began to plant their own vineyards two years ago, starting with the Marquette grape (a cold-climate hybrid derived from Pinot Noir among others). Although harvest of these grapes is still several years away it is exciting to know that there will be a true vineyard and winery within city limits in the near future. Wyandotte is on the Capital City Wine Trail, a partnership of ten local wineries in the central Ohio area, all within about thirty miles of the city of Columbus.

Courtesy of Wyandotte Winery Facebook

Wyandotte Winery currently offers sixteen varieties of wine (availability depends on season and production), ten from various grape varietals and six fruit-based options. All wines by the glass are $5 ($4 during the Wednesday evening happy hour), and bottles run from $9.99 to $14.99, excepting the pomegranate dessert wine Hope, which is $14.99 for a split and $24.99 for a full 750ml bottle. The winery also offers snacks and appetizers including cheese and crackers, hummus and pita plates, and olives and bread. The winery also makes specialty wine cakes in house that are available by the slice for $3 or the full cake for $25. Tastings are six wines for $5 or all available wines for $10, or $1 per wine.

I sampled two of their whites, one of them a sparkling wine. Wyandotte’s White Roses is made from the Niagara grape (developed from native grapes in Upstate NY in the 1800s). Like most Niagaras, this one is light, sweet, and grapey. It’s generally unsophisticated but drinkable, and a nice floral finish adds a little bit of complexity to its sweet fruitiness. Their sparkler is a Vidal Blanc that is crisp and drier than I expected, tasting like a Brut champagne with hints of lemon and grapefruit. This was the better of the two, on par with most sparkling wines available at the supermarket in the $10 area (this one priced at $12.99 here). Both of these whites are made from grapes grown and purchased from vineyards in Ohio.

I then tried three of their reds: Cityscape, Statehouse, and Sweet William. Cityscape was the best by far, made from 100% Syrah brought in from California. Full-bodied and dry, with hints of dark chocolate, coffee, and black raspberry, it’s one i’d return here for, and deserves their highest price-point at $14.99. Both my friends and I thought the Statehouse we tried was really vile. It’s a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend that is medium bodied and fruity, but it is very hot and has a truly awful finish. I always think of it as the “bug spray” or “cough medicine” flavor that you sometimes find in bad reds, one of my friends described it as that “new powerstrip flavor”–which I found disturbingly accurate: that smell that you get when you open up a new computer or new electronics, a very sharp chemical and rubbery odor. I’m willing to hope that other bottles of Statehouse aren’t this bad, but I won’t be lining up to find out. The last red we tried was Sweet William, made of a blend of Baco Noir and Niagara. Baco Noir is a cold-weather red developed in France (it tastes a lot like Cabernet Franc) that is today grown primarily in the northern United States. The grapes for this wine are imported from the Finger Lakes region of New York, and Sweet William tastes very much like the sweet reds often found in that region. It’s sweet and fruity, with a light oak flavor and a strong nose of strawberry. Again not very complex but extremely pleasant and easy to drink.

We also sampled three of Wyandotte’s fruit wines. Their Cranberry Harvest (Cranberry Wines are also often grown in New York) was very tart and juicy and totally lacking in complexity, but would be enjoyable if you’re a fan of cranberry juice and vodka cocktails. The Raspberry Summer was much better, not as sweet as you’d expect, with a nice thick heavy body and good jammy finish. Hope, Wyandotte’s Pomegranate Dessert Wine, is decent, sweet but balanced with a sharp tartness, again very thick and jammy and full-bodied, but with a little bit less complexity than the raspberry. I expect it would be a great wine to use for cooking in reductions or salad dressings.

Wine was once a major industry in Ohio in the 1800s. At the time of the Civil War, Ohio was the nations largest wine producer by far, and also the maker of the nations only Sparkling Wine that followed the Champagne method. Ohio now stand at 8th in production (behind, in order, California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Florida, New Jersey, and Kentucky), and although a subjective distinction, I would say we don’t even rank that high in terms of quality (Virginia and North Carolina make some excellent varieties). If we want this to change we should support the efforts of Wyandotte and our other local wineries. Even though our wineries may not be comparable with those of California, Wyandotte produces several enjoyable wines, and provides a nice environment, great service, and a unique and enjoyable experience that I recommend everyone try at least once. You can find more information about the winery and a calendar of events (including happy hour and Euchre nights) at Wyandotte Winery’s website, and you can learn more about the The Capital City and other Wine Trails in Ohio on the website of the Ohio Wine Association.