Founded in 1888 by German immigrant Gustav Heineman, Heineman’s Winery makes island wines on Put-in-Bay and remains Ohio’s oldest family-owned and operated winery. The Heineman family continues the tradition today, working with local growers who cultivate 20 acres of South Bass grapes for vine-to-wine control. Its winery is also home to Crystal Cave, the world’s largest geode, which helped the family business survive Prohibition.
Firelands WineryFirelands Winery is one of Ohio’s oldest wineries, preserving an 1880 cellar built by the Mantey family at its Sandusky home. Under Lonz, Inc., it carries forward regional winemaking traditions while producing estate and Lake Erie wines for customers across Ohio and beyond.SANDUSKY, OH
Johnson Estate WineryFounded in 1961 on a century-old fruit farm, Johnson Estate Winery makes estate-grown wines along Lake Erie in Westfield, New York. New York’s oldest continuously operating estate winery remains family-owned across four generations, with 115 acres of vineyards and a historic tasting room housed in a former 1920 apple cold-storage building. Its roots run especially deep in the region’s French-American hybrids and heritage grapes, while its traditional ice wines have been produced since 1995.WESTFIELD, NY
Klingshirn Winery, IncEstablished in 1935 by Albert and Theresa Klingshirn, Klingshirn Winery is a family farm and winery in Avon Lake producing wines from grapes grown on its Lake Erie-area vineyards. Today, third-generation operator and viticulture-and-enology graduate Lee Klingshirn serves as primary winemaker, continuing a legacy that began with surplus grapes fermented in the family cellar. The winery also supplies grape juice to local home winemakers and earned a 2025 Ohio Wine Competition Double Gold for its Pink Catawba.AVON LAKE, OH
Benfield WinesWhat began as Rob Benfield’s home winemaking project for his wife and friends has grown into a family winery in Swanton, Ohio, producing distinctive wines from grapes sourced from California. Benfield Wines now makes its wines in the restored 1896 Pilliod Opera House, a 9,000-square-foot landmark that also houses its tasting room and event space. The family’s hands-on approach shows in its playful fruit wines as well as its traditional varietal bottlings.SWANTON, OH