Ohio's Once-Abandoned Church Turned Picturesque Winery Offers Award-Winning Sips In A Serene Setting

South River Vineyard in Geneva, Ohio, is a wine lover and architectural buff's dream come true. Located 50 miles west of Cleveland (about a 50-minute drive), Geneva is known as one of the best wine towns in the Midwest, partly due to the award-winning vino from South River Vineyard. Besides the fantastic wine, the vineyard has an incredible tasting room, which was a Methodist Episcopal Church in its former life. It also has stunning outdoor space, including a Pantheon-style terrace overlooking the vineyard. It's a must-visit, especially since it's only a 20-minute drive from the glassy water and sandy beaches of the cozy town of Geneva-on-the-Lake.

Gene Sigel, the owner of South River Vineyard, found the abandoned church 50 miles away in Shalersville. After admiring the wooden, century-old Carpenter Gothic building, he learned that he could have it for free — if he could move it. So, he dismantled the structure and transported it to its current location. Since 2000, the church has stood proudly as the South River Vineyard's tasting room in the gorgeous Grand River Valley, welcoming congregations of wine and architecture lovers from around the world.

South River Vineyard is among the biggest growers of vinifera (the common European grape) in the region and specializes in Old World flavor profiles—light-bodied, with lower alcoholic content, higher acidity, and earthy tones. The grapes required for this type of wine are typically tricky to cultivate in Ohio's cooler climate. However, the Grand River Valley is the optimal location for the fruit thanks to the warm Lake Erie breeze that keeps the frost away, enabling the vines to thrive. As a result, the growing season is longer than typical in the state, producing distinct and rich wines. Specifically, the winery's 2023 Semillon holds gold medals from the Ohio and San Francisco Chronicle wine competitions.

You can sample South River Vineyard's offerings in their stunning tasting room, the previously mentioned repurposed and meticulously restored church. Stepping inside the white steeple building, visitors will be charmed by how the vineyard not only preserved the structure but also its soul. The church's original pews have been restored and rearranged to enable people to socialize while sampling wine, surrounded by the church's original wood floor, wainscoting, and stained glass windows. The building represents historic preservation at its finest, a pre-loved space that will continue to be cherished for many more years. The love and care put into restoring the building is also a testament to the vineyard's quality vino. If you have a hard time deciding which wines to take home, order a flight of wine and enjoy it with a cheese and bread plate in a cozy setting.

Besides the tasting room, South River Vineyard also applied sustainable practices by repurposing concrete highway culverts for its wine cave, where its delicious vinos are stored and aged in barrels.

South River Winery is open year-round, but Ohio's most pleasant weather arrives between late April and October. The vineyard is open from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, it's open until 10:00 p.m. If you want to visit a few of the 30 wineries in the Grand River Valley, you can choose from hotels in the area less than 10 miles from South River Winery; you may want to stay at Tripadvisor's highly-rated The Lodge At Geneva On the Lake for a perfectly picturesque option.

If you like to feel the sun on your face while enjoying your vino, head to the vineyard's spectacular outdoor area. Though it doesn't have a full kitchen, you can bring your own picnic and enjoy it with the wine you've purchased. You can sit on the veranda flanked by marble columns and enjoy the breeze in the summer or hang around the outdoor fireplace in the colder months. You can also chill out in the rooftop pavilion to get an aerial view of the whole vineyard. If you feel like moving around a little, take your glass and roam the vineyard grounds, marveling over the fact that strands of grapes can turn into such delightful and intoxicating nectar.

If you're also a fan of fine spirits, you're in luck. Just a short walk away is a bright red barn, which is home to Red Eagle Distillery, also owned by Gene Sigel. There, you can sample vodka, bourbon, rye, and brandy, all made from local ingredients. The most notable product in their lineup may be the Red Maple — a liquor distilled from maple syrup that has been aged in barrels for two years. It has a unique oaky note and invokes the memory of autumn's falling leaves.

Can't get enough of vineyards with a unique history? Check out Belle Meade Winery, Nashville's oldest winery, which is housed in a former thoroughbred horse farm.