US: Wineries increase in Ohio, Michigan

(ToledoBlade) - Dustin Heineman gently cradled a tiny bunch of young grapes, examining a cluster that months from now will be harvested for one of his family’s 25 varieties of wine.

That’s assuming, of course, that the fruit thrives.

“Grapes are very temperamental,” said Mr. Heineman, a fifth-generation winemaker.

There’s a saying that it’s not the winemakers who make the wine — it’s the grapes. Each year’s rainfall and temperatures can greatly change the quality and sweetness of grapes. Grapes are very delicate at the start of growing season, making a late frost a serious threat.

So far this year, things are looking good, Mr. Heineman said. But there will be plenty of work put in in the coming months to make sure things stay that way.

“It is a 365-day-a-year job. It never ends,” Mr. Heineman said. “I’m here doing things in the middle of the night. It is a lot of work. It’s a work that we all enjoy, but it’s a lot.”

The Heineman family has been growing grapes and making wine on South Bass Island for 125 years. Founded in 1888 by Gustav Heineman, Heineman’s Winery is the oldest winery in Ohio that has stayed in one family.

Gustav Heineman was one of many German immigrants who came to the area around Sandusky and the Lake Erie islands in the late 1800s. There they found an ideal area for growing grapes.