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Behind the scenes: Breitenbach Winery
I have been to Breitenbach Winery three times
and I remember my first visit like it was
yesterday.
It was 15 years ago, and it was not only my first
visit to Breitenbach...but my first visit to
any
winery. I walked in and immediately felt intimidated.
I didn't know anything about wine and I
was
sure they would sense my fear. I was too scared to
approach the tasting area, so I
cowered
amidst the shelves for awhile acting like I was
looking for something special. I prayed
no
one would approach me, because if they actually spoke
with me I thought they would realize I
didn't
belong there. I finally picked a bottle of wine
solely by name. Frost Fire sounded like
something
I would like to drink...so I paid for the bottle
of wine I hadn't even sampled and left in a
hurry.
In the summer of 2003, Gary and I
paid a visit to Breitenbach on our wine travels. It was
probably
not the best time for a visit.
It was July 4th weekend and the winery was
packed. Breitenbach is
located in a heavily traveled
tourist area and they tend to be pretty busy most
weekends...
especially holiday weekends. We
found it difficult to get a good idea of what this winery
offered
when we were there with so
many people in the tasting room.
My latest visit to Breitenbach was
much different than my first. This time, instead of slinking
through
the door trying to remain
unnoticed, I walked in with my head held high. This time I had
been
personally invited to Breitenbach
for a private tour and some wine tasting.
Just about everyone in Ohio has
heard of Breitenbach Winery...and most have stopped
by and tasted
their wine while visiting the
nearby Amish community that has become a huge tourist
destination.
Breitenbach, the second largest
winery in Ohio, produces numerous award-winning grape and
fruit
wines. We were delighted when we
were invited to re-visit Breitenbach for a behind the scenes
look.
When we arrived at the winery, we
were greeted by Duke Bixler, Breitenbach's winemaker. He
immediately
introduced us to Carol
Matthus, who would guide us through a tasting. On our
previous visit to Breitenbach,
we only sampled one wine because of
the crowd. We have since sampled other Breitenbach wines
at
various wine festivals, but we were
very excited about spending some one-on-one time tasting with
Carol.
It was great opportunity to choose
wines for sampling from the vast selection this winery offers
and to be
able to ask questions about the
individual wines.
Carol was waiting for us with
wine glasses and samples of Amish cheese. I started by sampling
a couple of
dry reds. The Sangiovese was
absolutely delightful. I probably could have stopped right
there, had them
pour me a glass, and called it a
day...but there were so many other wines waiting for us to
try.
I skipped over a few of the grape
wines that I had already sampled and purchased at wine
festivals...First
Crush, Frost Fire, and Roadhouse
Red. There were so many others to try and I wanted to take it
easy.
I went straight to some of their
fruit wines, which are all made from natural fruit - not grape
wine with fruit
flavoring added. I quickly found
two new favorites: Red Currant and Apricot. The Red Currant had
a
unique, deliciously sweet taste.
Although sweet enough to be a dessert wine, I could easily see
serving
it with ham at dinner. The Apricot
was absolutely luscious. It was very sweet and one glass
would
certainly be enough to satisfy
anyone interested in a treat.
After the fruit wines, we sampled
Breitenbach's Ice Wine. We both found their version of ice wine
to
be very nice. It is not as
"syrupy" as others we have sampled, and it has a fresh, sweet
flavor. It is
certainly one of the best Ice Wines
we have tasted.
When we had completed our wine
tasting, Carol took us to meet up with Duke Bixler again. He
offered
us a tour of the wine
cellar...which was a special treat for us. Breitenbach only
opens their wine cellar one
weekend a year - the first weekend
in May during their annual Dandelion Festival. We were thrilled
to get
this opportunity that so few
receive.
As we were walking to the wine
cellar, he explained to us that since Breitenbach does not have
a vineyard,
they have to buy their grapes from
other places. Breitenbach never purchases juice, but only whole
fruit
from which they will then start the
winemaking process.
Upon entering the big, purple barn
we found ourselves in Breitenbach's lab. We've been on
several winery
tours and this is the first time we
have actually seen a lab on the winery property. Acidity,
alcohol levels
and pH levels need to be monitored
to ensure that wines taste their best and meet state
regulations.
We were then escorted to the
climate controlled wine cellar. This is where the wines are
stored in stainless
steel tanks or oak
barrels...depending on the grape. The wines are kept in the
cellar for an average of six
months before they are bottled in
Breitenbach's state-of-the-art bottling room.
After the tour, we went back to the
tasting room and purchased a glass of wine to enjoy before
leaving.
Gary ordered a glass of Frost Fire
while I decided on a glass of Apricot. We also bought some
cheese,
crackers and summer sausage to go
with it. It was very cold outside, so we sat in a small seating
area
in the rear of the tasting
room...but Breitenbach does have much more outdoor seating
available during
the warmer months.
After this recent visit to
Breitenbach Winery, I was totally impressed. The pride of the
winemaker shows
in the fine quality of wine they
produce. They offer superb grape wines (the dry reds were my
favorite)
along with a selection of fruit
wines that is unmatched in the area. They have also managed to
grow into
a major wine producer without
losing their personal touch. Excellence and pride shine through
in every
bottle of Breitenbach
wine.
Note: This article will be
posted on our website soon with accompanying
photos.
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