Southeastern Pickaway County — A visit to a winery and vineyard gives a sample of the local food, hospitality, and tourism industry in rural and small-town Scioto and Hocking valleys.
The Chillicothe Garden Club held a gathering with a tour of the Manchester Hill Winery & Vineyard next to Tarlton on Wednesday. The group got a tour of the grounds, along with insight into the surprisingly complex art and science of winemaking. They then had a luncheon…and could finally get a drink!
I spoke with co-owner Patrick McGrath about his small wine and hard cider industry, and participation in local tourism.
He said he brews on-site, using local fruit from there or nearby. He has about 700 grape vines of six varieties on his 1 1/2 acres. The vineyard is young but he hopes to have a full harvest in 2025 or 2026.
McGrath says he can’t produce enough there, so he also buys fruit locally, since not all growers have a winery. And he said if you plan for grape growing as hobby after retirement, you might find out it’s more work that you expect – it is very technical and requires much work, and costs have risen. He says he has been learning since starting in 2011.
Manchester Hill is famous for blackberry wine, and McGrath says those fruits are being picked now. In addition to bottles of wine for sale, sampling, and tasting, they host live music every Saturday night, with a food truck Friday and Saturday. His wife Nichole says it’s a mom-and-pop partnership, and she works front-of house, merchandise, customer service, research, and marketing.
Paintings by Circleville artist Steven Riggs are also on display and for sale.
Flyers and cards in their facility caught my eye, and show the value of the various local and statewide industries that Manchester Hill is a part of or helps promote:
- “Country Shop Hop” of Amanda, Stoutsville, and Tarlton
- “Sims Fall Festival” on September 27th and 28th
- “Glacial’s Edge Wine Tour” by the Ohio Wine Producers Association
- “Cork & Tap Wine Excursions“
- State tourism flyers state that there are more than 400 wineries in Ohio, with a $6.6B economic impact in the 7th largest wine production in the U.S.: Discover Ohio Wines
Hear McGrath in his own words in the below video interview, and see some snapshots of the tour and facility.
The Manchester Hill Winery & Vineyard has a website, and is on Facebook and X / Twitter.
