Haven’t heard about Via Vecchia Winery? (it was featured in National Geographic’s online segment of the top 10 places to visit in the fall when Columbus, Ohio made the list) You soon will because of its sheer talent when it comes to making wine and it’s amazing new venue nestled in the heart of the Brewery District Downtown. I had the distinct honor of seeing and photographing their wine-making process at Via Vecchia’s Annual Grape Crush this past weekend. The room was so alive and bustling as the wine was literally being hand crafted. Volunteers, future brides of the venue and the winery’s proud owners and families all pitched in. One by one, huge 7.5-8′ diameter and about 5′ tall plastic drums were filled with the juice being crushed by the grape crusher. There were also stations on hand for people to experience what it feels like to crush grapes with your feet.
There’s no other way to say it- the wine that comes from this winery is exquisite. Each bottle has a number from the batch it was from, much in the same way limited edition print artworks are numbered. And artwork it is. If you’d like to try some for yourself, their wines are available at Whole Foods.