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HEINEMAN WINERY

Heinemen Winery

5 Generations Of Wine Making

Heineman Winery is a Put-in-Bay fifth-generation island tradition dating back over 125 years. Visitors can taste wine from grapes grown on the Lake Erie Islands. Heineman’s is the only winery on Put-in-Bay that produces the wine they market.

History Of Heineman Winery

Gustav Heineman, an immigrant from Baden, Germany, founded the winery in 1888. The optimal ground conditions and climate made South Bass Island perfect for growing grapes and wine production. Moreover, at this time, there were numerous wineries on the island. In fact, by 1900, there were at least 17 wine vintners.

Nevertheless, a transition was on the horizon. After implementing the Volstead Act, the sweeping reforms of Prohibition struck the wineries badly. Fortunately, Heineman Winery was able to endure. They did so by presenting Crystal Cave tours under the winery. The Crystal Cave boasts the World’s largest underground geode. Guests can take tours of the cave.

Interestingly, the crystals at one time were harvested for the production of fireworks. Therefore, the size of the cave increased over the years. Additionally, the family marketed grape juice and provided a taxi service to Crystal Cave.

Today, the wine-making ritual of the Heineman family lives on. Both third, fourth, and fifth-generation family members are busily involved in the business. Now, they farm 50+ acres of ground on Put-in-Bay for wine production. So, they have total control from vine to wine.

Grapes cultivated on the island are mostly Catawba and Concord. These varietals are used in creating their signature grape juice and many famous wines. While you are visiting the Heienman Winery, you may enjoy shopping at the Crystal Cave Gift Shop & the Heineman Winery Gift Shop, where you can purchase wine specially packed for the trip home.

Heineman Winery Hours of Operation
Tours Daily

May 5th – September 25th, 11 AM – 5 PM
Winery Hours

Open Daily Mid April – Mid-October 11 AM – 7 PM

Sunday 12 PM – 7 PM

 

Photo of Heineman Winery

(419) 285-2811

266 Delaware Ave, Put-In-Bay, OH 43456

WEBSITE

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Sally M.

☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
Heineman Winery is located at the center of Put-in-Bay, away from the downtown area. This is a small winery offering various wines, from dry to sweet, both for sale and for tasting. You can taste one wine at a time or several. You make your selections inside and pay. The winery is kind of like an old saloon-style inside. Great tasting wine. I bought two excellent pepper jack beef sticks also for $2 a piece. The cave crystals were very cool to see, too, although it was small down in the cave. Wine glasses are placed in a metal contraption for you to take out back, where there are tables on the lawn for you to sit at and do your tasting. I don't like dry wines, so I personally recommend any of the sweet wines; I tried almost all of those, and they were all great.

Larry Z.

☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★

We went Heineman Winery while waiting for an excursion at the other caves and were super excited that we could get two tours and a wine tasting for only $10 bucks. It was a good amount for a taste of wine, I tried the Pink Catawba, and it was super sweet. I adored it! One of our tours was to the Geode, which was awesome to see. Our tour guide gave us a 15-minute tour, explaining the history and use of the Geode in the past and present, and answered any questions. Following that was the winery tour, which was about 15-20 minutes, and was enlightening about the entire methodology the wine goes through and the different elements utilized in various wines. There is also a gift shop and a wine garden on-site. Bottles of wine were about $13, which is a great price! We really enjoyed ourselves for the expense and the experience!

Linda M.

☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★

Our family toured the Crystal Cave at the Heineman, which is fun for all groups. Nice place with a beautiful atmosphere. The tour is about 7 minutes, perfect for little kids. There are 42 stairs to go down to get to the cave and, of course, 42 stairs to come back up. Our boys appreciated the grape juice and cheese

Fonda B.

☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
Dogs are prohibited inside the Heineman Winery structure, cave, or in the main wine garden. However, to the side of the wine garden is another area where doggies are welcome. We sat on the bench and enjoyed watching the antique car display on a Sunday afternoon.

JD B.

☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
We did the crystal & wine tour at the Heineman Winery. We were expecting more from the crystal portion. It's very cool but small and lasts about 5 minutes. The winery tour is next. It was very nice, and the wine tasting after is wonderful. My 8 & 10-year-old also enjoyed their visit and the grape juice.

Scotty B.

☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
If you like sweet wines and pure grape juice, this heineman winery is for you. We did the combo wine tasting/winery tour and the crystal cave tour. It was interesting to do a wine tasting with small plastic cups. The wine bar had a nice atmosphere. The tour of the winery was interesting and thorough. Crystal Cave is small; however, the exceptionally large crystals make it worth touring. They have a friendly gift shop in between the winery and cave opening. It was easy to tour both with small kids.

Willam P.

☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
Very interesting to learn the process of wine & grape juice making at the Heineman Winery. The winery tour consisted of your Crystal Cave, Winery & glass of wine of choice to test. Very reasonable ticket price of $11.00 each Best place we found where to buy put-in-bay wine