Day Tripper Says Hello to Wine Country Around Lake Erie

When you drive through the roads of North East, PA, in September, the scent of grapes permeates the air.

The small town on the shores of Lake Erie is home to acres upon acres of grapes, and with all those grapes come wineries.

There are eight wineries in North East. Visiting the area is fun any time of year, but the Wine Festival comes but once a year, in September. This year's event will be Sept. 23-25.

North East is about a two-hour drive from the Greater Pittsburgh area and about 20 minutes east of Erie. The wineries play host to thousands of visitors every year who come to visit the beautiful area and enjoy Lake Erie, but the weekend of the wine fest draws visitors from all over the country and Canada.

“We see anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 that weekend,” said Mario Mazza, who operates the Mazza Winery.

A second generation winemaker, Mazza worked as a chemical engineer before he decided to study in Australia for a master’s degree in winemaking. He returned home with an increase in wine knowledge and Mel, his beautiful Australian wife.

Mel's lovely accent only adds to the European feel to Mazza Winery (And yes, I know Australia is not in Europe). She graciously explained the different wines to my daughter and me and helped us make our selections.

Mazza has more than 30 wine choices, and most are produced with the winery's own grapes. The family winery is well-known for its Bare Bones line, which includes the White, Rose and Red. We, of course, purchased a few bottles to bring home.

All of the wineries are a short drive from each other, but should you choose to go during the festival, you can head to the Heard, Gibson, or Gravel Pit parks in downtown North East to take advantage of booths from the local wineries, including wine tastings.

There also are other activities such as the cruise-in car show, motorcycle show, fine arts show, a juried arts and crafts show, the wine-fest marketplace (where you can buy all things wine and grape themed), a 5K run and a children’s area, where they serve lots of grape juice. The festival is expected to have 150 exhibitors at the event.

If you ever wanted to stomp grapes like you've seen in the movies, the wine festival is your chance. There also is plenty of entertainment during the festival, including steel drums, jazz, big band and Celtic music groups.

Of course, you also can visit the wineries. Besides Mazza, Eliza and I stopped at Arrowhead Wine Cellars and Heritage Wine Cellars. Next door to Arrowhead is its produce market, where we purchased some local cheese, peaches and white eggplant. Take advantage of the fall harvest and bounty.

Hours for the wine fest at the parks vary, but the wine tent hours will be noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at Gravel Pit Park. Hours at Gibson Park are noon to 6 p.m. all three days of the festival.

For more festival information visit www.NEChamber.org, or call 813-725-4262.