It's always nice to go home again and Madam and I took advantage of a recent trip to the old homestead to stop and visit Hanover Winery in my hometown of Hamilton. We first visited the winery, the first in Butler County, several years ago and remembered a nice selection of sweet and fruit wines with a few dry.
Our return visit corroborated our memories and added to them. The winery has continued to grow over its 11-year history and now produces 35 different wines. Several have won awards, including 9 at the 2021 Finger Lakes International Wine & Spirits Competition, with Dammit Annie! taking Gold. Land acquisitions helped the winery grow over the years and it now has 7 acres under vine, including Traminette, Marquette, Norton, Seyval, Vidal and Concord grapes.
Owner and vintner, Eddie McDonald, takes pride in his wines and what is produced and that shows through in each bottle. He even worked with a chemist to ensure the award-winning Blackberry Wine, and the winery uses 21 tons of blackberries per year, was pleasing to the palate.
Madam and I had an opportunity to taste all 27 wines currently available, beginning with dry whites. I am not a Chardonnay fan, and never have been, but came home with a bottle. Madam took the first sip, smiled at me, and handed over the glass. That one sip told her that I would love both the clean, crisp nose and the grapefruit and slight oak notes.
The Sauvignon Blanc, with pear notes, and Pinot Grigio, with a grapefruit nose, were similarly crisp. The Vidal Blanc and the German-style Riesling, or SchutzenApfel, both had a nice sweetness to them.
We then moved on to the outstanding dry reds. The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in oak, had a full fruit nose with hints of tobacco. It delivered a nice, robust mouth feel. Madam's favorite variety, the Old Vine Zinfandel, had a full nose with the expected pepper notes. The Black Dahlia, a Merlot and blackberry blend, had a nice jammy nose but delivered nicely on the blackberry expectation. The Chambourcin, also aged in oak, had a grape nose and the expected dryness while the Marechal Foch had a grape, spice nose that delivered oak and pepper notes.
In the middle sweetness range, Hanover excels in both reds and whites. On the white side, there is Traminette, which was slightly sweet, and Sweet Lizzy, a Rose' named in memory of their Labrador, that was slightly dry despite the sweet grape nose. The Hanover White, a blend, was nicely sweet. Topping them off was the award-winning 2019 Seyval Blanc, which was Madam's choice as her Porch sipping wine, that she deemed perfectly sweet.
In the reds, Hanover Red is a nice house blend that includes Concord grapes and offers a full grape nose and grape taste that is not too sweet. Mason's Red, also named in memory of a Labrador, is a wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon blend with a slightly peppery taste. The Soft Red, also made from Concords, was not too sweet.
The sweet and fruit wines are perfect for summer days. The Soft White has the full grape nose you expect from a Niagara but is not overly sweet while Pink Toad, made from Catawba grapes, has a beautiful blush color, full grape nose and sweet grape taste. Kiss Me, a sweet Riesling, had a nice sweetness offset by a dry taste.
The fruit wines, Peach, with its soft peach taste, and Cranberry, with a tart nose, delivered on the expected tastes. The Ohio Apple is a blend of 7 of the best apple varieties, as chosen by the orchard, and had a wonderfully clean apple taste. Dammit Annie!, a blend of berries, had a full fruit nose and delightful sweet finish.
The two specialty wines - Bubbly and Syrah - are perfect endings to any meal. Bubbly is a sparkling-style sweet white while Syrah is a port-style dessert wine that has been aged 10 years.
