Silver Crest Cellars

03/27/2026

Some of the best wines in the GRV will be poured on Thursday at Red Wine & Brew in Mentor. Not a bad way to kick off a weekend… a day early!

03/25/2026

We are releasing our 2021 Cabernet Franc this week. While we were getting that release ready, we received news from the International Cabernet Franc Competition that it received not 1, but 2 “Best of Show” Awards this year! At this competition, they have two sets of judges. One is the “Wine Professionals” Panel, and the other is the “People’s Choice” Panel.

It has the spiciness and fruitiness we are looking for in Cab Franc, but the tannins are still quite firm for an almost 5-year-old wine.

Both our 2023 & 2024 Meritage Rose’ wines (a blend with 56% Cabernet Franc) also won Silver Medals in the “Specialty” wine class of the same competition. When we get those medals shipped to us, we should put together a “family photo” of the Cab Francs over the years!

Cheers!

03/15/2026

Explore a variety of wines from 5 of Grand River Valley's local wineries!

03/13/2026

Happy Riesling Birthday Everyone!

Today is Riesling’s 591st “Birthday” in 1435 where it appeared in the cellar inventory records of Count John IV of Katzenelnbogen (“Cat’s Elbow” in German). It listed the purchase by cellarmaster Klaus Kleinfisch of six "Riesslingen" vines for 22 shillings from a local nursery.

We plan to celebrate all week with either the 2021 Half-Dry Riesling or the 2023 Dry Riesling. We will also do some Wine Cellar Spelunking at the house and bring up a surprise or two from down there.

Cheers!... or „Prost!“... or „Zum Wohl!“... or „Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!“

03/12/2026

This year’s National Drink Wine With Your Cat Week (NDWWYCW) saw the return of our large main cat, Martha – who we believe is a very picky cat-hating human trapped in a fur suit. She was not too impressed with either the 2020 Gerald Smith Cab Sauv, or the 2023 Dry Riesling.

New to the crew this year is a very fluffy rescue cat Nadja, who is very picky for a cat who was living in gopher holes for almost 3 years. She wasn’t particularly impressed with the Dry Riesling, but didn’t seem to mind hanging out with the wine drinkers.

10-month-old Boris, who showed up on our porch this fall, was super curious about the Dry Riesling. He wisely chose to go back to his normal fare (cat food of ANY kind, tortilla chips, olives, etc.). His sister Xena declined to participate in any way, shape, or form.

This year’s score was cats 4 – wines 0. But the whole point of the week is for us to enjoy wines with the cats, which we did… and the cats had plenty of their own fun, as usual.

Sorry we are a little late with this post. Boris insisted on helping.

Cheers!

03/12/2026

We were out at to harvest Agawam Canes to ship off to for propagation… and it was pointed out that we missed a perfect opportunity to replicate the Led Zeppelin 4th (and untitled) album cover. Dang! Next time!

02/13/2026

Monday is the beginning of “National Drink Wine With Your Cat Week” (NDWWYCW)! Be sure to celebrate appropriately*!

Like a lot of people, you have been hunkered down drinking wine with your cat(s) for several weeks now, just WAITING for a break in the Winter Weather. This weekend is your chance to bust out and restock your wine supply! We all need to be ready for the next blast of Winter… which we KNOW is around the corner. I’ve had sleet hitting me in the face in JUNE when I was driving my tractor… so I know this warmer weather is a trick, and we are not out of the soup yet.

*Cats don’t and/or shouldn’t drink wine, so the bulk of the responsibility for this celebration depends on you. Cat’s love gravy, however. Maybe pick up some gravy laden cat food while you’re out restocking your winter wine supply!

Cheers!

02/04/2026

Whew! The Fall/Winter Wine Competition Season is over for now. We entered the American Wine Society, Dan Berger International, San Francisco Chronicle, and San Francisco International Competitions. We won a total of 48 medals (3 Double Gold, 2 Gold, 20 Silver, and 23 Bronze)! I won’t list them here, but the awards for each wine can be found on the silvercrestcellars.com website in the “WINES” section.

We started entering these competitions 3 years ago, and headed straight to the California Competitions just to see how we would compare to their standard. Over the last 3 years, Silver Crest Cellars has won 27 out of 37 Awards from the San Francisco Chronicle & San Francisco International Wine Competitions given to Ohio Grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Meritage Blends.

We put together the “Wine Family Photo” covering the last 3 years, and are already looking forward to the next round starting this fall!

Stop in and try them out! We are open Fridays & Saturdays Noon to 7pm.

12/10/2025

There are 2 weeks left in the Tannenbaum Trail, and we have 2 new wines in the Tasting Room! … well, one is returning as the 2024 Vintage, and one is brand new.

While it lasts, Agawam is back with the 2024 Vintage! It is typically only around for a few weeks before it sells out, so don’t dawdle if you are a fan.

Frankenfelder is making its debut! It was one of the blends put together by our Oenology Students. It is a combination of Cabernet Franc, Dornfelder, and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has the berry fruitiness from the Dornfelder with the tannin structure from the Cabs. Nice!

Stop in and try them out! Until Christmas, we are open Fridays & Saturdays Noon to 7pm, and Sundays Noon to 6pm. After Christmas, we start our Winter Hours: Fridays & Saturdays Noon to 7pm.

11/26/2025

There is no better way to reacquaint yourself with the wineries you know, as well as visit some of the newer wineries in the area! There are still a few tickets left!

It's that time of year again... our beloved Tannenbaum Wine Trail begins in just about a month from now- Friday Nov. 28th!!😊 If any of these wineries are local to you and you're looking for an event to kick off the holiday season, go to our website ohiowines.org to learn more and buy tickets!

You receive an 18" Christmas tree to start and then gather an ornament at each winery along the way! It is the perfect way to get into the holiday spirit all while enjoying the wines and wineries apart of our Vines&Wines trail!! 🍷

09/01/2025

In Honor of the PERFECT Summer/Fall Weather and Labor Day, we are going to be open from Noon to 6pm on Monday, September 1. You just can’t squander a day like Monday, so pack a picnic, and come on out to the Grand River Valley! You will thank me in January… if not sooner.

Also, there is also a rumor that Pinot Noir and Dry Gewürztraminer are back on the tasting room bar!