Winery to Open in Historic Downtown Powell, Ohio

Powell, OH, October 29, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Historic Powell’s love for unique shops has lead to a match made in heaven. The Powell Village Winery & Tasting Room will be opening its doors to the public in late fall – just in time for the holidays. It will be located on the back side of the 50 S. Liberty building, which also houses the Beehive Bread Co., Buckeye Amish Furniture, Rita’s and Liberty Tavern, to name a few.

So how is a winery going to fit into the downtown area?

“It’s an urban micro-winery,” explains Jeff Kirby. He and his wife, Gina, are the winemaking owners. So what exactly is an urban micro-winery? Jeff went on to say, “Unlike traditional wineries in rural settings with rolling hills covered in vines, we are following in the footsteps of micro-breweries and bringing the juices right to the people. We are a small-batch artisan wine producer creating all of our wines right in-house from notable grape-growing regions around the world, including juice from the top vineyards in Ohio.”

Jeff has an architectural background and designed/built most of the space himself. It has an intimate, rustic charm – oak barrel tables, 8’ high rustic wood wine shelves, old brick facades and large windows to see the winemaking in progress. Another great aspect is the big outdoor patio with a tall shade-casting trellis.

“It’s simple – we wanted to create a hometown place where the people of Powell can come and enjoy great wine and great times,” Gina said. “Wine is fun – not pretentious - and our whole goal with this place is to help people realize that!” The names of their wines alone will put a smile on your face. Jeff & Gina explained they wanted their wine names to be fun and thought-provoking - they include names such as, High Maintenance, Ooh La La, Big Spender & Beach Chair!

Jeff went on to say that patrons can buy a bottle of wine, a glass of wine, wine flights or single tastings. “We will also be carrying our very own line of dipping oils, which we are very excited about.” They will also be serving a small plates menu that will include such things as cheese and crackers, bread and dipping oils, and such.

So how did this idea come about?

Both originally from Northeast Ohio, Gina spent a large part of her life in Arizona and in the wine region of Northern California. She developed an immense enthusiasm for wine during this time and later introduced Jeff to the wonderful world of “fine” wine. They took numerous trips visiting wineries everywhere, especially Arizona, California and Ohio and treasured every moment of it. They joked quite often while in Arizona about having their “own little wine place” to let others recognize what a fantastic fixation wine really is. Soon after moving back to Ohio from Arizona, Jeff mentioned to Gina that he was interested in trying his hand at making some wine. Gina rolled her eyes and then jumped right in once two large, frozen buckets of 2007 Napa River Valley cabernet sauvignon grapes arrived at their door. “I realized he was serious,” Gina joked. They squeezed them all by hand with a straining bag (you can see pictures of this on the wall in the tasting room) and they instantly fell in love with winemaking from that point forward. Before you knew it, they had their basement filled with oak barrels & wine bottles. “A bottle of wine to me,” Jeff remarked, “is like taking a virtual trip to where the grapes in the bottle were grown.” Their dream was literally starting to happen without them even knowing it.

Jeff and Gina’s love for the downtown Powell lead them to their perfect spot and they will be officially opening their doors this September. Their juices are shipped in from all over – Ohio, California, New York, Italy, Australia & many more. After the grapes are harvested and crushed, they buy the juice in small batches from them to process, ferment, bottle & label the wines right in downtown Powell. “We are still in an experimental state right now,” Jeff mentioned. “We are trying juices from all over but hope to one day have the land to create our wines from our own vines.”

Gina went on to explain that another great aspect of the micro winery will be the customized labels. “Whether you want just one or two bottles, or an entire batch of wine, we can help you add a custom label for that personal touch,” she said. Use one of their stock labels and take it home with you that day or do a custom label completely from scratch with a special photo and all...your imagination is the limit! “Custom labeled wine makes a perfect gift for the holidays for friends and family, a unique corporate gift for business associates, or for any memorable occasion including a wedding or anniversary,” Gina added.

It sounds like downtown Powell is getting another unique gem to go along with their downtown charm. To find out more information about the winery, keep an eye on their website!

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