unpredictable, why have three states joined together to make wine along its rugged shores? From the perspective of two prominent Lake Erie Wine Country wine growers, it is both their home and their history.

Mario Mazza’s family came to Northeastern Pennsylvania in the early 1960s to farm a small Concord vineyard. Their first vintage as a winery was in 1973, followed by forty-five more. He now oversees three wineries (South Shore Wine Co., Mazza-Chautauqua Cellars, and Mazza Vineyards), as well as a brewery and distillery (Five & 20). Mazza has been privileged to work with a diverse wine staff, including artisans from France, India, Uruguay, Portugal, and Germany. This worldly give and take has helped him realize exactly what Lake Erie is capable of.

It’s that potential that excites Mazza:the vineyard, work he still enjoys. After working for many local vineyards, Juniper has become one of the most prominent producers in Ohio.

Ohio’s Vermilion Valley Vineyards got its start in 2007, thanks to a botanist, an MBA, and a landowner. Juniper worked in Vermillion’s vineyards and, after some growth and internal shuffling, in 2013, at the age of twenty-two, he and his wife took over operations. What was a small, eleven-acre winery has grown to a respectable fifty-one-acre operation with 110 additional acres allocated for future plantings. The winery utilizes 100 percent estate-grown fruit.

To say that Juniper has strong opinions wouldn’t do justice to his verbosity. The list of items keeping him disgruntled is long, but his priority is the current structure of the Ohio wine industry. With