PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT, COURTESY OF YORI WINE CELLARS & BREWING CO., 21 BRIX WINERY, KINGVIEW MEADHOUSE & WINERY, LIBERTY VINEYARDS & WINERY

Think wine country, and your mind may jump to Napa’s golden hills or Oregon’s misty Pinot Noir valleys. But there’s a sleeper region that’s been quietly perfecting its craft — and it’s on the cusp of something big.

Welcome to Lake Erie Wine Country, a 53-mile stretch across two states. The region is home to 22 wineries, running from Harborcreek, Pennsylvania to Silver Creek, New York, hugging the southern shore of one of America’s Great Lakes. It harks back to the early-19th century, when settlers first planted vines in the gravel and clay soils along the shoreline. The lake acts as a natural thermal regulator — buffering against the bitter cold, stretching out the growing season and giving grapes the time they need to develop balance, depth and complexity.

For decades, Concord grapes dominated the landscape, feeding Welch’s juice factories and fueling the region’s reputation for sweet wines. But that identity is fading fast.

“People assume we only make sweet wine — which we do very well,” says Jaret Kelly, president of Lake Erie Wine Country, a marketing association. “But what people don’t realize is just how much our dry wines are thriving.”

Blame climate change or credit better winemaking; either way, the shift is real. Warmer summers are extending hang times and deepening fruit complexity, leading to some of the best Cabernet Franc and Riesling you’ve ever tasted. Unlike regions that put all their chips on a single grape — Napa’s Cab obsession, the Finger Lakes’ Riesling stronghold — Lake Erie Wine Country is all about range.

“You can walk into a tasting room and find a bold Cab for the Napa snob; a creamy oaked Chardonnay for Grandma; a crisp, semi-dry Riesling with electric acidity; a deliciously dry sparkling for the brunch crowd; and a blueberry wine for your ‘I don’t really drink wine’ friend, all in one spot,” says Kelly.

And the future? If Kelly had his way, Lake Erie would be the next Champagne, the wine region in France. “Our climate is perfect for sparkling wine: high acidity, low alcohol, the structure for méthode traditionnelle [a secondary fermentation in the bottle],” he says. “If we start today, in 10 to 20 years, we could have world-class bubbles that rival Champagne and the booming UK sparkling scene.”

Here are 12 must-visit spots.

Note: All stops along the wine trail offer non-alcoholic options, usually mocktails, juice and/or bottled water. There are usually fees for tasting flights; none for designated drivers.

21 Brix Winery

PHOTO COURTESY OF 21 BRIX WINERY

Before 21 Brix Winery became famous for gold medal-winning wines, it was known for Ella, a life-sized pink elephant parked off Route 20.

Originally a marker for the Kane family’s cherry orchard, Ella became the unofficial landmark for lost visitors. Then they launched a pink Catawba called Ellatawba, and the legend was sealed. The family has farmed here since the 1950s, but it was Kris Kane’s pivot from pre-med to winemaking that transformed their 250 acres into one of Lake Erie’s most decorated wineries.

PHOTO COURTESY OF 21 BRIX WINERY

From cool-climate classics like Riesling and Chardonnay to crowd-pleasers like Ella’s White and Ella’s Red, the lineup has racked up more than 400 medals, including 50-plus double-golds. And wine isn’t a quiet affair here. The Beats at the Brix series turns the tasting room into a live music venue, and Soupin’ Sundays pair steaming bowls of comfort food with a curated wine list.

Portland, Chautauqua County, New York: 6654 W. Main Road

6 Mile Cellars

PHOTO COURTESY OF 6 MILE CELLARS

Housed in a pre-Civil War horse barn with exposed beams and weathered wood, 6 Mile Cellars offers rustic charm. 6 Mile Cellars was opened in 2012 by Pat Walsh and Bart Towell, two Penn State Behrend business students who discovered a shared love for winemaking after crafting cider and wine for Walsh’s wedding.

Their senior-year business project? A plan to transform Towell’s family’s historical barn into a working winery.

What started as a hobby has become one of the area’s best-kept secrets — a winery with a laser focus on expressive, meticulously crafted wines. The Gewürztraminer hits with lychee, rose petal and spice. Vidal Blanc is crisp, citrusy and kissed with honey. Cabernet Franc is all blackberry, cracked pepper and quiet intensity. Pinot Gris is clean and mineral-driven.

The barn’s tasting room boasts cozy corners, candlelight and zero pretense. Summer Sundays offer live music from 4 to 6 p.m., an easy excuse to stretch the afternoon with a bottle (or two). But the annual Kentucky Derby bash in May is where it all goes down, turning wine country into Churchill Downs for a day, mint juleps and all.

Harborcreek, Erie County: 5727 Firman Road

Yori Wine Cellars & Brewing Co.

PHOTO COURTESY OF YORI WINE CELLARS & BREWING CO.

Yori Wine Cellars & Brewing Co. is a family-run winery where the vines are old, the pours are generous and the wood-fired oven is always blazing. In 2003, Michael Yori was making wine for fun in the stone cellar of his 100-year-old home. By 2017, he and his wife, Lynn, turned that passion into a full-fledged winery, rooted in generations of grape-growing tradition.

Now, their North East vineyards stretch across 14 grape varieties, from Sauvignon Blanc to Cabernet to expressive hybrids, all shaped by Lake Erie’s cool-climate finesse. Great wine deserves great food. At Yori, that means pizza the way it’s meant to be: blistered, crackling and straight from the flames.

Raised in Italian families where dough was a labor of love and sauce simmered for hours, the owners have turned their kitchen into an extension of the vineyard. The menu is straight out of nonna’s kitchen — including wood-fired flatbreads, house-made meatballs and rustic Italian specialties that pair flawlessly with whatever is in your glass.

In summer, the patio bursts with color, sunlight spilling over vibrant blooms and the scent of fresh basil drifting from the garden (leaves are plucked to top bubbling-hot pies). Alongside their more than 30 award-winning wines, Yori pours in-house beers and hard ciders to deliver to those looking for one more round.

North East, Erie County: 18 S. Lake St.

Liberty Vineyards & Winery

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIBERTY VINEYARDS & WINERY

The Burmaster family of Liberty Vineyards & Winery has been growing grapes in Sheridan, New York, since the 1860s, long before boutique wineries were a thing. For more than 150 years, their vines produced Concords that shipped out on railcars to markets up and down the East Coast.

But in 2008, the family — owners Gary and Pam Burmaster, alongside their daughter, Beth Margolis — decided to keep the fruit closer to home, launching Liberty Vineyards & Winery and turning generations of grape-growing knowledge into small-batch, award-winning wines. With 93 acres under vine, Liberty produces everything from crisp Vidal Blanc to barrel-select Noiret, but it’s the wines rooted in family history that stand out.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIBERTY VINEYARDS & WINERY

Rufus Red — a semi-dry, fruit-forward red blend — pays homage to Gary’s great-great-grandfather, who planted the first vineyards here. Richter Red, a semi-sweet blend, nods to the German immigrant side of the family, whose farming roots run just as deep. Liberty’s vineyard-view pavilion is a summer destination in itself, surrounded by rows of grapes on three sides. They host winemaker’s dinners under the stars, murder mysteries with a side of Merlot and Singo Nights (yes, musical bingo).

Come for the wine, stay for the fire pit, and don’t leave without trying their curated charcuterie boards stacked with homemade artisanal cherry salsa or raspberry-jalapeño jam.

Sheridan, Chautauqua County, New York: 2861 Route 20

KingView Meadhouse & Winery

PHOTO COURTESY OF KINGVIEW MEADHOUSE & WINERY

Mead, believed to be history’s first alcohol-related happy accident, has been around for thousands of years. Vikings drank it. Monks brewed it. You can try this fermented-honey beverage at KingView Meadhouse & Winery, where Scott Neeley has since 2011 been putting his own spin on the world’s oldest fermented drink.

Forget the syrupy, medieval-faire mead; KingView is all about nuanced flavor. Pink Lemonade Mead and the Watermelon Strawberry Mead are great sips for summer; Happy Apple Pie Cyser is fall in a bottle. The receipts? Gold medals from the Pennyslvania Wine Competition, Finger Lakes International and the American Wine Society Nationals.

KingView gives back with their Mead-For-Bees program, which funds local apiaries, making every pour a toast to the pollinators who make it all possible. Speaking of historical beverages, the Neeleys are carrying forward another Pennsylvania legacy. In 2023, Scott and Hannah Neeley took the reins at Penn Shore Winery, the state’s oldest winery and home to its longest-running vineyards. They’re honoring its roots while infusing fresh energy into the lineup, from classic Concord and Niagara to bold, barrel-aged reds.

Harborcreek, Erie County: 7895 Buffalo Road (Route 20)

Presque Isle Wine Cellars

PHOTO COURTESY OF PRESQUE ISLE WINE CELLARS

Founded in 1964 by Doug Moorhead, Presque Isle Wine Cellars was one of Pennsylvania’s first post-Prohibition wineries and a driving force behind the Pennsylvania Limited Winery Act. It proved that local grapes could go glass-for-glass with the big names.

Sixty years later, the Moorhead family continues the legacy, balancing tradition with an instinct for reinvention. With 45 wines in rotation, PIWC is both classic and experimental. Cool-climate Riesling is crisp and precise, Pinot Grigio leans mineral-driven and Grüner Veltliner brings serious European energy.

Then there are under-the-radar dry reds: Teroldego, Dornfelder and peppery Blaufränkisch. The Kisses Ice-Style wine tastings is so rich and complex that it has been known to convert even die-hard dry-wine drinkers. Add a house-made port, a wildly good vermouth and a sparkling Ancestrale Pet-Nat, and you’ve got a lineup that refuses to play it safe.

The setting seals the deal. Twelve Mile Creek winds through the estate, tumbling past waterfalls, wildflower-strewn meadows and vineyard-covered slopes. Sip wine, skip rocks and pretend you’re in the opening scene of an European arthouse film.

North East, Erie County: 9440 W. Main Road

South Shore Wine Co.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTH SHORE WINE CO.

Have you ever dreamed of sipping wine in a historical stone cavern straight out of 19th-century France — without the airfare? South Shore Wine Co. delivers.

Founded in 1864 as Erie County’s first commercial winery, it has lived many lives — first as a thriving business, then as a casualty of Prohibition, later as a restaurant and inn and, finally, as a 2007 revival by the Mazza family. They have restored its underground, Civil War-era wine cavern to its former grandeur.

The moody, vaulted stone chamber is one of just a handful in the Eastern United States. South Shore embraces its identity as a sparkling house, crafting méthode champenoise Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and a vibrant Zweigelt Rosé, along with a rare still red Zweigelt. They push boundaries with Pét Nat Riesling and Chambourcin, while their Charmat-method “The Perfect Bubbly” (which involves a second fermentation in a large stainless-steel tank to trap carbonation) and mimosa flights keep things light and playful.

For still wines, a crisp Grüner Veltliner and an unwooded Chardonnay anchor the dry selections, while Carmine – a bold, tannic hybrid of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignane – defies expectations. Their Diamond wine, a tropical, fruit-forward white, is quietly stealing the spotlight from the region’s longtime sweetheart, Niagara.

North East, Erie County: 1120 Freeport Road 

Lakeview Wine Cellars

PHOTO COURTESY OF LAKEVIEW WINE CELLARS

At Lakeview Wine Cellars, the tasting bar is as much a conversation starter as the wine. Handcrafted and packed with sands, shells and relics from beaches around the world, it’s part time capsule, part showpiece.

Beaches of Normandy, sand from Australia and even a piece of the Berlin Wall all are slices of history that swirl beneath the glass, setting the tone for a tasting that feels bigger than the bottle. Inspired by Lake Erie’s maritime past, Sam and Becky Best built this winery in 2008 as part of their retirement dream and boast a Pennsylvania oak-aged lineup that reads like a sailor’s log. Shipwreck Red is bold and brooding, Red Sky leans into stormy complexity and Sunset Blush is all effortless, lakeside ease.

Beyond the covered patio, a wine-bottle-shaped pond does double duty as a geothermal energy source. Vineyards sprawl toward the horizon, framed by Lake Erie’s changing blues, while the winery’s affable Irish Setter, Cabernet, plays host with a simple charm.

North East, Erie County: 8440 Singer Road

Aakanksha Agarwal, a Pittsburgh-based wine, travel and lifestyle writer, brings a global perspective to her storytelling. Formerly a Bollywood stylist in India, she channels her creativity into full-time writing while juggling family life and, more often than not, a glass of Riesling.