TOAST

from Experience Akron Canton 2023

FORAGE

COURTESY OF GERVASI VINEYARD

Uncork

Gervasi Vineyard, whose Villas hotel was named the best in wine country by USA Today readers, is a 55-acre estate in Canton that transports its visitors to Tuscany. It also has an inn, three restaurants, an 1840s farmhouse that sleeps eight and a boutique for shopping.

And Gervasi is expanding yet again, adding a spa, a new wine cave and tasting room, a rickhouse for spirits and a distribution warehouse expected to open in spring 2023. Concerts and other events are held on site at 1700 55th St. NE, Canton

Gervasi Vineyard is a perfect first stop of Akron-Canton wineries, but here are some others to get you started.

The Winery at Wolf Creek

2637 S. Cleveland Massillon Rd., Barberton: Hillside vineyard planted with European grape varieties. Picnics welcome.

Sarah’s Vineyard

1204 Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls: Sustainable farming within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Handhewn beams, fireplace, gardens, local art for sale.

1875 Winery

109 State Rte. 44, Hartville: Named for the vintage, threestory barn it calls home. Two patios. No kids allowed.

Barrel Run Crossing

3272 Industry Rd., Rootstown: Fourth-generation family farm turned vineyard, orchard. Small plates, live music on weekends.

Nauti Vine Winery

3950 S. Main St., Akron: This place is also home to Mucky Duck Brewery. Watch the sun set over the Portage Lakes.

Sandy Springs Brewing Company

Maize Valley Winery and Brewery

6193 Edison St. NE, Hartville: a 700-acre working farm, market, tasting room, café. Special events.

Silver Run Vineyard and Winery

376 Eastern Rd., Doylestown: Run by a husband and wife who’ve been in the business for nearly 20 years. Indoor and outdoor seating.

Fillia Cellars

3059 Greenwich Rd., Wadsworth: Dry red from another family vineyard in California. Whites made in Ohio. Dog friendly. Snacks available or bring a picnic.

Michael Angelo’s Winery

5515 Broadview Rd., Richfield: Focused on small-lost varietals. Café style food, signature treats from its sister bakery.

High & Low Winery and Bistro

588 Medina Rd., Medina: A high-tasting room with chandeliers; a rustic low-tasting room. Artisan deli. Events such as yoga and concerts.

COURTESY OF SANDY SPRINGS BREWING COMPNANY

COURTESY OF GERVASI VINEYARD

Cheer s for Beer s

Beer lovers, we have plenty of spectacular suds to wet your whistle. Our beers have won numerous medals at the Great American Beer Festival and earned top honors from ratebeer.com.

And the Summit Brew Path is back for its sixth year, highlighting 23 craft breweries in Summit, Portage, Stark and Medina County. The Brew Path, a passport-style trail, has been a rousing success. Thousands take part each year. Use #SummitBrewPath on Twitter to see highlights of their travels. All fi nishers are entered into a drawing, and the grand prize winner is announced at the Summit Brew Path Bash in January. Be sure to check out HiHo Brewing Company and Hoppin’ Frog Brewery, who won awards in the 2022 World Beer Cup Competition (57 countries entered!).

Or to see how our southerners do it, check out Hall of Fame Hops, the selfguided ale trail through the breweries of Stark and Tuscarawas counties.

If your taste runs more to the caff einated, try The Drip Drive, a 20-stop trail through Summit County’s coff ee country. Check out #DoTheDrip on Twitter.

Akronym Brewing A 6-PACK OF BEER FACTS

Akronym Brewing recently took an empty space between two buildings in downtown Akron and transformed it into a magical biergarten to complement its brewery’s main taproom on East Market Street.

Missing Falls Brewery is housed in Canal Place, the former B.F. Goodrich plant in downtown Akron. Its Golden Zip Golden Ale honors University of Akron students who are nicknamed Zips. (That’s a whole other crazy story.)

Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. got its name when the owner’s Labrador retriever loped into a brainstorming session to lap up a bowl of water.

Royal Docks in Canton has a British fl avor because the Canton blokes who founded it lived across the pond for a bit and loved it. Cheerio!

MADCAP Brew Co. has brought its punkish-metal vibe to a 1940s-era machine shop in Kent.

Lock 15 Brewing Co. may be housed in a former tire factory but its setting is now idyllic—nestled near the bucolic Cascade Valley trailhead and the Towpath Trail.

Missing Falls Brewery

HiHo Brewing Company Lock 15 Brewing Company Thirsty Dog Brewing Company

Unwind

LAY YOUR LIPS ON THESE LOCAL, LUSCIOUS LIBATIONS.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Eff en Cucumber Vodka, St. Elder, lime juice, simple syrup Northside Speakeasy, 31 Furnace St., Akron

Smoked Old Fashioned

Woodford Reserve bourbon, Angostura bitters and a Bordeaux cherry smoked with oak and served over a colossal ice cube

Bonefi sh Grill, 6341 Strip

Ave. NW, North Canton

Huckleberry

Bulleit bourbon, blueberry puree, Turbinado sugar, lemons and topped with ginger beer Cashmere Cricket, 2275 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls

Kenmore once sat on a trolley line and was known as Stop 97. In the 1940s, Dumbledore’s Butterbeer a neighborhood bar known as the Old Vanilla/Orange Liqueur, White Crème de Cacao, 97 welcomed weary commuters with Butterscotch, Sparkling drinks and fellowship. Today that bar Wine, Butterscotch has been completely remodeled into Meringue The 97 and features a trendy cocktail Crafted Cocktail Co., 991 High St., Wadsworth menu. It serves myriad martinis, including the “chocolate pretzel.” Tales of Woe New on the scene is Craft Social Bar in Cuyahoga Falls, a combination Bourbon, lemon, lime, Cuban espresso, and ginger beer winery, brewery and crafted 410 Lounge, 410 Market cocktail spot, so whatever you’re Ave., Canton drinking, they have it.

There are many other places to grab a crafted cocktail in the region, and you don’t need to be region, and you don’t need to be a commuter to enjoy them. a commuter to enjoy them.