Today is a fun travel guide because I’m sharing a quick little weekend getaway gem! My husband and I had been planning and looking forward to a trip to Geneva, Ohio and it did not disappoint.
For Erie locals, you are going to love this spot because it’s only a 45 minute drive- from Cleveland, it’s only about an hour and Pittsburgh just 2 hours! We headed there on Friday afternoon and stayed two nights until Sunday. It’s totally doable in only one day since the area is small, but if you wanted to spend the entire weekend like we did, or even part of a week, you could also do that because there is a lot to do and see.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, Geneva, Ohio is situated on Lake Erie and is considered part of the Ohio Wine Country.
Our trip began with check-in to our storybook cottage at Vineyard Woods on Friday afternoon. Vineyard Woods is home to adorable cottages and villas situated in the woods on the property of a vineyard. They have mostly small cottages that sleep 2, but also have larger accommodations, as well.
My expectations were exceeded when we stepped foot into the most pristine and clean little cabin with anything and everything we could need for our stay.
The proprietors never missed a detail- from the decor, to the toiletries and snacks and supplies in the kitchenette. We enjoyed the fresh brewed coffee with the locally provided coffee grounds in the morning. They even have an adorable outdoor fire pit area which we will have to take advantage of during our next stay. We had restful nights of sleep and we loved the oversized bathroom and the cozy sitting area.
On Friday night made reservations and enjoyed a lovely dinner at The Lakehouse Inn’s restaurant, Crosswinds. As the name suggests, the Inn and the restaurant are situated right on Lake Erie with the most beautiful views. We had arrived after sunset, but when we returned the next day I could tell this area in Geneva has impressive views of sunrise and sunset over the water. During the warmer months, you can sit outside and enjoy the views with a glass of wine in hand! This is a great spot for a date night or celebration.
The food was delicious and fresh, as they are a farm-to-table restaurant. We enjoyed their homemade bread with garlic balsamic to start. I ordered the butternut squash ravioli and my husband had a blue cheese coulette. They also make their own wine and my husband had a glass of their cabernet that was delicious and perfectly dry, so he left with a bottle. I ordered a seasonal cocktail.
Something we did twice on this trip that I plan to implement more often is ordering dessert (and wine) to take home to enjoy later. I chose the lemon cake and my husband brought home their Creme brûlée cheesecake. It was so nice to indulge in something sweet in the comfort of my pajamas and slippers.
The next morning after waking up refreshed and enjoying some time in our cottage sipping coffee, we ventured into town for breakfast.
We headed to Scribbler’s Coffee and both ordered more coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and a sticky bun to share.
These were all SO good. It is the cutest little spot that you could cozy up with a cup of coffee and a good book. Scribbler’s is in the heart of the town and looks like it could be Stars Hollow- there are so many cute little shops around.
I wanted to be sure to visit one that caught my eye called Catherine’s Christmas. As you can probably imagine it was rooms and rooms of floor to ceiling Christmas decor. We had to leave with an ornament to commemorate our trip.
We also headed into “downtown” Geneva to explore, which is quite small and quaint to be considered downtown. It reminded us a lot of downtown North East, PA. Especially with all of the hints of grapes and wine everywhere.
I took my husband into his first ever antique store and it was an experience for him for sure! I enjoyed looking at all of the random and beautiful dinnerware and ceramic collections in the cabinets.
Next on our agenda was a couple’s massage at the Spa at the Lakehouse Inn. We enjoyed the most relaxing 60 minutes we’ve had in a long time and left feeling rejuvenated and tension free. That is another new decision we hope to continue from this getaway- prioritizing self care and booking semi-regular relaxation massages. It was so good for our bodies and our restless minds.
After the massages it was time to head back to the cottage to get ready and head out for our wine tours. The area is chock full of wineries-and though we aren’t wine connoisseurs in the least, we love trying new wines. I’m a sweet white wine drinker, and my husband likes reds. Opposites attract I guess!
Unfortunately, while visiting, it was freezing and raining, but, I would love to return in the warmer weather when everything is either in bloom in the spring and summer or during the peak of fall and we could enjoy the outdoor spaces of each location. They all had such beautiful outdoor areas! I think we were about 2 weeks late to get to enjoy the fall foliage in the area, but I imagine it would be quite beautiful.
While we were there, we visited 4 wineries: Debonné, Ferrante’s, Laurentia, and M Cellars. If you are looking to visit more wineries, you can find all of the info, here. I actually had no idea that this specific area was home to so many wineries until we were researching our trip. In the past, the Geneva area has been known for making sweet, ice wine, but in more recent years, this has changed and there are some wonderful vineyards that create all sorts of different wines.
I’m going to share the vineyards in order of my preference, but we really loved them all as they were all so different.
This one was our favorite! The interior is adorable with lots of space at the bar for tastings. There is also lots of seating space if you want to have a seat with friends and enjoy a bottle of wine. They had live music while we were there which made the atmosphere so much fun! My favorite wine was the Amelia, and I left with a bottle to bring home to continue to enjoy. I was truly impressed by the quality and quantity of wine here. They had so many different wines to choose from and even two bubbly options.
Laurentia was the place to be! There were so many people there (for good reason) while we were there so I suggest getting there on the earlier side to snag a table. Laurentia has an upscale log cabin vibe. Besides the wine, the food was delicious and our table had a view of the vineyard and beautiful pond on the property.
Debonné is somewhere I would really love to come back during the warmer months because they appeared to have so much outdoor seating. We got there before dinner but they have a full restaurant, too! Their ice wine was good, but not my favorite.
Debonne also brews their own beer. We liked the vibe here because it was casual and unpretentious, and with their popcorn machine it reminded us of our favorite hometown tavern, The Plymouth. One of the great things about all of these vineyards was that they were all so affordable.
It was around dinner time when we made it to our fourth and final stop. Ferrante’s has less of a winery atmosphere and is more-so a restaurant which ultimately we were grateful for. It was busy but we only had to wait about 20 minutes for our table to be ready. During that time we were able to peruse their wine shop. Other people there were also getting wine flights as they waited for their tables which would have been appealing to us had we not already drank quite a bit of wine at our other stops from earlier.
Dinner was delicious Italian food, which I loved. I ordered the creamy pesto penne and my husband got a chicken parmesan dish. The meals were just what we needed to soak up all of the wine we had consumed. We carried on the tradition and took cannolis to go for dessert later.
Excited to get back home to Charlie and Alice, we woke up early on Sunday morning (to the first snow of the season) without even setting our alarms.
After packing up, we found one last stop for breakfast that was open for us at 7 am called Mary’s Diner. It was a very cute 50’s era inspired diner, complete with checkered flooring, a juke box and Coca Cola memorabilia. The food was, of course, great- it was greasy diner goodness on plate!
This trip was truly perfect for our couple’s getaway but we saw a lot of friend groups out at the wineries for bachelorette and birthday parties. It would also be fun to get a few couples together for the weekend. We had seen some groups of people that rented party buses so they were able to get from vineyard to vineyard together!
All in all, I highly recommend the trip to Geneva, Ohio. There is so much to do and we had so much fun and enjoyed our time together exploring a new place. We can’t wait to plan our next trip back to enjoy it again, hopefully during a different season for a slightly different experience at each location.
All opinions and reviews expressed are my own and this trip was not sponsored.
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