Catawba Island Wine Company Beginnings
Updated: Feb 26, 2022
Lake Erie’s south shore has a rich history of grape growing and wine production dating back to the 1800s. Today, the winemaking tradition continues within the walls of our timeless Catawba Island treasure 150 years later. Read more about our beginnings as a winery and about the early grape growers of the region…

Kelleys Island Wine Company & the Wine Cooperative
The Kelleys Island Wine Company was established in 1865 as a wine cooperative. Because of its size and reach, smaller wineries and grape growers were encouraged to sell their grapes to the new facility.
With modern steam-powered grape presses, the wine cooperative had the capacity to produce 350,000 gallons of wine per year, and due to its