Hermes Vineyards

My husband and I stopped here a few years ago on a day trip visiting local wineries. We thought the old barn was pretty cool. It was early in the day on a Saturday and we were the only ones in there. We had wanted to do some tastings as we had never had their wines before. There was only a young lady working inside, and a guy outside on a mower. The young lady was very nice, but not quite sure on how well she knew the wines because the phone kept ringing. She was answering the phone for a doctor’s office and making appointments. So we were pretty much left on our own as to the wine. They actually were pretty good. We purchased a couple bottles and made our way down the road to the next stop.
We had the occasion this past weekend to get in the car and go for a drive. On our way back from Norwalk, we decided to stop by here again and buy some of the wine we liked. It was late afternoon on a Saturday. Pulled in the parking lot into a pothole almost as big as my car! Drove up to the barn, closed. As we were pulling out, another car was pulling in. Too bad buddy! Keep going.
Still would like to get there again, but need to figure out their hours as they are not what is posted on their website

It’s been almost a year since I had tasted the Sun Kissed sweetness on my lips but thanks to a family reunion in Cleveland we backtracked over an hour just to see this place again! The live music was great and we enjoyed a wonderful cheese plate along with a bottle of wine. I only bought two bottles last time, this time I left with a case. If you are in the area, you MUST check this wonderful winery out. It holds a special place in my heart!

What a cool spot. The wine was good. Don’t go for food but the old barn come rustic winery was nice. The attendant was helpful. Try the «girls are meaner» or merlot. Merlot is incredibly smooth and delightful.

The server was very knowledgeable of the wines, growing and every thing. Tastings are $ 5.00 for 6 wines. There was only one I wasn’t a fan of. I will come back. They have snacks but no real food. Hummus and pita chips, cheese plate and bread with vinegar and olives.

An absolute gem in the mist of a tourist trap.
On a side note, if I could get married here, I would.
I live in NJ but whenever I make it up to Sandusky this vineyard is a must.
The Riesling is *impeccable*.
I love the barn and gardens (so picturesque) and the staff is supremely friendly, too.
My only complaint is that it’s not closer to me!

I was here a few years back when this was called Sandhill Vineyards and remember having some great wine and learning a lot about it from the staff. I recently had the opportunity to return for another wine flight and found the wine is still good.
We were there during the day so it was pretty dead, there was only one other couple in the building. Instead of telling us about the wines as we sampled each one from the flight, the woman working was more interested in getting back to watching her soap opera on her laptop (no headphones so it was pretty loud). This was somewhat disappointing.
I didn’t get a chance to try the food, and was not there to experience the live music that they offer, so I may go back at a later date to see get that experience, but won’t go out of my way for it.

Are you kidding? This place is amazing! It’s an old barn way out in the country that’s all fixed up, but not TOO fixed up… it still feels like an old barn, but like if you made your dream house out of an old barn. Where there are boards missing and part of a wall gone, they put glass, so it still has that dilapidated look while keeping the bugs out in the summer and the heat in in the winter. The hayloft is an extra seating area, but there are stairs up to it so you don’t have to carry a glass of wine up a ladder. This is like a dream for a kid who never grew up (me, admittedly) and had childhood adventures secretly exploring mysterious old barns. Better yet, there’s a lovely secret garden out back where you can hang out. And best of all, instead of an outhouse as you might expect, they have modern plumbing and a clean inside bathroom!
I guess it is named after the family farm and not the makers of ugly, overpriced handbags, or the out-​of-​control Greek god– though I would like to believe it’s named after Hermes. He’s got to be your favorite god, right? Kind of the god of rock’n’roll if there ever was one, sort of the Keith Richards or Robert Johnson of the gods. You might say Dionysus is more appropriate for a winery, true, but Dionysus is a little wilting for my tastes while Hermes is hardcore. No matter what anyone says, I think he’s the father of Pan, plus he’s like the «to hell and back» god. Plus, he was into music, and I like this place more for the music than anything– they often have people playing original music, not too loud, and it’s intimate. (If anyone ever arrives with a lyre or a pan flute, however, please text me a warning so I can stay 178 miles away.)
I admit I’m no wine expert, not qualified to talk about it, and if you’re wise, you won’t let Richard Skiller order the wine at dinner, because it might have a name like «Steppin’ Out» or be fizzy, sweet, and drunk over ice. I’m the kind of person who believes white wine can be improved with a little blue food coloring and some tropical fruit juice. I’ve been known to take a ride on the «Night Train» if you know what I’m saying. But I did read a little bit about the wine here and it got my interest. This area of northern Ohio was America’s original wine country and there are vineyards all over, believe it or else. I once bought a bottle– at this old place downtown– of 1950s era Tokay, from a company called E & K. This was the same wine, no doubt, that Kerouac drank on his way through town, lying in an alley behind the State Theatre. So, yeah, I drank it, and though I don’t remember the rest of that evening, I’m still here typin’.

My husband’s parents took us here for a quick pizza bite. I was pleasantly surprised by it’s tasty and affordable wines. I was a little heat struck so we did not venture out to eat in the garden, where they grow all the herbs that go on the pizza! How tasty!!!
All around a great place to visit if you want a little different, but low key experience.

This was the first visit of our trip to area wineries, and thankfully the trip got better after we left Hermes.
We wanted to love it so much… The atmosphere was amazing, and the décor seemed to be a good mix of modern and nostalgic. Unfortunately, the service and the quality of the wine were severly lacking. The employee serving us seemed extremely unhappy to be doing so, and shared little to no information about the wine during our sampling session. The wines were so-​so, although it was difficult to really judge them considering the miniscule sample size of about half an ounce. I ordered a glass after our sampling session, only to discover that it was completely different than what I had percieved… largely due to residual wine left between samples.
All in all, go here for the atmosphere and the live music… But, don’t expect friendly service or a quality tasting experience. If we did it over again, I would take a gamble on a bottle and drink it as far away from the servers as possible.

I thought the service was awful. The wine tasting was like doing shots at the bar. You could tell that the woman serving was ready to get out of there. Which is unfortunate, because while the ambiance and the atmosphere and customer service was lacking, the wine was the best that I had tasted among 3 wineries that day. Disappointing. If you really want the wine, take a bottle home and skip the poor customer service.

Of all of our local wineries, I really like this one. But, I have to say that’s based more on atmosphere than wine quality. The wine isn’t completely awful. Just kinda average but that’s also reflected in the affordable pricing. They offer good live music and draw a young yet relaxed crowd.
The location though is probably the most appealing I’ve found around this area. A converted barn, it has a warm, welcoming feeling and instead of patching the holes, they installed huge glass windows so you can see through the broken off siding out into the yard and vineyards. The loft has been converted to seating too which is a good thing as this place can get pretty packed on the weekends.
Summer’s probably my favorite time to hit this place. There’s a good size lawn in the back with well placed picnic tables. The perfect spot to go on a summer afternoon! But the fireplace inside is pretty cozy during the winter too!

Every Saturday afternoon I brought my virtual office here. Sunny days I sat outside overlooking the vineyards. Rainy or cold days were spent inside, up in the loft amongst the beautifully worn, oiled barn beams in the custom finished space. The nostalgia in this place is amazing; it transforms from day into night. They have great acoustic venues in the evening. The wine? An eclectic taste. Worth a Tasters Flight!