Stories to explore
A place to stay, a region to discover, and a family to meet. These are starting points for your own reporting, with access to the people and setting behind each story.
Two nights in the Grand River Valley, with a lakefront room, dinner downstairs, and time to explore the surrounding wineries. An adults-only stay for anniversaries, birthdays, or a weekend away.
Reporting ideas: a two-night itinerary, room photography, dining, and the experience of staying on the lake.
Serious Ohio wine, with somewhere to stay
Meet the people making wine in the Grand River Valley, then stay where the vineyard, restaurant, and inn share a setting. Explore the region through individual wines, the producers behind them, and the places welcoming overnight guests.
Reporting ideas: estate Cabernet Franc, conversations with the winemaking family, regional producers, and wine-country dining.
Eight years to open the doors
Michael and Katy Profeta bought an unfinished lakefront property in 2015. Years of hands-on work followed before the winery and restaurant opened in 2024, with overnight accommodations following. Their family story connects construction, home winemaking, and a return to hospitality on this shore.
Reporting ideas: owner interviews, construction history, family photographs, and the earlier Cottage Grove Inn.
The wider story
Regional context and reporting starting points, with links to the underlying sources.
How the Grand River Valley became wine country
The landscape, lake influence, and growers behind a wine region recognized as an American Viticultural Area in 1983. A starting point for exploring how established producers and newer families have shaped the valley.
Lake life meets wine country
For travelers drawn to lakeside wine trips, explore what an Ohio itinerary offers alongside the better-known Finger Lakes. Lake Erie was named Best Lake in USA TODAY’s 2026 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, as reported by VisitErie.
Wine weekends in the Midwest
Build a wider itinerary around regional wines, small inns, and local food. Grand River Valley producers bring national competition recognition to the story: Ferrante’s Starseeker Bubbly Blanc earned Best of Class at the 2024 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
When the vineyard becomes a place to stay
Explore how wine production, dining, and overnight stays meet in a family business. USDA reports $1.26 billion in U.S. agritourism income in 2022, up 12.4% from 2017 after inflation. Vincent William offers one family’s perspective on this broader subject.
See it for yourself
Three things we made for readers rather than reporters: the whole story of the mansion, thirty photographs from one season, and a working map of the valley’s wineries.
The full story, in pictures
How an unfinished mansion on Lake Erie became a winery, a restaurant and an eight-room inn, and what the pool dig turned up.
Thirty pictures from one season
The lake, the vineyard, the cellar and kitchen, and the rooms upstairs, photographed across a single season.
A working map of the Grand River Valley
Nine researched winery routes, fall-foliage drives and quieter stops, each open on a live map you can change.
Vincent William at a glance
Selected coverage
Lake Erie Living
Ohio Vineyard’s First Cabernet Franc Harvest Wins Double Gold
“I didn’t know I was going to become a farmer.”
Read the article ↗
Akron Beacon Journal
Here are some top-notch wines to be found in Ohio’s Grand River Valley
“The gorgeous lakeside resort features spectacular views of the Lake Erie shore.”
Read the article ↗
Cleveland Magazine
Vincent William Wine's View Earned Top Honors for the 2026 Best of the East
Cleveland Magazine named Vincent William Best View in its 2026 Best of the East awards. Read the coverage and plan a meal on Lake Erie.
Read the article ↗
Vincent William
1300 Belleair Ave.
Madison, OH 44057
(440) 428-1300
Opening Hours
Wednesday
12 to 9 pm
Thursday
12 to 9 pm
Friday
12 to 9 pm
Saturday
12 to 9 pm
Sunday
11 to 8 pm · Brunch to 2
© 2026 Vincent William Wine
Madison, Ohio · Lake Erie