Fruit of the Vine Flows as Winery Adds Second Floor

With a growing core of loyal customers, the owners of are expanding the tasting room by adding a 600 square-foot second floor.

“After this last summer when it was so busy, we knew we had to do something. And we knew to expand the space up, rather than out,” said Margaret Lytz, who owns Sarah’s Vineyard with her husband, Mike Lytz.

Located at 1204 W. Steels Corners Rd., the winery is nestled on land leased from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The tasting-room and gallery area is built on the hardwood frame of an original, pre-Civil War era barn, with cherry, maple, poplar and aspen now also comprising its soaring wood walls, beams and panels.

“We have loyal customers who come in here at the same time, on the same day, every week. People love it, the atmosphere and the ambience,” said Shawn Boyer, entertainment and event coordinator.

With a current capacity on the first floor to seat 75 customers, adding the second floor, which will be used primarily for rental purposes, will provide additional seating for up to 44 guests on the main level and up to 15 guests on the landing. An 8-foot expansion of the second-floor beams will also allow Sarah’s Vineyard to present occasional live music to its customers, beginning sometime this summer, Boyer said.

“Our acoustics in here are great,” he said of the 32-foot ceiling and wood interior. "There will be some times where we decide to have live music up there, and that, will be the vineyard throwing that event, it won’t be on a rental basis," he added.

The Lytzes, longtime residents of Cuyahoga Falls, successfully proposed plans for a small, sustainable-agriculture vineyard and winery through the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Initiative 10 years ago. Having first planted the vineyard in 2003 with the help of volunteers, many of whom were family and friends, they opened the tasting room to customers in May 2007. Open year-round, the winery also has seasonal, outdoor seating overlooking the vineyard.

In keeping with its commitment to sustainable agriculture, Sarah’s Vineyard provides on tap the wines it makes using the nine varieties of grapes grown there, served in carafes and glasses, resulting in savings both to the environment in reducing the amount of recycled materials and to customers receiving wine in 1,000-ml. carafes rather than 750-ml. bottles, said Mike Lytz.

“It’s just relaxing and comfortable here. We’re not pretentious. People say they like to come here with their friends and talk,” he said.

For more information, call at 330-929-8057 or visit its website.

Story updated at 9:01 p.m. to clarify the use of the second floor.