Time for the Toast of Ohio

SANDUSKY — Celebrating 20 years, the annual Toast of Ohio Wine Heritage Festival will take place on Saturday on Jackson Street Pier in downtown Sandusky. Festival grounds will remain open from noon to 9 p.m. The festival will feature seven Ohio wineries, food trucks, and the Sandusky Art Walk will have vendors set up all within the festival grounds. Admission starts at $20 per person and includes a plastic wine glass and five complimentary wine tastings. Admission fees solely benefit the sponsoring Merry-Go-Round Museum. Souvenir wine glass packages start at $25. Tickets will also be available for purchase in exchange for wine tastings. Participating wineries include Firelands Winery, Humble Bee Vineyards, D & D Smith Winery, Chateau Winery, Vermilion Valley, Matus Winery and Voo Doo Wines. The Merry-Go-Round Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the wine festival. More information can be found by calling the museum at 419-626-6111. Why wine? A festival statement gives some insight into the area's rich wine history The Lake Erie shores and islands region once featured huge vineyards that spread from east of Sandusky to the western region near the bay because of the lakeshore climate. The Toast of Ohio event was developed to celebrate the area's winemaking heritage. Today dozens of wineries still operate in the region.