Wine Touring and Tasting Along the Lake Erie Region Wine Trail

Wine Touring and Tasting along the Lake Erie Region Wine Trail is an enjoyable way to learn about and sample the wines produced in the Lake Erie Region of Pennsylvania. Traveling along East Lake Road (Route 5) to the lovely small town of North East, you will find miles and miles of grape vines. Nestled among the vineyards are the wineries where you may tour and, of course, sample the finest wines grown in the Lake Erie Region. 

Some of the wineries you don’t want to miss touring and sampling their products are:

Mazza Vineyards
11815 East Lake Road (Route 5)
North East, PA


Traveling along the Lake Erie Wine Trail, you will discover one of the premier wineries in North East PA, Mazza Vineyards. Started by Joseph Mazza, who arrived in Pa in 1954 after leaving his home in Calabria, Italy, the winery continues in the family tradition as it is now run by son Robert Mazza and his wife Kathie.

The Lake Erie Region was chosen by the Mazzas because of its cool breezes, sandy soil, and the plateau like ground which created an ideal growing condition for the grapes. Its moderate climate in the spring and fall contribute to the production of exceptional grapes for wine making. Because this region is suited more for the Germanic variety of wine, the Mazzas began to produce five Johannesburg Rieslings.

Along with the Rieslings, Mazza vineyard produces the sweet juicy Niagara, Concord and Catawba grapes. Its Cabernet Sauvignon and Chambourcin are popular wine choices.

Some of the innovations developed by the Mazza Vineyard include ice wine which results from pressing grapes while they are frozen. This creates a rich wine with a residual sweetness that is suitable to be served with desserts and cheese.
The Mazzas also developed a private label program that allows it customers to celebrate special occasions such as graduations, weddings, and class reunions.

Mazza wines have won several awards and are the top selling wine in PA. A tour of the winery followed by wine sampling is an exceptional treat. The guided tours demonstrate the entire winemaking process form harvesting the grapes to bottling.