If you wind down U.S. 33 toward Hocking Hills for just over an hour, there’s a small estate winery tucked away where you likely wouldn’t pass by it. It’s remote enough that it can be difficult to find even if you’re searching for it with your GPS as we lost our signal for the last several miles. We were happy that we found it.
Le Petit Chevalier was a vineyard first which later expanded with a tasting room and rental options. Mark and Margit Chevalier, the husband-and-wife owners, first planted vines on their property in 2009 but didn’t open their tasting room until the beginning of the pandemic. The tasting room in, addition to an AirBnB rental upstairs, have brought additional revenue for their business and made Le Petit Chevalier a worthy destination.
The Chevaliers consider themselves farmers and growers first, so let’s talk about the vineyard and wine.
“We did it the traditional way, by working in the vineyards for years before we approached winemaking,” Mark said. “We are a true working farm.”
They currently have more than six acres under vine, with a shift on their focus after a polar vortex wiped out some of their vineyard in 2014.
“We shifted our focus to native heirloom grapes and cold-hardy hybrids,” said Mark. “In fact, this has become a key element of our outreach, as we seek to reintroduce and promote the grapes nature placed here, along with the amazing hybrids that have been developed since the 1850s. We have hybrids from nearly every important breeding program, and we have resurrected the first commercially produced grape in the country, Alexander.”
It felt like a step back into another time when tasting through the wines and lesser-known varietals, but in a good way, with very pleasant wines in a variety of styles.
If you’re into a brooding, dry red, you can’t go wrong with the several Nortons available, a varietal with a lot of history in the eastern half of the country. Both dry versions were dark fruited, savory and dry.
Their white wines bring a broad appeal with plenty of tropical fruit, and range from dry to slightly sweet. If you’re into a sweeter wine, the strawberry wine was delicious and tasted like pure, fresh strawberries, which they source from Rhoads Farm in Circleville. The strawberry wine could be incorporated into summer cocktails.
For a weekend afternoon or a weekend-long getaway with some wine, a scenic drive, and proximity to Hocking Hills, I can’t recommend Le Petit Chevalier enough. On the warmer days, there are multiple seating options outdoors with views of the vines and rolling hills surrounding the property. You can bring your own food during the week and they host a food truck on Saturdays during the spring and summer seasons.
Mark and Margit offer warm hospitality along with their worthy wines inside the tasting room. Take a step back in time with old American varietals and print out the directions before you go.
Le Petit Chevalier is located at 26328 Locust Grove Rd. in Creola, OH. For more information, visit lepetitchev.com.