Winery opens doors for Jingle Bell Wine Tour

Standing behind the counter at Terra Cotta Vineyards Saturday, Misty Roberts was ready to serve wine.

 Before her was a list of the wines available, everything from Chambourcin to Terra White to Concord.

For the first time this year, the winery participated in the Jingle Bell Wine Tour with three other wineries; Marietta Wine Cellars in Marietta, Coffee Cake Winery in Hopedale and the Merry Family Winery in Gallipolis.

Serving as a starting point, wine samples and either a bruschetta appetizer or a piece of chocolate cake were given to tour participants at Terra Cotta. Plates of cheese and crackers were also ready for guests.

If they began their tour at Terra Cotta, guests received a small, artificial Christmas tree and if they were passing through, they received an ornament for the tree they got at Marietta Wine Cellars, the other starting point.

"Saturdays are usually pretty busy. The closer it gets to Christmas and people get their shopping done, they're ready for a glass of wine and to wrap presents," Roberts said.

Donna and Paul Roberts own and operate the winery, with the help of Paul's daughter, Misty, and his sister, Jean Hampp, who both worked Saturday.

Misty said the winery participates in wine tours like the Jingle Bell tour in November and June, which have brought in people from all over the state.

"They come from all over. We had them come in from Pennsylvania on our last tour. It's just people you wouldn't normally see. It makes it interesting," she said.

She said guests who go on the wine tours also like to visit other local establishments such as potteries, The Wilds and the Longaberger Homestead.

The tour was open to any wine lovers wanting to participate last weekend, this weekend and will continue Friday and Saturday, Dec. 19 and 20.

"We had some trail people come through last weekend. It gets busier as Christmas gets closer," Roberts said.