staycation at gervasi vineyard

A Tuscan-inspired villa, amazing food and all the wine you could ever dream of. Sounds like the perfect girls getaway, amiright?! My mom and I recently spent some time at Gervasi Vineyard in Canton and we haven’t stopped raving about it since. Seriously, if you’ve seen either of us in the last week, I’m sure we’ve told you about it. I’m calling it a ‘staycation’ because we really didn’t have to travel all that far – one hour to be exact!

Let’s start with the food because 1) I love food and 2) this particular food was absolutely incredible. We had a couple different dining experiences throughout our visit. When we arrived, we immediately headed over to The Bistro for a flight many flights of wine and dinner. We started at the bar, where the very knowledgable bartender spent a ton of time helping us pick out our flights, and then we were escorted to our table for dinner. The second I had my first bite of food, I was mad at myself for not knowing about this restaurant sooner (seriously people, why has no one told me about this?!). It would have definitely been my go-to location for every birthday, every big celebration, etc. and certainly will be moving forward. When I say the food and the service blew me away, I truly mean it. It all reminded me so much of Italy and the food was even better than the food I had in Italy! You can tell the ingredients are fresh and seasonal, and we loved every single bite.

What we ordered (don’t judge us – had to try it all!): Housemade pierogies (a restaurant staple and hands down the best I’ve ever had), mushroom agnolotti, Italian chicken Napoleon, gnocchi Sorrento, apricot and raspberry cheesecake, peanut butter brownie (I said don’t judge us!)

Breakfast was another pleasant surprise! Turns out when you stay in a villa, breakfast gets delivered to your door. Our quiche and pastries came in a cute little wine box and when we were ready, we just wandered out to the common area to grab it. So simple yet made me feel like a queen! The villa’s common area is also stocked with coffee, juice, teas and pretty much anything else you can think of!

Our last meal of the trip was followed by our winery tour at The Crush House. While it has a more laid back and casual vibe, the food and service were right up there with The Bistro (shout-out to Spencer for being the best server ever!). We enjoyed another wine flight (when in Rome…or Tuscany…or Ohio?) and had a quick lunch before we left to head back home.

What we ordered: Loaded pita chips and housemade goat cheese ravioli with eggplant meatballs

Now, onto another extremely important part of any vineyard visit…the wine. Like I said, we had a couple flights at The Bistro which was the perfect way to start our trip and try a ton of different kinds. I love dry red wine and my mom loves sweet white wine so we had quite the variety! The wine was phenomenal. My favorites included the Abbraccio and the Barolo. I bought a bottle of each for home…saving them for a rainy day! We also took a winery tour and were able to see just how much care and thoughtfulness is put into each bottle. Learning about the process made the wine even more delicious!

Like I mentioned, we stayed in one of the villas. These were just ranked by USA Today as the #1 wine country hotel – crazy, huh?! There are 6 villas (4 rooms in each) and each has a common area, outdoor seating and a fabulous view of the lake on the property. Speaking of the property, even on a rainy day in January, it was beautiful. We loved strolling around taking in the views and the rich history. I can’t even imagine how beautiful it would be in the summer or the fall!

Full outfit post here

Obviously by the length of this post, you can tell how great I thought my stay was. However, my favorite part of the experience (and I know my mom will agree with me on this one!) was the outstanding service we received. Every single person we encountered, from our servers to our tour guide to the person who checked us in and out, made us feel right at home. It’s apparent how knowledgable everyone is and how much they care about making each guest feel special.

So, girls weekend, romantic getaway, random Monday – whatever the occasion, get yourself to Gervasi! And then come back here and tell me what you thought of it. I’m positive that you’ll be just as blown away as I was. Cheers!

Disclosure: Experience c/o Gervasi and OhioTourism