About halfway between downtown Cleveland and University Circle lies Château Hough Vineyard and Winery. Brenda Frazier is the manager of Château Hough and the executive director of the nonprofit it supports, Neighborhood Solutions Inc.
Frazier says the vineyard can produce 1,500 bottles of wine a year. The brand is called “The Land.” In the tasting room, visitors receive a wine list noting the wide variety of flavor profiles and tips to enjoy and appreciate the tasting experience.
Château Hough’s wine sales and events sustain the vineyard and support Neighborhood Solutions, a nonprofit dedicated to “education and community engagement opportunities that promote village building and economic independence leading to viable second chances …” (Neighborhood Solution’s mission statement).
Château Hough began in 2010 to support the nonprofit, Neighborhood Solutions Inc.
A flyer inside the tasting room describes the value these organizations have to the Hough community. “Château Hough and Neighborhood Solutions Inc. are the legacy of their late founder, Mansfield Frazier. Born out of a love for his community and a desire to promote positive change, these entities have become beacons of the community.”
Neighborhood Solutions began in 2004 with a focus on helping formerly incarcerated individuals get back on their feet. In 2010, the vines of Château Hough were planted. The history is well documented on Neighborhood Solution’s website, including a feature in The Oprah Magazine from 2012 and a TEDxCLE interview with Mansfield Frazier from 2013.
In 2010, Mansfield Frazier received an $18,000 grant from the City of Cleveland for vacant land reuse (Oprah.com /November 2012). He chose a vineyard because he was focused on maximizing profit and maximizing jobs to help his community. He named the property, the Vineyards at Château Hough, as a political move.
“If we were to say Château Westlake or Château Solon, nobody would have raised an eyebrow. We say Château Hough and people do a double take. What we’re basically saying is that the land we occupy in Hough is just as valuable to us as the land the people in Hunting Valley occupy,” Mansfield Frazier explained in his 2013 TEDxCLE interview.
Mansfield Frazier’s interviews routinely expressed a deep pride in the Hough neighborhood and commitment to improving the community. He often referenced the Majora Carter quote, “You shouldn’t have to leave your neighborhood to live in a better one.” Carter is a well known environmental justice leader in the South Bronx of New York.
Neighborhood Solutions expands its definition of “second chance.”
Mansfield Frazier passed away in 2021. His wife, Brenda Frazier, is the current executive director of Neighborhood Solutions. Brenda Frazier explains “When we (Neighborhood Solutions) started out back in 2004, the goal was to work with individuals who had experienced a period of incarceration. Over the years, that morphed into a broader definition of people needing a second chance.” This might include people struggling with addiction, homelessness, at risk youth and more.
Frazier says the organization has been somewhat successful. Over the years, participation is off and on. Now individuals in the community are getting more involved and Frazier sometimes puts out calls for volunteers through the Cleveland Parks & Greenspace Coalition.
Vineyard Foreman Marvin Foster oversees the volunteer work with Lamarco Clark, his righthand man. Foster gives him this title on the spot in recognition of the support he provides on Saturdays to care for the vineyard. With limited hours, Foster and Clark must prioritize tasks to do the most good with the manpower and time they have available each week.
Birds, insects, deer and raccoons are frequent vineyard visitors.
On the last weekend of July, Foster, Clark, and four volunteers work on netting. This is a process of covering the vines with insect nets to help protect them from pests, especially birds. Foster explains the birds start eating the grapes this time of year because the grapes are turning red and the birds can see them more easily.
The team thought the netting would reduce spotted lantern flies too, but no such luck. They find a way to get to the vines anyway. Foster points to a Tree of Heaven in one of the lots adjacent to Château Hough. He explains without neighborhood awareness and action, the spotted lantern fly’s favorite tree continues to grow nearby. Spotted lantern flies are invasive. The insect has no natural predator and can spread rapidly, causing damage to the environment or, in this case, the vineyard. Foster points to a withered grape vine nearby, explaining that spotted lantern flies killed the entire plant.
Fishwire fencing helps prevent deer from getting to the vines, but Foster recalls having to add extra wire because the deer were able to squeeze through the first design. Sometimes the determination of the neighborhood animals comes as a surprise. “I couldn’t help but laugh,” Foster recalls as he tells the story of a mama racoon teaching her babies how to reach up to get the nearby crop of blackberries.
Netting is one of the last steps for volunteers before harvesting. Once the plants are covered, Frazier explains there’s not much you can do besides remove suckers, the little sprouts that come up and drain energy from the rest of the plant.
Volunteers will come together to harvest the grapes at the end of September.
Frazier will put out another call for volunteers for the third Saturday of September to pick the grapes. She usually gets about 20 people and they work from about 8 a.m. -12 p.m. Frazier’s goal is to finish picking before the sun gets bright to avoid the heat.
Frazier describes the day as a fun event of community building. “So you’ve got people picking grapes. You’ve got what I call runners, people getting the filled buckets and taking them downstairs where the grapes are being processed and bringing them back empty buckets. We eat. We drink. We talk and just have some fun.”
There are two grape varieties at Château Hough, the red Frontenac and white Traminette. Once the grapes are picked, they are processed onsite. There is a destemmer that separates any remaining stems from the fruit. White grapes go into a bladder press that squeezes the juice from the grapes before fermenting. Red grapes go straight into a barrel to start the fermenting process.
“Stomp” event invites the community to process grapes the traditional way.
For anyone picturing the “I Love Lucy” episode where Lucy works on a vineyard, Brenda Frazier has good news. Château Hough holds an event called “Stomp” each year. “Stomp” invites the community to literally stomp on grapes on the last Saturday of September. Frazier provides booties for people to wear to keep everything clean because the juices are actually used to make wine.
The red Frontenac and white Traminette grapes grown at Château Hough are reserved for wine making only. These are processed by machine. For the Stomp event, Frazier buys concord grapes instead. She specifically wanted that bright purple color for the experience.
“A lot of times people think of Ethel and Lucille Ball stomping grapes in Italy in one of those episodes years ago and I figured those were bright purple grapes and figured that’s what people wanted to experience,” explains Frazier.
In addition to stomping, the event has food trucks, music, face painters, story tellers, caricature artists and more. Sometimes people want to buy the grape juice they stomp. Anything that’s left (grapes or juice) is made into wine. Guests will see on the wine list which varieties are made from “Stomp” concord grapes.
In addition to Stomp, Frazier hosts a variety of workshops throughout the year where guests can enjoy a drink while making soap, making candles, socializing and more. For those who enjoy wine, visit the small and cozy tasting room during Saturday drop-in hours between 12:30 – 5:30 p.m. or call ahead to schedule a visit at another time. Watch Lay of the Land Media LLC’s Instagram post to learn what to expect upon arrival or just show up! Enjoy a drink, take a tour, lend a hand, or watch for upcoming events.
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