Schuchter planted 20 acres of wine grapes, including many with Europoean origin (vinifera), in 1969, following advice from Ohio State University. He founded Valley Vineyards the following year in 1970, and oversaw its growth into Ohio’s second-largest estate-grown winery. The first Valley Vineyards Wine Festival in 1971 drew 10,000 attendees.
Donniella Winchell, executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association, said Mr, Schuchter “helped shape an entire industry. … His work at Valley Vineyards truly foreshadowed what was to become the modern Ohio grape and wine community.
“As the first commercial grower to commit to a new generation of hybrids and vinifera grapes in the Ohio River Valley, he was largely responsible for the resurgence of wine-growing in southwest Ohio,” Winchell said. “He inspired dozens of others all around the state to grow great Ohio grapes to make award-winning Ohio wines. His contributions as a founding visionary of the Ohio Wine Producers and as a member of the first Ohio Grape Industries Committee helped guide the expansion of the industry from a mere 13 wineries in 1975 to over 250 today.”
Christy Eckstein, executive director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Ohio Grape Industries Committee, said, “Today Ohio’s grape and wine community lost a very special man. Ken was a friend and mentor to everyone in the industry. A lot of the industry’s success is owed to his vision and passion for seeing the industry succeed.”
Winchell said the Valley Vineyards founder “was always infused with a wonderful sense of optimism and a verve for life.
“The first time I met Ken, more than three decades ago, at the then Ohio Grape-Wine Short Course held at OSU’s Fawcett Center, he proclaimed himself ‘the happiest man who ever lived.’ And anyone who knew him, believed it was so.”
Visitation will be held Sunday, Oct. 16 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Tufts Schildmeyer Funeral Home in Loveland, Ohio.
A mass to celebrate life will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 17 at St. Philip The Apostle Catholic Church in Morrow, Ohio, followed by procession to Gate of Heaven Cemetery for burial.
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