Gervasi announces expansion with Spa, underground Cave wine room

CANTON, Ohio — Big changes are coming to Gervasi Vineyard as the Canton location expands once again.

Gervasi announced that construction is now underway on a 20,000 square foot project featuring two new structures that will be built in the southwest corner of the 55-acre estate.

Here’s how each of the four new elements is described by Gervasi officials:  

Gervasi says this has been their top request from guests. The Spa will feature a state-of-the-art design and equipment to provide Gervasi guests and local spa seekers a beautiful and tranquil experience along with exceptional spa services. The 5,000 square foot facility will transcend guests to a high-end luxurious spa. Services will include a variety of massages, facials, body treatments and manicure/pedicure services.

“The addition of the spa exemplifies Gervasi Vineyard as a true destination resort,” said Scott Swaldo, CEO & General Manager of GV Destinations. “Since our inception, we put our guests first, continue to listen to the demand and align our business accordingly. We are proud to partner with Chicago based Spa designer, Michele Pelafas who will fully design and outfit the Spa.”

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The Cave will consist of an underground 1,000 square foot Tasting Room and adjoining 4,500 square foot wine barrel cave for wine barrel aging. The intimate Tasting Room will be open select hours for traditional style wine tasting experiences and tours. Exclusive wine club access, Gervasi events and private events will all be offered in The Cave. The wine barrel cave will house all of Gervasi Vineyard’s growing wine barrel aging and showcase unique educational opportunities during tours.

“We are not your typical winery where we have a designated ‘tasting room.’ The Cave will give us the opportunity to showcase our award-winning portfolio along with educating our guests about the wine making process in a unique experience,” Swaldo said.

With Gervasi’s ever-growing product line, the addition of the product warehouse and distribution facility is a crucial component to the expansion project. The 8,300 square foot building will provide a much larger centralized finished goods warehouse for Gervasi products. Gervasi is currently able to ship wine to 10 states. The warehouse will serve as a product distribution facility to support Gervasi’s growing shipping and distribution needs.

The fourth component of the multiuse expansion project will conclude with a Rickhouse. The 1,500 square foot building will store barrels of bourbon/whiskey to support Gervasi’s growing bourbon barrel aging needs. Gervasi Spirits were first released in the Spring of 2019 with two bourbons, a small batch gin and a small batch vodka.

Gervasi Spirits now include four different bourbons, spiced rum, three liqueurs, rosé vodka, blood orange gin, small batch vodka and small batch gin. The need has become a necessity to have a Rickhouse on property for the distillery team to manage the aging of the bourbon barrels.

Rickhouses have barrels stored vertically on racks, also known as ricks, usually stacked three high, and have plenty of room for air circulation around the sides and ends. Typically, these structures do not have artificial climate control to allow the liquid in the barrels to expand and contract which will drive the whiskey into the wood.

The project is scheduled to be complete by late spring of 2023.

Gervasi, which has been open since 2010, currently features four restaurants on the property, event spaces a marketplace and overnight lodging facilities.

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Editor’s note: Video in the player above was originally published in a previous Gervasi story on Aug. 13, 2020.