In the late 1800's, John C. Meier developed a technique for bottling fresh grape juice, which led him to establish the John C. Meier Grape Juice Co. in Silverton, Ohio. The company acquired land on North Bass Island in Lake Erie in 1941. Today, it operates as Ohio’s oldest and largest winery producing wines and juices from Native American grape varieties such as Catawba. Grapes are no longer grown on the Lake Erie Islands but are sourced from growers in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.