Gervasi Releases Limited Supply of Hand Sanitizer

Gervasi Vineyard has converted their distillery from manufacturing spirits to manufacturing hand sanitizer. The estate’s newest addition, The Still House (distillery) has most of the equipment and ingredients, including the ability to make grain alcohol, to produce this much needed product during the pandemic.

Within days of the government announcing approval to convert these facilities, Gervasi was researching the process. The winery and distillery teams worked collaboratively to collect the necessary blend of ingredients to create the hand sanitizer. The first batch yielded over 3,000 bottles of 18oz. liquid hand sanitizer and was hand labeled and bottled by members of the Swaldo family (owners of GV Destinations) and their friends.

“I want to thank our entire distillery and winery team for making this happen,” said Scott Swaldo, General Manager, GV Destinations. “It’s been a quick learning curve and some challenging sourcing plans, but we’re on our way and they have done a fantastic job!”

The first run of 3,000-plus bottles are earmarked to be donated to the local community, with completion slated on Thursday. Many have already been distributed to hospitals and front line defenders including Aultman Hospital, Stark County Emergency Management Agency, City of Canton Health, Fire and Police Departments, and City of Green (who distributed it to their Fire Department). In addition, each staff member at Gervasi Vineyard and The Twisted Olive (the sister restaurant in Green) will receive a complimentary bottle.

“We want to be a part of the solution. We want to help our first responders and those that are putting their lives at risk to help our neighbors,” said Swaldo.

Ohio-based companies and local partners have donated supplies for production: Berlin Packaging (discounted bottles), Label Aid (labels), ingredients for the alcohol including Swartz Farm (corn), Hartville Elevator (milling), Lellamand (yeast) and Berardi’s Coffee (boxes).

“We’re so grateful that we have partners that wanted to help,” said Swaldo. ”Their contribution helped us support the community with this donation.”

Gervasi is now producing another round of hand sanitizer that will be sold to the public, specifically to honor previous requests from businesses in the medical field, health care industry, and essential businesses and government agencies, including front line service departments.

“Once we announced we were going to produce hand sanitizer, the outpouring of need was far greater than expected,” said Swaldo. “We knew we needed to do more.”

Gervasi Vineyard will release 900 one-gallon containers of liquid hand sanitizer on multiple dates based on production. The cost is $34 plus tax for a one gallon jug.

“This is an extremely limited supply, which we expect to sell quickly,” said Swaldo. “Therefore we will limit the amount purchased by a company to allow us to help as many people as possible.”

For updates on the sales and distribution of the gallon bottles of hand sanitizer, sign up to receive GV’s email blasts, and follow Gervasi Vineyard on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Photo Credit Gervasi Vineyard

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