CLEVELAND, Ohio — Distilleries throughout Ohio continue doing their part to help during the coronavirus pandemic. In Canton, Gervasi Vineyard has transformed its distillery from manufacturing spirits to making liquid hand sanitizer.

  • So far, the company has donated more than 3,000 18-oz bottles to the community
  • Now, they're producing more than 950 gallons of hand sanitizer that will be sold to the public
  • You can buy a gallon bottle for $34

"We have this unique facility that, you know, can do something that isn't readily available so why wouldn't we want to do something that's really important at this time of need and crisis," said Scott Swaldo, general manager, Gervasi Vineyard.
 
Inside the vineyard's Still House Distillery, workers use corn donated by Swartz Farm to make their own ethanol. Then they add glycerol, hydrogen peroxide and purified water to make the sanitizer.
 
The company has already donated more than 3,000 18-ounce bottles to the community.
 
"We wanted to immediately donate a significant product to our immediate community, first line medical facilities, health care facilities, police departments and fire departments as well as our own Gervasi staff and all that product is now finished," said Swaldo.

The company just wrapped up producing another round of hand sanitizer that will be sold to the public. They company made more than 950 gallons of hand sanitizer. One gallon can be purchased for $34 for pick-up only. A lot of it will be sold to essential businesses and frontline workers, such as those in the medical field and healthcare industry
 
Swaldo says it’s possible they'll do another round of manufacturing, but the boutique distillery is not designed for high volume production.
 
"We're a little limited with how fast we can go and what kind of volumes we can do. There's been a tremendous interest in the product and unfortunately the demand far exceeds the supply that we can provide, we'll have a limited amount in the future," said Swaldo.
 
For more information on how you can purchase Gervasi's hand sanitizer, visit their website