Husband and wife team Ed Sunkin and Christine Sabo are pursuing their passion for wine as owners of Silver Run Vineyard & Winery. Ed is the winemaker and Christine is the business manager. They are the proud parents of three boys with endless energy, Joey, 5, Thomas, 3 and Matthew, 2. Maxwell, the wonder dog, completes the Sunkin family.

In 2003, Christine and Ed bought the farmland located at 376 Eastern Road, an 18-acre Christmas tree farm in Chippewa Township, with a dream to operate a family-friendly farm to host celebrations and special events. After visiting numerous vineyards and wineries in Ohio, as well as notable wine regions in the states of California, Virginia, Washington and New York, the couple decided on converting the field acreage at the farm into a vineyard, with plans of a winery to soon follow. To aid with their winery planning, Ed used experiences gathered in the Rioja wine region of Spain, and Christine drew upon her visits to the wine regions of France, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the couple’s shared experiences in northern and central Italy.

Working through the Ohio State University Agriculture Research and Development Center in Wooster, as well as the Ohio Wine Producers Association and, attending various wine-related trade shows for five years, the couple pursued an education on winemaking, grape growing and marketing a tasting room. Christine also completed training from the Bordeaux Wine Bureau while working as a wine consultant for Midwest Wine Consultants. In May 2011, the couple entered the winery's first ever commercial wine-making contest, and was awarded two medals in the Ohio Wine Competition.The couple’s amateur Rogues Hollow Red and Western Reserve wine labels were honored with consecutive “Editor’s Choice” national awards by Wine Maker magazine in 2006 and 2007.

Ed, who has been making wine for friends and family for more than eight years, attended elementary school at St. Sebastian in West Akron and is a proud graduate of Chippewa High School in Doylestown. He has many personal tales of Rogues Hollow, the historic and often-deemed haunted former coal-mining town just south of the village of Doylestown. Christine attended elementary school at SS Cyril & Methodius in Barberton and graduated from Norton High School. She has many experiences and history to share about her hometown and neighboring communities.

Both University of Akron graduates with degrees in communications, Ed and Christine left their Akron area homes after graduation to pursue careers as newspaper reporters. Ed accepted a post at the Steubenville Herald-Star, and Christine joined DCI Publishing newspapers located in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Returning home to be near family was a dream come true! Home is truly where you plant your rootstock.