Ohio-Michigan rivalry moves from gridiron to vineyards

By Uncorked | Monday, December 1, 2008, 10:22 AM

The final score wasn’t quite as lopsided as the deeply satisfying 42-7 result from the real Ohio State-Michigan game — this rivalry was far more good-natured than the football version — but the first-ever “Ohio vs.Michigan Wine Clash 2008” produced some fun and illuminating results nonetheless.

Check out this Slow Food Columbus blog entry on the “wine clash.”

The event was sponsored by Slow Food’s Columbus chapter and by Slow Food’s Huron Valley chapters, and organized by Andrew Hall, a Columbus-area wine enthusiast who figured conducting the competition right around the time of the Buckeye-Wolverine game would spice things up a bit.

Here’s what Hall had to say about the competition:

Both Ohio and Michigan share a centuries-old tradition of viticulture which was wrecked by Prohibition but has re-emerged in recent times. From the Ohio River Valley to the upper shores of Lake Michigan, growers and winemakers are working hard to create unique and quality wines. In light of the growing concerns about the carbon footprint of transported products, this event was created to showcase these local efforts and in the context of one of our storied local rivalry. On November 16th and 17th, groups of judges convened in Ann Arbor and in Columbus to judge over 60 selected wines from Michigan and Ohio. This is the first purely consumer-selected judging of wines in either state. It is also unique among competitions in being limited to wines from grapes exclusively from those states.

The overall quality was enlightening even to those of us who were experienced. The two states have nothing to be ashamed of … Buying local — a worthy goal on its own — doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. . … Also of note, three of the five winners are all below $20/bottle and all are below $30. Wines of both states do represent value.

Here’s a list of the categories and the winners:

— Sparkling Wine: Shady Lane Cellars Blanc de Blancs 2000 (MI)

— Aromatic White: Ferrante Winery “Golden Bunches”Riesling 2007 (OH)

— White Wine: Black Star Farms “Arcturos” Chardonnay sur lie 2006 (MI)

— Pinot Noir: Black Star Farms “Arcturos” Pinot Noir 2006 (MI)

— Red Wine: Kinkead Ridge Revelation 2006 (OH)

Hmm. By my count, Michigan “won.” Time to check for stuffed ballot boxes …

By the way, many Ohio wineries have special events scheduled for December.

If the full list of wineries and the wines entered into the contest does not appear below, click on “continue reading.”

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Giving thanks for wine events like these

By Uncorked | Friday, November 28, 2008, 06:43 AM

Thanksgiving indeed. It is time to give thanks for the bestest wine tastings and events list on either side of the MIssissippi, and for the Dayton-based listserv that compiles it, and most of all, for the wine shops, grocers, restaurants and wineries that offer us this bountiful harvest every week. You rock. Click on “continue reading” below to gaze upon the wonders in store for us …

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Newspaper comic brings new meaning to wine bliss

By Uncorked | Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 08:48 PM

In case you didn’t see it in Tuesday morning’s paper, check out the Bliss comic strip (well, panel) from that day (11-25-08). Fun stuff …

Cheers!

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5 wineries team up for Ohio River Valley Barrel Tasting Tour

By Uncorked | Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 06:25 AM

Those intrepid southern Ohio wineries are at it again, to wit the following news release:

THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY ANNUAL BARREL TASTING TOUR, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29

FIVE SOUTHERN OHIO WINERIES OPEN THEIR CELLARS TO SAMPLE UNRELEASED VINTAGES

Five Southern Ohio wineries have teamed up for the “Annual Ohio River Valley Barrel Tasting Tour.” The winemakers at Harmony Hill Vineyards & Estate Winery (Bethel), Kinkead Ridge Estate Winery (Ripley), Burnet Ridge Winery (Cincinnati), Henke Winery (Cincinnati) and Woodstone Creek Winery (Cincinnati) will open their cellars to feature barrel sampling of unreleased vintages. Currently released award winning wines will also be available at the tasting counters for those interested in purchasing that special holiday gift. This is a very traditional event common in California and Oregon, for families and friends to tour their local wineries, taste current and upcoming releases and meet the winemakers. More information is available at www.KinkeadRidge.com/barreltasting.htm . Cincinnati Magazine features this event as a Top Pick for November.

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The world’s most amazing wine tastings and events list

By Uncorked | Friday, November 21, 2008, 07:00 AM

Really, I’m not kidding. The MOST amazing wine tasting events list ANYwhere. It comes to Uncorked via the heroic efforts (and given the expanding nature of the list, that effort is getting more heroic by the week) of a Dayton-based listserv, and it’s yours for just a click of a mouse on “continue reading” below. Enjoy! And for information regarding Cincinnati-area wine events, go to Michelle’s My Wine Education blog.

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Nouveau Day — will you be tasting?

By Uncorked | Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:43 AM

Today’s the third Thursday in November, which means it’s … Nouveau Day!

Is it just me, or have I been sensing less and less enthusiasm for the special day in which Beaujolais Nouveau and other nouveau-style wines from the new vintage are released?

Many local wine shops and grocer’s wine departments are tasting all day today and/or into the evening. Call ahead to find out your favorite shop’s plans, and let us know how the wines stack up to previous vintages.

Will YOU be tasting the nouveaus today?

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Restaurants turn to wine to ferment new ideas, attract new customers

By Uncorked | Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:00 AM

The cover story in tomorrow’s Dayton Daily News Go! section is all about restaurants and how more of them are turning to wine tastings, dinners and other wine events to help them fashion their menus and wine lists — and to attract new customers.

Before we offer up a “sneak peek” at the story, you should know about the latest restaurant that didn’t make it into this story, but which is launching its first monthly wine tasting next weekend (after Thanksgiving). Boosalis Baking & Cafe at 9486 Springboro Pike in Miami Twp. will host a Holiday Wine Tasting from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, featuring ” an eclectic collection of unique French and Italian wines,” owner Matt Boosalis said. The cost is $15, which includes appetizers. For more information, call (937) 424-0636. Now, here’s what will be published Friday:

Some are searching for new customers. Others are looking for a test market for new appetizers or entrees. Others want customer feedback on which new wines to add to the wine list.

Whatever their reasons, more restaurants in the Dayton area are using wine tastings and wine dinners to try to get new, fresh faces to cross their doorsteps.

A decade ago, diners could easily count on one hand the number of restaurants that held regular wine events. Now, the number exceeds a dozen and is growing.

Cena Brazilian/Mediterranean Steakhouse, in front of the Dayton Mall, is one of the most recent to join the trend, launching a late-afternoon tasting on a day not yet taken by any other restaurant: Sundays.

“We decided to do something fun for a Sunday afternoon for little money,” Cena owner Eva Christian said of her event that offers tastes of two wines for $10 served with free appetizers. The event allows Cena to introduce wines that are not on its regular wine list, and to test-market new appetizers and wines, Christian said.

In Vandalia, the inaugural wine-and-appetizers event in October at Mr. Lee’s Fine Dining was a smashing success, with the restaurant serving up 15 appetizers accompanied by four wines to a crowd of more than 40 people. The restaurant had intended to cap the attendance at 25, but the surge in reservation requests prompted a change of heart, as well as plans for similar events in early 2009.

Keith Taylor, chef-owner of Savona Restaurant and Wine Bar in Centerville, holds a monthly wine tasting in the restaurant’s bar. He launched the idea shortly after the restaurant opened a year ago, figuring it would be a “great way to get people to try new wines for a good price.”

Now, the tastings “really have grown and become like a party,” Taylor said. “People drinking, eating and talking to one another, making new friends.

“One of the benefits we have noticed is that people are staying for dinner after the tasting. On a couple of occasions people have met other couples and stayed and had dinner with one another. I have also experimented with dishes for the appetizers, and then gotten feedback from the guests.”

Jay’s Restaurant in Dayton’s Oregon District was among the trailblazers — along with restaurants such as l’Auberge in Kettering, The Winds in Yellow Springs and Anticoli’s/Caffe Anticoli in Harrison Twp., among others — in using wine to attract customers. Today Jay’s hosts wine luncheons, dinners and weekly Friday night tastings in Jay’s Kitchen Door behind the restaurant. While reservations are required for luncheons and dinners, the Friday tastings are drop-in events in which wine samples are priced based on the wine’s expense, and complimentary appetizers are served.

Amy Haverstick, co-owner and general manager at Jay’s, said customers have benefited from the knowledge of visiting winemakers at the restaurant’s special dinners — and they’ve also boosted sales of wines sold at retail.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, which launched weekly wine tastings with appetizers in its bar just after opening at The Greene in Beavercreek, also hosts wine dinners with visiting winemakers and in conjunction with local charitable organizations such as CultureWorks. Seth Brown, operating partner for the restaurant, said the commitment to wine events “shows we’re not your typical steakhouse.”

The weekly after-work-Wednesday tastings allow the restaurant’s chefs to exercise their creativity in devising appetizers that pair nicely with the wines offered and allows them to find local sources for ingredients for those one-time appetizers, Brown said. Fleming’s tries to make the atmosphere as non-intimidating as possible, putting wine-tasting notes in writing on each table and having the restaurant’s wine manager, Diana Morrison, mingle with guests to answer questions, Brown said.

Sometimes, wine-tasting events can blur the distinction between wine bars and restaurants. On most Saturdays — and on other occasions when visiting winemakers arrange to host a public tasting of their wines at Cuvee wine bar in Bellbrook that he co-owns — chef Chris Cavender will put together a menu of small-plate appetizers to accompany the wines. The appetizers could include, as they did for a visiting winemaker’s appearance last month, cold poached salmon with chardonnay sauce or cider-roasted rack of pork chop with squash puree.

Art and Carol Chin held wine tastings and dinners frequently at the now-defunct Chin’s restaurant in downtown Dayton — and that tradition continues at their Tipp City restaurant, Chin’s Ginger Grill, which hosts monthly wine (and occasionally beer) tastings paired with test-drive appetizers.

“Our initial reasons for starting the tastings were to market ourselves and bring diners in,” Carol Chin said. “But we also do frequently use the tastings to try out new menu items.” (A wild mushroom dumpling I sampled several weeks ago at one of the restaurant’s monthly wine tastings “made the cut” and is now on the menu.)

In the end, though, Chin said the restaurant has continued the tastings “because they’re really quite fun for our customers and our staff, and they’re also a great way to make wine more approachable for a wide variety of wine drinkers, including novices.”

For a list of restaurants that have frequent or regular tastings, click on “continue reading” …

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