My Wine Education

Restaurants Affected by Gas Prices Too

Let's face it. As gas rapidly heads towards $4/gallon, we're spending less money on eating out and more on feeding our cars.

We've all seen the results of the fuel price hikes in our own lives, and if you've paid attention, in the grocery store. There is no better time than now to become a locavore, with the price of fuel being added in to the price of your cereal, your milk, your eggs, your veggies, and anything else you're not picking up locally.

Photo by Carly & Art

 It's affecting local restaurants in the same way. According to this article on WLWT.com, it's changing everything from lunch prices and availability to whether or not new restaurants will succeed.

Some restaurants, such as Sully’s, have cut alcohol and labor costs during the lunch rush to draw more customers.“It's not as much of a rush anymore,” said shift manager Demirus Williams. “Normally, right now, it's Friday, we would be packed by now.”

Boi Na Braza has already cancelled their lunch options. (That was an awful lot of food for lunch anyway.) McCormick & Schmick's is counting on the summer convention season, as I'm sure are many of the downtown locations, especially since the Broadway Series wraps up it's season soon. Without the theatre crowd, there isn't a lot of draw to fire up your fuel-eating SUV and head downtown from the north suburbs.

Oceanaire, a high-end seafood chain opening across from Nada and the Aronoff, is opening soon to this uncertain environment.

Restaurants are also suffering from fuel surcharges levied by vendors. When a restaurant, such as McCormick & Schmick's or Oceanaire, has to ship in fresh a large portion of their food, they are going to be affected by the growing transportation costs.

Me? I'm going to try to stick to eating local - whether shopping at Findlay Market or eating at Chalk or NuVo (locavore-centric restaurants).

Cincinnati Featured Wine Events 5/9 - 5/15

Hopefully the weather will clear up and we'll have a beautiful weekend. Kevin & I will be wrapped up in wine all weekend, judging the competition for the Northern KY Wine Festival. The Festival itself isn't until June 7, but the judging happens ahead of time.

As I will each week, I've spotlighted a few events that tickle my fancy. Enjoy a Lobsta Bake downtown at City Cellars on Saturday in their new expanded tasting room. On Tuesday, learn about pairing wine and chocolate from Bill Sands & Jaren Whalen, Chef from Chalk, at the Midwest Culinary Institute. On Wednesday, attend a wine dinner at McCormick & Schmick's featuring Rodney Strong Vineyards. The Party Source, as usual, has a fun and eclectic lineup throughout the weekend, ending with A Taste of Germano's on Monday evening.

It's worth mentioning that for the next month, Germano's has their own recurring wine tasting event with light antipasti each Friday night, 6 pm, for $25. The Whole Foods in Rookwood has now officially joined the Friday night tasting fray as well.

For the full list of Cincinnati tastings, refer to our Google Calendar on this page.  For information on what's going on in Dayton, you can refer to Mark's blog at Uncorked.

Tell the retailers we sent you, and happy tasting!

The Friday Cincinnati image is from Brent Moore, via a CC license on Flickr.

Friday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Saturday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Cheers!

Featured Events

Friday, May 9
Columbia Center
Wine Tasting Fundraiser for Madisonville Education & Assistance Center
3500 Columbia Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45226
513-233-2498
$30, 7 pm
Reservations required.

Saturday, May 10
City Cellars
Lobsta Bake
908 Race Street
Cincinnati, OH
513-621-9463
5:30 - 8:30 pm, $75
Reservations required.

Tuesday, May 13
Chocolate: Savory to Sweet Wine & Chocolate Pairing
Midwest Culinary Institute 
3250 Central Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45223
513-562-2777
Learn the art of pairing wine and chocolate with Jared Whalen and Bill Sands
6:00 - 9 pm, $65
Reservations required.

Wednesday, May 14
McCormick & Schmick's
Rodney Strong Vineyards Wine Dinner  
21 E. Fifth St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-721-9361
6:30 pm, $68.95
Reservations required.

Thursday, May 15
3rd Thursday Wine Walk
O'Bryonville Business District
Madison Road
Special retail hours, complimentary wines and refreshments at participating merchants.
5-8 pm

Tags:Cincinnati Wine, Cincinnati, Cincinnati Wine Events, Cincinnati Wine Tastings, Cincinnati Wine Dinners, Wine Tastings 

WBW #45: Old World Riesling

This month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday is hosted by Tim at Winecast and focuses on Old World Rieslings. What is Old World? Well, Tim wanted us to pick a Riesling from Germany, France’s Alsace region, and Austria. We were happy to discover a German Riesling chilling in our storage fridge.

2005 Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Spätlese 

Leitz is located in the Rheigau region of Germany. I had the chance to meet Johannes Leitz last year, and I was impressed. This is a young winemaker, with the profession running through his veins. He’s incredibly personable and loves to share his wines. Here’s what Jancis Robinson has to say about Johannes:

Young Johannes Leitz is now one of the absolute superstars, not just of the Rheingau but of German wine in toto. By taking an analytical look at the small Rüdesheim estate he inherited when very young he has steadily improved wines into some of the most thrilling by reducing yields, using ambient yeasts, imposing stringent hygiene so that the wines can be fermented at a snail's pace on its lees.

This Riesling is a Spätlese, which refers to grapes that are selectively picked at least 7 days after the main harvest. Because such fruit is riper than the grapes from the main harvest, it contains more sugar and produces wines that are rich and sweet. The natural sugar must attain around 19-23% sugar by weight.

This wine was named for a donated Magdalene cross in a village that had been racked by the plague in the 17th century. The grapes are grown in loamy, garden-type soil. This wine has a lot of minerality and balanced acidity, thoroughly refreshing. We had the Magdelenenkreuz with some good ol’ American fried chicken, and it complemented the meal wonderfully.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wine. It’s a great patio wine – crying out for a perfect early summer evening.

Our review:

Thanks to Tim for hosting for the third time around!

Three Innings and Lunch

I'm not really a baseball fan, but I love to go to games. I like the people watching and the sun. Plus, if you sit by me, a foul ball is guaranteed to come your way. It just happens like that, and since I care not, I tend to get squished in the skirmish to grab the ball.

The Reds are launching Three Innings and a Lunch today, with the game against the Cubs.

Under the promotion, sponsored by the Business Courier, the Reds will sell tickets for $15 that include a $10 voucher for food at Great American Ballpark. Fans essentially get lunch plus a $5 ticket.

The deal covers any $14 ticket in the View level, which makes up nearly the entire upper deck. Despite the name, fans aren't just limited to three innings, although the promotion is aimed at downtown workers who may just want to stop by for a few innings, said Michael Anderson, Reds public relations manager.

The promotion is only valid for four other afternoon games and is not valid on July 4. Buy tickets here.

Quick Bite: Barleycorn's is Back

Barleycorn's in Lakeside Park reopens today at 6 pm. Yay! Ye Olde Barleycorn's (as it was housed in the Drawbridge Inn temporarily) is gone and we've returned to normal.

Here's the article from the Business Courier Online:

Barleycorn's Inc., the local eatery chain popular for its casual menu and neighborhood-like bar, is reopening its Lakeside Park location following renovations.

The restaurant, at 2642 Dixie Highway, reopens Tuesday at 6 p.m. after about three months of work. It had been operating in the Gatehouse Tavern at the Drawbridge Inn in Fort Mitchell since late January.

Barleycorn's, based in Cold Spring, was founded downtown in 1976 and at one point operated 10 restaurants. Now it counts the two restaurants in Lakeside Park and Cold Spring, as well as a new location in Dayton at Sugarcreek Plaza.

Micro-Brew Merger

The announced acquisition of Pyramid brewery of Seattle by Vermont-based Magic Hat seems like a good idea for all involved. Reading the press release, it appears that Pyramid will return to the privately owed sector and lower the number of publicly traded breweries to 9, only 3 of which appear to be American Micro-Breweries.

The Yahoo! Stock screen shows a very rough last year for most of the publicly traded brewers and I find that interesting in comparison to the increased popularity and availability of small craft beers in this area.

 

As a fan of both Magic Hat and Pyramid, I'm happy for anything that will help either continue to produce well crafted and styled beers. I look forward to seeing if the two portfolios will be combined or if the two breweries will operate independently of each other.

- Kevin Gerl

Oceanaire

I can't decide if it sounds like an airline or a cruise ship from the turn of the last century. Doesn't matter of course, because it's neither. It's a new restaurant set to open June 2 across from Nada (where Havana Martini Club used to be). It's another large & classy chain, by the way, like McCormick & Schmick's. Of course, I like M&S, but  I also hate that there is nothing overly Cincinnati about the place. The curse of the chain restaurant, I suppose.

Here's the clip from Friday's online Business Courier:

Downtown Cincinnati's latest restaurant, Oceanaire Seafood Room, announced Thursday it will open its doors June 2.

The restaurant, which serves fresh seafood in a 1930s-era setting, will be located in the 580 Building at Sixth and Walnut streets. Its menu will feature 25 varieties of fish and shellfish, including crab cakes, shrimp scampi, cioppino and Hawaiian swordfish.

Minneapolis-based Oceanaire operates 15 restaurants nationwide, with a Phoenix site also set to open this year.

Derby Days

At some point I posted my mint julep recipe. But I can't find it - nor can I find it in my house. It was a classic mint julep recipe. So instead I offer you Jason Falls, a friend from Louisville who has the world's coolest job title (Social Media Explorer), and a fun twist on the classic mint julep. I'd like to add something to his steps though - use good bourbon. I recommend any of the Good Stuff (single barrel, small batch, or small scale), starting with Maker's Mark, but you can certainly work your way through the hallowed bourbon halls of Woodford Reserve, Blanton's, Basil Hayden, Booker's, Knob Creek and others. Maker's Mark, by the way, has a pre-mixed bottle of Mint Julep that avoids all the sugar water fuss in the kitchen. Just pour over ice, add a sprig of MINT, and voila! (Look for the bottle with the green wax.)

How to Make a Mint Julep
by dailyidea

If you just can't bring yourself to enjoy a mint julep, then how about some bourbon slush? It's an icee, really, sweetened with lemonade, peach tea, 7Up, and Bourbon. Peach tea is really what gives it the great flavor.

I got my tried-and-true bourbon slush recipe from my friend Kate. I posted it about two years ago I think, and it's time for a re-post of the recipe, after the jump. For the slush, you don't need to use a really high-end bourbon - Old Crow will do. Remember, you're just sort of destroying it by mixing it in with all that other stuff, sort of like a Bourbon Sangria.

Enjoy!

Cincinnati Wine Events 5/2 - 5/8

In case you didn't know, tomorrow is Kentucky Derby Day. For me, this is a day of pretty hats, gorgeous thoroughbreds, bourbon, mint juleps, and Derby parties. I love the Derby. It's on NBC tomorrow afternoon - don't miss the prettiest 2 minutes in sports.

While all the normal events are happening this week, we are low on special events. I do want to point out the Cheers for the Cure! on Wednesday at the Pub in Crestview Hills. The event is to raise funds and awareness for the Northern Kentucky Women’s Cancer Coalition.

For the complete and constantly updated list of Cincinnati tastings, refer to our Google Calendar on this page.  For information on what's going on in Dayton, you can refer to Mark's blog at Uncorked.

Tell the retailers we sent you, and happy tasting!

The Friday image is licensed thru Creative Commons and taken by Kyle Kesslering.

Friday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Saturday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Cheers!

Featured Events

Saturday, May 3
Taste of Rose
Middletown Lyric Theatre
1530 Central Ave.
Middletown, OH 45044
513-422-4435
Kentucky Derby-themed wine tasting. Includes local cuisine and prizes. Benefits the Art Central Foundation and Middletown Lyric Theater.
RSVP, $25

Wednesday, May 7
Cheers for the Cure!
The Pub @ Crestview Hills
2853 Dixie Hwy
Crestview Hills, KY
A “Girl’s Night Out” benefit to raise funds and awareness for the Northern Kentucky Women’s Cancer Coalition. Ticket include appetizers, beer and wine, live music by Tupelo Honey, raffles and silent auction.
$35, 5-9 pm
RSVP to www.cheersforthecure.com, or call Shannon Purkiss at 513.518-5631.

Tags:Cincinnati Wine, Cincinnati, Cincinnati Wine Events, Cincinnati Wine Tastings, Cincinnati Wine Dinners, Wine Tastings 

How to Pour a Perfect Guinness

I read Guy Kawasaki's blog because, business & technology wise, I usually learn something. You can often find posts inspired by him on my Write Technology blog.

I did not expect to learn something from Guy Kawasaki about Guinness.

Apparently, back in February, Guy spent some time in Ireland and visited the Guinness brewery. From his photos and descriptions, it reminds me a lot of your standard bourbon distillery tour here in Kentucky - educational but great fun. The difference is that at the end, you get to learn how to pour a perfect pint of Guinness.

In Guy Kawasaki's case, he got to learn from Fergal Murray, Guinness Brewmaster. Nice.

Anyone who has ever seen me pour a beer, or even a Coca-cola for that matter, knows that I pour lousy. Well, now there is a video that teaches you how to pour a perfect pint of Guinness. But before we get to that, I want to introduce you to the Surger.