Comments on: West Chester Wine & Food Festival – In Review

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 21:37:36 +0000

A few comments about your observations:
Woodstone Creek’s strength is in their spirits which they unfortunately were not able to have at this event. I am looking forward to buying their bourbon once it is available.
You are spot on with your comments about Burnett Ridge. Chip Emmerich is a legend – in his own mind. His wine is only mediocre and there are many wines available that are better and for much less money. I may be willing to give the wine of Burnett Ridge another try but Mr. Emmerich’s pompous demeanor has made sure that will never happen.
I agree with you about Kinkead Ridge’s Cabernet Sauvignon. It is very good stuff and is well balanced in this day of the abundance of over extracted juice coming out of California these days. Also, it is infinitely better than anything that Burnett Ridge makes.

By: Kevin Gerl

Kevin Gerl — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:12:09 +0000

Linda,
Thanks for your comment clarifying Ohio’s sometimes wacky wine laws. I’m always surprised to learn about the various restrictions put in place around different festivals and types of booths. Just like your inability to sell and taste spirits at your winery came as a surprise, so do the restrictions around various festivals.
I was fascinated by my discussion with Don at the 2nd Street market especially in regards to the the use of a Pot Still for the distilling of the spirits used in the Ambiance and Laureate wines I tasted while there. I also thought the fortified wines held well in the heat, but than again what is more classic than sipping a nice port on a hot summer day.
Wine discovery is a journey that we are all on. The process of learning what we all like is a life long(hopefully) process where no one can ever be wrong. We can differ in our opinions and perceptions, but we try and respect all points of view during our discuss of where we are in the world of wine.
See our comments about the Dayton Second Street Festival here:
http://www.wine-girl.net/2007/06/2nd_street_fest.html
Kevin
Beer and Spirits Guy

By: Linda Outterson

Linda Outterson — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:05:03 +0000

Hello,
I’ve read your blog. Interesting. I do remember you and the lady with the nose problem. You three were the only ones standing there so don’t know where all those other “opinions” came from.
Laureate lady:
You let a stranger in the crowd review our wine for your blog? Laureate is not a sherry.
Food:
A food vendor’s permit is required to do food and water. Ours is for wine only. Food is not legally our problem. But – it could be if we presumed to break food service regulations.
Brochure/handouts
We had a display with 3 different handouts. You missed them.
Niagara:
Wineries bring what they call “money wines” to festivals like this. It’s not all a beauty contest. And, it’s rare someone doesn’t like our Niagara. You just happen to be telling half the known universe ours sucks. It may not be interesting but we sold a whole bunch anyway – we always do.
Best Cabernet:
You would have had to try ALL the cabs to assign the “best of all the cabs at the festival statement”. Didn’t try ours. hmmmmmm
Little Sonoma:
Couldn’t bring any wines to the festival. That would have been a violation of West Chester’s permit. The law is soooooo messy sometime.
Your blog overall:
You should really be more careful with damaging comments. Somebody might want to sue you someday. If you’re going to post for the entire world to see, you’ve got to exhibit some personal responsibility.
And, you didn’t rave about Burnett Ridge – that just ain’t done in these parts. Guess you haven’t been around here long. It does put your palette in the spotlight, however.
If you’re brave enough to show up at my winery now maybe you shouldn’t introduce yourself.

By: Jen Rizzo

Jen Rizzo — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:21:00 +0000

Re: Nancy -
Thanks for the clarification! (I saw your post over at my Vox too, but wasn’t sure if you’d check back to read my reply comment, so I’m coming here!)
I think I saw you come back just as we were leaving the booth. We came up to taste, then came back after visiting a couple of other booths to buy a bottle. The woman we talked to made sure to give us handouts (I think there were three?) and talked to us about the whites being released this weekend.
And I didn’t see the water – my mistake, I was probably shocked from finding the first red wine I’ve ever tasted! – but we definitely snacked on crackers as we read over the material you all had there.
As a side note, so sorry to hear about how much you lost due to the frost this year – I went back and read through your blog after Michelle directed me at a video from a little while back. I can’t wait to try the new whites, though. I’ll make sure to grab my bottle fast! Is there anywhere in Cincinnati that you can currently buy the Cab? I know you mentioned that you’re running out of it, and since John & I liked it so much, we’d like to pick up another bottle or two.

By: Nancy Bentley

Nancy Bentley — Wed, 23 May 2007 01:33:08 +0000

Hello all, Nancy here from Kinkead Ridge! I just wanted to comment about the timing of the festival for us. Our production is so small (less than 1500 cases), that in general all our wines are sold out by May. We still had Cabernet Sauvignon because it was our largest bottling, 377 cases; only about 50 remain. So we could only bring one wine. We release our new white wines at the winery on Memorial Day Weekend (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon and Viognier/Roussanne); the first chance to taste them outside the winery will be at the Dayton 2nd Street Market wine festival on June 1 and 2; then they will gradually be distributed throughout the state. Get them this year! Because of the frost, there won’t be much of a white wine harvest in 2007. Maybe I was on a break when Jen came to the booth. We had our own pitcher of water, oyster crackers on Saturday, and several handouts, one of which is specifically about the 2007 releases! I’ve learned never to discourage anyone that claims to not like red wine from tasting ours. Because we pick our fruit dead ripe, as late as the end of October, even sweet white wine drinkers are often pleasantly surprised!

By: Jen Rizzo

Jen Rizzo — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:42:47 +0000

I did forget to mention about The Wine CART – as I was standing by the Henke booth furiously scribbling down notes, a woman noticed me writing and handed me a brochure for their shop. So, while they weren’t represented, they were trying to get their name out. She made sure to tell me about their Friday tastings – $10 for a flight of five, starting at 5:00. I’m afraid I’d never be able to make it since I don’t really get off work until 5:30 or so on Friday nights from downtown, but for those who are closer, I’m sure it would be a lot of fun.
Thanks for the re-post! And no, we had never even heard of Kinkead Ridge from anyone. I’m so glad to know that there are great people behind the great wine!