My Wine Education

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**Wine-Girl.net Featured Post**

Note: For my regular readers, this post will remain at the top for quite some time. Below this post are regular updates to the blog.

As many of you know, I unexpectedly lost my sister to an undiagnosed heart defect in October. Krystal was only 21, and pursuing an elementary education degree at Thomas More.

My cousins & I have decided to launch a Memorial Scholarship to Thomas More College in Krystal’s name. Read on to find out how you can help.

Due to inclement weather, the Benefit Dinner has been Rescheduled for March 14.

BlackFinn Cincy

Remember when I mentioned McFadden's was gone? Well, BlackFinn is going into that location.

BlackFinn is a chain, with restaurants in major cities, including New York, Dallas, and Chicago. Like McFadden's, it's an Irish-American pub-style restaurant. The back of the restaurant will be Suite BlackFinn and have a more nightclub-like feel, complete with personal servers and bottle service, and a VIP entrance off the alley. I read the web site correctly, the nightclub tends to spill out into the front as well.

Pigall's Gets 4 Stars

Remember when the Maisonette always got 5 Stars. It was a big deal - I bragged about it a lot. It was proof that there was good food here in this city.

Of course, now I know better. I know that there are all sorts of phenomenal restaurants around town, none of which have been rated by Mobil.

Now I don't know much about the Mobil Travel Guide rating system. I know that Wine Specatator Awards require the restaurant to submit an entrance fee. Is Mobil the same?

That said, Pigall's has recieved a coveted 4-star rating. Believe it or not, it's a big deal. It's the only 4-Star in Ohio and there are none in Kentucky. There are also no 5-Star rated restaurants in either state.

Wine Blogging Wednesday News

All sorts of news regarding our monthly tasting adventure - Wine Blogging Wednesday.

First up, there's a logo contest. You can win all sorts of great wine-related prizes that are being lined up as I type. So if you're a designer, or fancy that you ever could be, here's your chance to show off a little!

Next, the round-up from our adventures in Italian Friuli wines has been posted over at Fork & Bottle. Jack did a great job with a complicated round-up.

Finally, the topic for Wine Blogging Wednesday #42 has been posted at Spittoon. Andrew wants us to - are you ready for this? - drink any Italian Red and then write the tasting note in Just Seven Words. It sounds challenging, and fun, although it also has the potential to be a disaster. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. I hope my twittering and texting in the last few months have helped prepare me for short concise thoughts. Although 7 words, that's really short!  There's also a WBW Flickr group now to post your visual tasting escapade.

Cincinnati Wine Events 2008: 1/25 - 1/31

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. We spent most of the week in Memphis on vacation. It was fun, but we had more BBQ than wine. So, on with the events listing ...

As usual, it's a big list of events, so we've compiled it on one page for your reading pleasure. (For information on Dayton, you can refer to Mark's blog at Uncorked.) If you know of tastings or events that we missed in the Cincinnati area, or if we have incorrect information, please email us and we'll add it to the list.

You may note that the tastings in KY are mostly free, and the tastings in Ohio charge at least .25. It's illegal for a retailer to give alcohol away in Ohio, so they charge you, but many times it's a nominal fee.

Tell them we sent you, and happy tasting!

Friday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Saturday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

You can also click the map icons in the detailed listings to view the maps. 

Download 012508.pdf (An easy-to-print PDF of all the events in this blog post)

Per usual, the Friday photo is brought to you from the talented folks at Cincy Images.

Follow the "Continue reading" jump at the bottom for Friday - Thursday tastings. Upcoming events are listed at the end.

Cheers!

Cincinnati Wine Events 2008: 1/18 - 1/24

This past week we enjoyed a night out at 20 Brix and an evening at Chalk Food + Wine. I highly recommend both, and the wine shop at Chalk should be open by the end of next week. 20 Brix is having regular, personal wine tastings every Tuesday night. I’ll be writing up both of these enjoyable locations next week.

Kevin and I are heading to Memphis to enjoy a long weekend away. We’ve earned it, believe me. So it’s up to all of you to visit all the great wine tastings available this weekend. Enjoy!

As usual, it's a big list of events, so we've compiled it on one page for your reading pleasure. (For information on Dayton, you can refer to Mark's blog at Uncorked.) If you know of tastings or events that we missed in the Cincinnati area, or if we have incorrect information, please email us and we'll add it to the list.

You may note that the tastings in KY are mostly free, and the tastings in Ohio charge at least .25. It's illegal for a retailer to give alcohol away in Ohio, so they charge you, but many times it's a nominal fee.

Tell them we sent you, and happy tasting!

Friday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Saturday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

You can also click the map icons in the detailed listings to view the maps.

Download 011808.pdf (An easy-to-print PDF of all the events in this blog post)

Per usual, the Friday photo is brought to you from the talented folks at Cincy Images.

Follow the "Continue reading" jump at the bottom for Friday - Thursday tastings. Upcoming events are listed at the end.

Cheers!

WBW #41: Friuli White Wines

For this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday, Jack & Joanne of the Fork & Bottle are asking us to explore the world of Italy's Friuli-Venezia Giulia white wines.

What in the world are those? Friuli-Venezia Giulia is simply a region in Italy, similar to Napa Valley in the US or Bordeaux in France. The Friuli wines are excellent, and include everything from Tocai Friulano, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and many many more.

About two years ago, we were wandering around Microwines in Kenwood. There was a gorgeous bottle at the tasting bar, and we were taken by the taste as well. That's how we went home with a bottle of Tocai Friulano. I read where many bloggers had a hard time finding this wine. I was thrilled that it was still sitting in my wine refrigerator. It's great when I can find the required wine in my own cellar!

Livio Felluga Tocai Friulano, 2004
Microwines, $24

Livio Felluga produces Friulano, which is the traditional wine of the region. Felluga's wines are known for their personality and typicity. This wine is no exception. There was a limestone tinge to the nose, like clean slate. The wine was bold up front, with fruit, but it wasn't your average fruit. More like dried pineapples and a little bit of lemon zest. I found the fruit flavors a bit exotic. There was a slight bitter finish, but not annoyingly so. I was intrigued by the smooth creaminess of this wine. We drank it as a standalone wine, but I suspect this wine would really shine when paired with perhaps a bass or trout dinner. It seemed to be a very food-friendly wine. The weight of the wine was surprising. So many whites I drink are light and easy, whereas this one seemed to have some heft to it on my tongue.
Overall, we really enjoyed the wine, although we might have appreciated it more on a sunny day as opposed to one covered in snow.
Our rating:

Our thanks to Fork & Bottle for hosting this month!

Another One Bites the Dust

McFadden's is apparently closed, with no warning. This makes me sad - now that it's smoke-free, I rather enjoy McFadden's. It was also a great location for drinks and snacks after the Shakespeare Company shows. Another one down. All these restaurant closings - I suppose it's evolution.

Here is the article from the Cincinnati Business Courier:

McFadden's Restaurant, the casual Irish-inspired pub and eatery on Seventh Street, has shut its doors and left little indication whether it will reopen.

The restaurant's Web site is down and its voice mail is full. The windows are covered with tightly drawn curtains and the front of the restaurant, the hostess area, is crowded with stacks of its dining room chairs. There is no sign or notice posted, however.

Bar Investment Group, which opened McFadden's in March 2005, signed a 15-year lease on the property. Debi O'Dell, general manager at Diamond Properties, which owns the building, declined comment. She referred calls to owner Paul Derrico at Bar Investment, but he could not be reached.

McFadden's replaced Nick & Tony's, which closed without warning in September 2004, less than two years after it opened.

Best in the City

While it may be my birthday, congratulations are in store for two of my favorite retail shops. The February issue of Cincinnati Magazine focuses on the Best of Cincinnati with randomly made-up categories.

Liquor Direct won Best Cheap Wine, meaning best prices on wine in the city. No argument from me. Without a doubt, Liquor Direct's wine prices beat everyone else's by a mile. I swear they sell the wines for barely over wholesale.

The EQ Center at the Party Source won Best Cooking Class, although that honor extends to their affordable demos and wine tastings as well. We love attending these classes and always get a lot out of them.

Congratulations!

Cincinnati Wine Events 2008: 1/11 - 1/17

I dig my wine listings out of all sorts of spots. One of the big ones is usually the Enquirer’s Calendar. Unfortunately, not all our usual suspects have updated their bits of the calendar for the new year. Keep that in mind if the listing seems slim. In many cases, I went on the assumption of a regular tasting, but keep that in mind as you drive from one location to another.

Regular tastings do return this weekend to my Ky favorites Liquor Direct and Party Town, as well as Ohio's Chateau Pomije and Wine World. Note that the times for Liquor Direct’s Saturday tastings have changed to 2 until 6 pm.

Friday brings a large selection of tastings this week. Do we head to Bigg's Skytop to meet the Spanish winemaker, to the new Blue Ash Kroger for their Penfold's tasting, and/or back to Liquor Direct because we've missed them?

In case anyone cares, Monday is my birthday. I’m celebrating by going to the first tasting at 20 Brix in Milford on Tuesday, 1/15. I’d love to see any and all of you there! This is the first of weekly Tuesday night tastings at 20 Brix.

As usual, it's a big list of events, so we've compiled it on one page for your reading pleasure. (For information on Dayton, you can refer to Mark's blog at Uncorked.) If you know of tastings or events that we missed in the Cincinnati area, or if we have incorrect information, please email us and we'll add it to the list.

You may note that the tastings in KY are mostly free, and the tastings in Ohio charge at least .25. It's illegal for a retailer to give alcohol away in Ohio, so they charge you, but many times it's a nominal fee.

Tell them we sent you, and happy tasting!

Friday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Saturday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

You can also click the map icons in the detailed listings to view the maps. 

 

Download 011108.pdf (An easy-to-print PDF of all the events in this blog post)

Per usual, the Friday photo is brought to you from the talented folks at Cincy Images.

Follow the "Continue reading" jump at the bottom for Friday - Thursday tastings. Upcoming events are listed at the end.

Cheers!