All the News …

This is a week of news. I have a couple of announcements here and there. We'll start with the least of them.

If you haven't visited in a while, there's a new look and feel as of today. This is really the half-way point in the Big Redesign. I'm still on Typepad, but when time permits, I'm switching to WordPress. The new WordPress template has Cartoon Michelle (seen above), but a lot more grape vines a little bit of everywhere. It's a little cleaner too. But we're halfway there.

My graphic designer for all this awesome vineness and cartoon me was John Rizzo, who as far as I know doesn't have a web site showcasing his amazing art. I love his penchant for swirly bits. And cartoon me is pretty darned cool.

More news a-comin' down the pike, so hold on to your hats.

Featured Cincinnati Wine Events: June 6 – June 12

I'm wrapping up one busy week and heading into a second crazy week. In fact, until the end of the month, I'll be lucky to breathe. On the up side, my time is all billable.

7 Days for SIDS kicks off next week. If you don't remember, 7 Days for SIDS is a week-long series of events from which proceeds go to help fund research into SIDS. The organization was created by Jean-Robert and Annette de Cavel after losing their first daughter. You can read about all the events – and the discounts/donations from various restaurants – on their web site. 

The Fleurs et Vin is Sunday up in Dayton. This is a popular event, formerly the Fleurs de Fete – sort of, and several of our local wineries (and local paella) are participating in this wine festival and benefit. There will be more than 300 wines, gourmet food, music, and auctions.

There aren't that many one-time, special events this week, but what
I found, I listed after the jump. If I missed something – something
local to Cincinnati that is
- let me know! Enjoy!

For information on what's going on in Dayton, you can refer to Mark's blog at Uncorked.

Local Wine Tasting Event Calendar

Friday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Saturday Interactive Wine Tasting Map

Image Credit: Michelle, Spring 2009

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Winery Week: Chateau Thomas

We veered off of our well-beaten path this past weekend and visited the Chateau Thomas tasting room in Nashville, IN. Chateau Thomas also has a winery you can visit in Plainfield, just outside of Indianapolis. However, I've been going to Nashville, a cute crafts-oriented village, since I was a little girl. This seemed a great opportunity to go back.

Nashville is located just outside of Bloomington and is a fun little retreat. It boasts two different tasting rooms: Chateau Thomas and the Brown County Winery. Chateau Thomas is located in Coachlight Square, right as you pull into town.

The tasting menu blew us away. There are around 54 different types of wine listed. Of that list, you can pick 5 to try for free. Kevin and I each picked 5 and shared, giving us 10. We still didn't make a dent in the list. We came back later in the afternoon and tried another couple wines, plus 5 wines off of the reserve list. (The reserve tasting is $7.) The list is rather overwhelming. Looking at it now, I'm noticing things I didn't while in the tasting room, such as a 1991 Chardonnay library release. Had I noticed it then, I would have loved to try it!

The list is nicely organized based on Dry White, Classic, Dry Red, Sweet Wines, Slender, and Reserve. The back of the sheet offers a nice little quiz, magazine style, that helps you establish your wine tasting preferences so you can jump into the correct portion of the list.

In case you're curious, Chateau Thomas doesn't grow their own grapes. They import their grapes from Canada, Washington, California, and Oregon, and then all the blending, aging, and fermenting happens in Indiana.

As usual, the endorsement is in the wines we came home with. We brought home 1 each of the three Slender wines, because we want to give them a more in-depth review. Kevin is even taking a white Slender to the Wine Bloggers Conference with him. We also brought home a Teroldego and a Late Harvest Viognier.

After the jump, find our quick notes on the wines we tasted:

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Winery Week: Harmony Hill

Harmony Hill is by far my favorite place to end a day. They now have a farmer's market on Saturday afternoons, as well as live music on Fridays and Saturdays.

We've been here so many times that we didn't really have anything new to taste, but we did get a special treat. The Ovation is one of my favorites at Harmony Hill and winemaker Bill Skvarla let us try some right out the tank. The Ovation 2008 was going to be bottled last Wednesday.

Ovation is a blend of traminette (there it is again) and cayuga. It's was bright and fruity, with some spice behind it. This is a back-porch / back deck white if there ever was one. I have always wanted to buy a case of this for summer, but it hasn't happened yet. I really want a case of this particular wine. Why? Because Kevin and I helped harvest the grapes!

Bill told us that he ran into the high alcohol issues as well. What I love about Bill is that I can ask him a winemaking question and he'll answer me in regular old English. He loves to share the knowledge and he is great at explaining things. He told me that high alcohol tends to result from a long, hot growing season, coupled with a drought. It crankes up the brix, cranks up the alcohol. What's brix? I like this definition from Wines of Canada:

While we were at the winery, we also tried the 2006 Rhapsody, which is a blend of 94% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. I have no doubt we've tasted this many times before. This time, however, it surprised us. It seems to be turning into something similar to a Sangiovese, softening up the tannins and retaining the structure. Who knew? I love wine because it's dynamic, and this was the perfect example.

Opening weekend, Harmony Hill was packed. If you plan on going one evening this summer, make sure you get there early and bring your own picnic. With all the people, you might want to bring your own lawn chair or blanket as well. And even your dogs (on leashes) and kids if you want.

Winery Week: Meranda-Nixon

We'd met Seth and Tina, winemakers and proprietors, at the Wine Festival this year but hadn't had a chance to get to the winery. Since they're also in Ripley, not that far from Kinkead Ridge, we popped in before heading to Harmony Hill.

The first thing I learned is that Meranda-Nixon is wonderfully scenic. I got some great photos, despite the rainy, cloudy weather.

The next thing I learned is that Meranda-Nixon is open year-round, except for January. On weekends, they also offer dinner. Their tasting room/restaurant is lovely, decorated in a decidedly Tuscan style.

Like any winery after my heart, they have a couple vineyard dogs hanging around as well.

The last thing I learned? They make a large variety of wine. Whether you like sweet or dry, red or white, they've got it. I know we tried at least 10 different wines, of varying vintages, although I didn't get notes on all of them. Once again, I get busy chatting and my note-taking skills suffer.

As usual, a good endorsement is the fact we left with some wine. In this case, we took home 2 bottles of 2008 Traminette and 1 bottle of the Red Oak Creek red blend. Not that there weren't others we wanted -it's just that by winery #2 we were already up to a case.

After the jump, you'll find notes on several of the wines we got to try.

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