Technical Difficulties

Forgive our extended lull. Not only am I having some trouble with the host of my blog, I'm also having more localized trouble. I installed Snow Leopard on my Mac last week and, as I saw someone state on Twitter, a real snow leopard would have caused less damage to my computer.

I'm in the midst of downgrading my operating system back to regular Leopard, fighting with my email and calendar programs (that no longer seem to work), finding my various contacts, appointments, emails, etc …

Featured Cincinnati Wine Events: Sept 5 – Sept 11

Riverfest. Really, why do anything else? But if you do want to find an alternative, we've got a few suggestions for you.

Most of our local wineries will be open on Saturday and Labor Day Monday, so make a day of it. But call first to confirm times for Monday. Make sure to visit Harmony Hill, Kinkead Ridge (who will be debuting their 2007 reds), Meranda-Nixon, La Vigna, and Lakeside. In nearby Kentucky, you can visit Elk Creek and Stonebrook.

Want to know more about our local wineries? Here's a great interview with Bill Skvarla, owner & winemaker at Harmony Hill, via Clermont Today (airing this month on Warner ch 22).

Remember, all the recurring events, those dependable weekly tastings,
are displayed on our calendar. The one-time events are after the jump.

If I missed anything, make sure to let me know. 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

Photo Credit:
Thadman
via Creative Commons

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The Moerlein Lager House is Coming

As I pulled into the driveway last night, I heard this news on the radio. It made my night!  After all, we love our wine, but we're equal opportunity beer and cocktail folks as well.

We love our German beer here in Zincinnnati (see Oktoberfest and Hofbrauhaus). So why not open a biergarten / brewpub featuring one of Cincinnati's original German brews? Christian Moerlein will be opening a 15,000 square foot restaurant and brewery, complete with outdoor biergarten, down on the Banks.

The new multi-story brewpub will be built on top of a parking garage across from the Great American Ball Park.
The restaurant, to be called the Moerlein Lager House, will seat 500
inside and 600 in the beer garden.  It will span the block on Main Street between Mehring Way and Theodore M Berry Way, in stumbling distance from the ball park, really.

According to the Business Courier, "Preliminary designs for the two-story building include a green roof,
balconies and terraces with views of the river, Roebling Suspension
Bridge and the ballpark."  I fell in love with green roofs in Vancouver, so I'm pretty excited about just that one small detail on its own.

The new restaurant will also offer brewery tours. It's slated to open in 2011.

I can't imagine the place being anything but packed all the time. When I lived in Maryland, my friends would go to the store looking for Moerlein beer, which just baffled me at the time. After all, I'd grown up with it. Moerlein is nationally known as a maker of craft brews and, combined with the ball park, will be a huge hit for tourists.