If You’re Really Into Bourbon…

By: Cresta

…and you enjoy great Italian food, you might want to head to Pompilios in Newport. The restaurant has just added an extensive Kentucky Bourbon menu. I don’t need another excuse to eat at Pompilios, but my husband will be SO excited about this. Read about it here.

Northern Kentucky Wine Festival – and Why I’m Coming Back Next Year

by Angela

Last Saturday was the Northern Kentucky Wine Festival at Main Strasse Village. It was a perfect night for it, chilly and breezy. This was a great festival; in the middle of the promenade on 6th street were fire pits, couches, live music, and tables & chairs with the perfect setting for enjoying a nice glass of wine. I was shocked to see how crowed it was and because of that you had to wait in line to taste the different wines.  The lines went fast so it wasn’t to bad. In each wine tent there were about 3 wineries and I believe there were 5 wine tents. I’m not going to talk about each winery, just the ones that I thought were the best or had a lot of potential.

• Lovers Leap Vineyards & Winery – http://www.loversleapwine.com/
  Sloppy Seconds, I really enjoyed this red wine. A blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Chambourcin and it was a light red wine with a hint of oak that had a sweet taste of cinnamon and jam. This is great for any casual dish or enjoyed with friends around a fire. This is a wonderful winery that has some good wines with a lot of potential for many years to come.
• Smith-Berry Vineyards – http://smithberrywinery.com/ I only got to try their whites and the 2 that stood out were the American Oak Chardonel and the Gewurztraminer. Let’s start out with the American Oak Chardonel, this is a hybrid between Chardonnay and Seyval grapes. The tastes of creamy oak with hints of vanilla, pear, and some citrus was quite tasty. I would recommend with fish and light meals. The Gewurztraminer was lovely, not to sweet had some hints of pear and fruits. I ended up telling multiple people around me to try the Gewurztraminer it was the best. I hope to try their reds very soon.
• Black Barn Winery – http://www.blackbarnwinery.com/ I tried the VI it was a Merlot blended with Cabernet Franc, this wine was aged in stainless steel so you can taste the true flavors of the grapes. Wonderful medium bodied wine that had a lot of potential, VI won the 2010 Indiana International Festival Bronze Medal. Perfect wine for meat lovers, this will be great with steak, ribs, and pot roast. I see great things for this winery in the future.

All in all the festival was so much fun with the live music, art booths, wonderful food booths, and of course the WINE! I will definitely be back for next year’s festival .

Pumpkin Pudding Shots

By: Cresta

Pudding shots are a great addition to any party, and the pumpkin ones are my favorite. Better make a double batch…these won’t last very long.

One small box Jello Pumpkin Spice Instant Pudding

¾ cup milk

¾ cup Captain Morgan Orignal Spiced Rum

8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

Whisk milk into the dry pudding mix. Add the Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and whisk until smooth. Gradually fold in the Cool Whip until thoroughly combined.

Spoon mixture into small plastic cups and refrigerate. Serve with Redi Whip.

Muahaha…How Fun are These!

By: Cresta

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love decking out the house with everything from pumpkins, gourds and mums to the creepy, scary stuff. I also take every opportunity to make treats like pumpkin cookies and the peanut/candy corn mixture.

While food and drink shopping for an upcoming party, I found several bottles of wine that I thought would be perfect for the occasion. This is just a preview. I plan to have at least a taste of each of these during the party this weekend so I’ll let you know if they taste as good (and festive) as they look. I found all of  these at Cork ‘N Bottle.

Spellbound 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon: A California wine that touts the taste of bold fruit with a hint of oak and spice. I love the moon on the label.  Cost: around $15.

Toad Hollow 2010 Mendocino County Chardonnay: An Unoaked Chardonnay and Toad Hollow’s top-selling wine. Toad Hollow is known for quality wines that are affordable. All of the Toad Hollow wines have whimsical labels similar to this one, and all are designed by their in-house artist.  Cost: around $13.

Casillero del Diablo Pinot Noir 2009: Translation: Cellar of the Devil. This is one of the brands produced by Concha y Toro, the largest wine producer in Chile. I can’t wait to try this wine, which boasts hints of chocolate and coffee.  Cost: around $10.

Elk Creek Vineyards makes Halloween wines as well – Ghostly White Chardonnay and Bone Dry Red, a Cabernet Sauvignon. Both the Florence and Crestview Hills Tasting Rooms were sold out when I called last week but they might have some in by now.

Note from the Editor: Elk Creek Vineyards, and specifically their Halloween wines, were a marketing client of my Write Technology business in Fall 2009. I have not worked for them since Spring 2010 and Cresta had no idea. However, I believe in full transparency. 
Cheers, Michelle

The New Haunted Covington Tour by American Legacy Tours

by Angela

I was so excited to hear that American Legacy Tours was finally doing a Haunted Covington Tour. Considering I grew up in Covington and I grew up in a haunted building in Main Strauss.  Not only did this tour share great ghost stories that I myself heard over the years but also some great history about the Covington area. Like for instance, did you know that Ulysses S. Grant’s parents lived in Covington? He also lived there during a part of the Civil War and his kids went to a school on Greenup St.

This tour walks you past some of the most beautiful historic homes in the Tri State area. Two great spots that have great haunt stories on the tour are the Baker-Hunt Art and Cultural Center and the Booth Hospital. The Baker-Hunt house has a history of ghost sightings and as I was standing in the living room listening to the stories and history about the house I got the creepiest feeling like someone was watching us. The Booth Hospital has so many different ghost stories and I even shared a ghost story with the tour guides that I saw first hand when I was little.

– This is a picture of Dr. Baker-Hunt; visitors and psychics have described seeing him in the house.

This is a tour that has a beautiful scenery, wonderful ghost stories, and great history. I strongly suggest this tour even if you don’t believe in ghost just to take in all the historic homes and vibrant history.

Disclaimer: This was a free event that I was invited to for press night. This tour has nothing to do with wine or any wine events, it’s just really freaking cool.