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

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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 .