Although the temperature in Cincinnati has been all over the place, the first official day of winter is Thursday. If you haven’t already been partaking in seasonal brews, the time is now.

Fox News published a Best Holiday Brews article this week and it reminded me that these seasonal selections won’t be around forever. Although I don’t usually drink darker, heavier beers, they are great for warming you up on cold winter nights.

I have had – and do like – the top beer on this list: Great Lakes Brewing Co. Christmas Ale, a holiday beer brewed with honey and spiced with ginger and cinnamon. It’s medium-bodied, not too heavy, and a repeat World Beer Championship Gold Medal winner. My sister-in-law was nice enough to share her stash over Thanksgiving (Thanks, Laurie).

Not on this list, but a popular choice - Sierra Nevada Celebration. While Celebration tastes good for a change, I can’t drink many as it’s a very robust, rich ale. But it’s great for bringing along to your holiday parties and for toasting friends and family.  

Do you have a favorite winter beer? Leave a comment here and let me know what you like and what I should try before they all disappear.

With all the  holiday parties and excessive drinking to make it easier to hang out with relatives, I just wanted to post a reminder to stay safe.

I’m currently in San Francisco, where it’s fairly easy to find public transportation or catch a cab (or an Uber car). But there are cabs in Cincinnati too.

If you’ve got a smartphone, be it an Android, Blackberry, or iPhone (or anything else), there is most likely a taxi app for your phone. No kidding. Go to the iTunes store and search for “taxi.” It’s ridiculous the number of apps that are available.  I prefer to use Taxi Magic out here in San Francisco, and in Cincinnati, I always preferred Cab4Me.

The various taxi apps use your GPS or cell signal to figure out where you are, and then shows you a list of local cab companies. If you’re traveling, this is a godsend. After all, you might find yourself standing on a street corner  in a strange city, wondering where in the world all the cabs have gone. If that happens, it’s handy to have an app that will tell you not only what the nearest cab companies are, but where the nearest taxi stand is located.

According to the Cab4Me web site:

If a cab company is found in our database, you can get additional information like available car types or payment methods. If we do not have a cab company for your area, a local web search is performed. You will always get a result. In the Favorites tab you can quickly access your favorite companies and the recent tab shows companies you recently called.

Isn’t that great? You’ll even be able to request a minivan so that you and all of your slightly tipsy friends can pile into the same cab.

On New Year’s Eve, you can also generally call Care Cab, a joint venture between AAA and MADD.

Regardless of how you find a cab, just make sure you find one. It’s okay to enjoy yourself, and enjoy yourself a lot – just be safe about it.

After the jump, you’ll find a list of some cab companies in Cincinnati, in case you want to add some to your Contacts. 

AT YOUR SERVICE TAXI
859-727-8600
Serves Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties and some of Grant and Pendleton counties.

COMMUNITY YELLOW CAB COMPANY
513-721-2100 (Cincinnati) or 859-261-4400 (Northern Kentucky)
Serves Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties and Northern Kentucky.

EXPRESS CAB
513-575-0721
Serves Clermont County. 

FAIRFIELD TAXI
513-829-3760
Serves Butler County and select parts of northern Hamilton County (north of Galbraith Road).

TRISTATE YELLOW CAB LLC
513-251-2111
Serves the Cincinnati area including Blue Ash and Mason and select parts of Northern Kentucky. 

RON’S TAXI SERVICE

513-921-4222
Serves Butler, Clermont and Hamilton counties and Northern Kentucky.

TOWNE TAXI
513-761-7700
Serves the Cincinnati area and Northern Kentucky.

YELLOW CAB OF NORWOOD
513-821-8294
Serves Cincinnati area and Northern Kentucky.

MEDINA TAXI
513-721-1444
Serves the Cincinnati area and Northern Kentucky.   

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

I know … it’s using a sparkling pinot grigio. Before you get all snobby and roll your eyes, just remember that we’re adding all sorts of things to it – the sparkler is just a top off.

So, compliments of a press release from VOGA Sparkling Pinot Grigio, here’s a cocktail for Dad. Happy Father’s Day.

Whiskey Pop

- 1 cube of sugar

- 4 dashes of angostura aromatic bitters

- 1/2 shot of bourbon whisky

- Top up with VOGA Premium Sparkling Pinot Grigio

Coat the sugar cube with bitters and drop in to the glass. Pour bourbon whisky into chilled glass and top with VOGA Premium Sparkling Pinot Grigio

What are you doing? There are a lot of options, and I’ll point you in the right direction to find lists of parties. Don’t forget, the new Mynt Martini is now open on Fountain Square. I expect the place to give Tonic a run for its money, although I’ll take vintage cocktails over creative martinis any day. Amazing location though! If anyone goes, I’d love for you to write me up a review!

On to festivities:

• MetroMix has compiled a pretty good listing of the larger New Year’s Eve celebrations.
• ZipScene is listing over 130 New Year’s events. You have no excuse for not finding something to do. Bootsy’s and Red are included on that list.
• The Wise Owl Wine Bar in West Chester (sorry, no web site yet) has a fairly low-key New Year’s Eve event. You can RSVP online or call them at 513.889.2500.
• CityBeat has everything listed, from parties, to hosting your own dinner party, to a worst-case scenario survival guide.

And in case you overindulge – hey, it happens! – you can count on a free taxi ride home. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is sponsoring free taxi rides home as long as you’re within the 275 loop. The number to call (write this down) is 513-768-FREE.

Image by Flickr User Waldo Jaquith
via Creative Commons

This week, Kevin and I are having a virtual (er, imaginary) Thanksgiving dinner (redux) with some of our wine friends. Monday, our retailer buddies arrived, with some amazing wine favorites in tow. Tuesday, the local wine bloggers dropped by. Today you get our own choices – just a couple of wines that we think might complement a Thanksgiving meal.

As you may have noticed this week, there is no right or wrong for a Thanksgiving wine. Drink what you like, just like your local wine bloggers and retailers.

After the jump, find our own Thanksgiving pairings.

Originally posted on Nov 26, 2008

White:

Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Spätlese, Rheigau, Germany: Leitz is located in the Rheigau region of Germany. This Riesling is a Spätlese, which refers to grapes that are
selectively picked at least 7 days after the main harvest. Because such
fruit is riper than the grapes from the main harvest, it contains more
sugar and produces wines that are rich and sweet. The natural sugar
must attain around 19-23% sugar by weight. We tried the 2005, but I have high hopes for subsequent vintages. This wine has a lot of minerality and
balanced acidity, thoroughly refreshing. We originally had the Magdelenenkreuz
with some good ol’ American fried chicken, and it complemented the meal
wonderfully, so I suspect it will work with the gamey turkey as well. ~$20

Red:

Château Beauregard Moulin-à-Vent 2005,
Beaujolais, France: This was my most surprising wine of the night. I instantly
judged the wine because it was a beaujolais. This wasn’t like drinking
fruit punch though. This was a nice wine with some complexity and no
wimpiness. It’s what I always wanted a beaujolais to be and it may even
improve with another 3-5 years in the bottle.  We had this at the Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship Wine Tasting event in September and it stuck with me. Remember, this isn’t Beaujolais Nouveau, it’s Cru Beaujolais. ~$21

Monte Oton 2007, Garnacha, Bodegas Borsao, Spain: This is our Christmas wine. We’re buying a case of it and giving it to all our friends. I’m not going to share how outrageously affordable this little wine is, after all, we’re giving them away, but it tastes like a lot more than its price tag.  It’s an old vine grenache thats just chock full of berries. Kevin would call it a fruit explosion in his mouth. It’s not all fruit though, as it has some tannins to follow it up. I brought this to a professional function in San Jose and my colleagues were all blown away by it. I never did share the price – just reveled in their admiration at my “mad wine skillz.”

Dessert:

And don’t forget dessert!  Whether alone or with some chocolate, you can break out a port or an icewine.

2004 Eugen Müller Forst Weissburgunder Eiswein, Pfalz, Germany: A completely unexpected icewine. This was acidic and cleansing. It reminded me of a crisp sorbet you might eat between
courses. There was a lot of citrus, especially lemon and apricot. The
Weissburgunder was lighter than we expected, not heavy and mead-like,
as in some icewines. It also wasn’t overly sweet, but pleasant. The wine needs to be slightly chilled first, which makes a
difference in the blending of the flavors. Overall, we enjoyed this dessert wine and will definitely buy it again. (not sure what we paid for this one)

Trevor Jones “Jonesy” Tawny Port, NV, Australia: Espresso and raisins. Exactly what a tawny port should be.  Nutty, vanilla, and strawberry jam with tobacco. Not dark and heavy, but a nice finale to your meal. It’s a sippable port and the best part? It’s only ~$10!

Kevin and I are having a virtual (er, imaginary) Thanksgiving dinner
dinner
(redux) with some of our wine friends. Yesterday, our retailer buddies arrived first, with some amazing wine favorites in tow. In this edition, our local wine blogger friends make a big entrance, and they’ve brought some big wine with them.

I asked each of them to “bring” their favorites for Thanksgiving
dinner. You’ll see that their tastes vary a lot, proving that there is
no right or wrong. Drink what you like, just like your local wine bloggers.

We’ve invited Tim Lemke from CheapWineRatings.com, Mike Rosenberg from The Naked Vine, and Jonathan Seeds from BestDrinkEver.net.

Tomorrow, you’ll get favorites from your host and hostess here at Wine-Girl.net, just in case you’re curious as to what we’d offer our guests.

After the jump, find the outstanding blogger choices.

Originally published on Nov 25, 2008

Jonathan Seeds, BestDrinkEver.net: Love it! I can’t just bring one wine, with all you winos….I’ve got a spread:

Bubbles: Marc Hebrart Brut NV ‘Cuvee de Reserve” ~$40ish
Excellent Pinot Noir-based Grower-Champagne. The bottle wont last 5 minutes. Sprightly, rich and toasty nose – one of those wines you could smell
for hours. Very red-fruit-driven, strawberries and right-off-the-tree
red apples. (Full review)

White: Dönnhoff ‘Oberhäuser Brücke’ Spätlese, 2006 ~$45-50ish
An extraordinary and super-versatile Nahe Riesling. Dazzling and complex on the nose, with pineapple, lime, and green apple
on the top end and a substantial base of red cherry, red apple, and red
currant. Even strawberry. Vivid like a kaleidoscope, but hard to pin
down definitively. (Full review)

Red: Chateau Thivin – Cotes-du-Brouilly, Cru Beaujolais ~$20ish
Gamay is way under-rated and a typically a great turkey wine. This is Cru BoJo  serious…it’s not the Nouveau swill. Delicate floral nose. High-toned palate, with pure and light cherry
flavors supported by a tremendous acidic backbone. Graphite and
lavender. Floral, beautiful and fresh.(Full review)

Tim Lemke, CheapWineRatings.com: (two wines)
I can tell by the traffic patterns on my site that people are interested in Pinot Noir for Thanksgiving, but my recommendation is going to Sauvignon Blanc this year. It’s dry and flavorful, with a variety of melon, mango, peach, pear and citrus flavors. The ones I like best have a little bit of a mineral characteristic to them as well. The bright flavors will pair perfectly with turkey and enhance its flavors. And it’s not hard to find a great Sauvignon Blanc at a reasonable price. With Sauvignon Blanc fresh is best, so get the most recent vintage you can find (i.e. 2008 if it’s available, otherwise 2007).

Veramonte Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2008, New Zealand, $11 or less
The nose has both outstanding intesity and complexity.  I’m first
struck by a combination of vegetal/cut grass aroma—much like you’d
expect from a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc—along with mango, melon and
peach.  There is also a flinty minerality as well as a touch of citrus. The palate has perfect acidity.  The flavors are primarily melon,
mango and peach, followed by a mid-palate mineral and peach that
lingers into a long finish.  Some past vintages have been dinged for
having a short finish, but I didn’t find that to be the case with this
one. (Full review)

Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home Sauvignon Blanc 2007, California, $15 or less
The nose on this wine has outstanding intensity and a beautiful bouquet
of peach, pear and a slightly nutty characteristic.  Based on the
aromas, I could easily imagine enjoying this with pears, walnuts and
bleu cheese.  The palate brings a very bright and refreshing acidity
along with the flavors of slightly unripe peach, pear, mango and a hint
of mineral.  The finish is very long and adds a subtle apple flavor to
the mix. (Full review)

Mike Rosenberg, The Naked Vine:

DeLoach 2005 Zinfandel, $10 or less
I’m really impressed by this zin. I think this is a really interesting wine. It’s a “bridge Zin,” in my
opinion. The Sweet Partner in Crime said that it “could pass for a big
pinot.” It’s not as big, inky, or powerful as a lot of Zins. What it is
– fruity without being cloying and big without being overwhelming.
Lots of cherry and blackberry flavors on both the nose and body, with a
slightly smoky finish. I found this wine on sale locally. At $9, it’s a
bargain. At the $7 I found it for, it’s stealing. (Full review)

Kevin and I are having a virtual (er, imaginary) Thanksgiving dinner
(redux) with some of our wine friends. In this edition, our retailer friends
have arrived first, and they’ve brought an amazing amount of wine.

I asked each of them to “bring” their favorites for Thanksgiving
dinner. You’ll see that their tastes vary a lot, proving that there is
no right or wrong. Drink what you like, just like our retailer friends.

From Dep’s Fine Wine & Spirits (formerly Liquor Direct), we invited wine buyer Kevin Keith and his assistants Jesse (ed. note: Jesse is no longer with Dep’s) and Shannon. The Party Source is represented by Danny Gold and Jay Erisman.

Tomorrow, you’ll get favorites from our other virtual attendees: the local wine bloggers. On Wednesday, we’ll give you our own recommendations in the host and hostess edition.

Some fantastic retailer favorites are after the jump.

Originally posted on Nov 24, 2008

Kevin K: Heidi Schrock Muscat 2007, Austria ($25.98)
I stumbled onto this really cool white wine that I am definitely
bringing to my mom’s for T-day. The cool thing about this wine is that
it actually is NOT, I repeat, NOT a Muscat, but a proprietary blend of
two Austrian grapes – Gelber Muskateller and Ottonel – + Sauvignon
Blanc.  The result is a seriously complex white wine with wet stone,
pineapple, papaya, starfruit, ginger, Anjou pears, nutmeg, and even
hints of white pepper.  It is medium-bodied, and even had the guts to
stand up pasta with a red meat sauce AND dried apricots for dessert
(strange eating habits when sitting in front of the TV, or maybe not
for me).  The acidity is balanced and the finish just rolls on and on.
This is definitely an out-of-the-box suggestion for the holidays but I
feel it would be a memorable one. (Dep’s)

Jesse: Cedric Vincent Beaujolais 2006, France ($21.99)
If you must drink a Beaujolais with Thanksgiving dinner, why not make
it a good one?  This Gamay Noir, imported by Kermit Lynch, is silky yet
jammed packed with depth and character.  Of course, we wouldn’t expect
anything else from Kermit.  Get it while you still can!
(Dep’s)

Shannon: Mongeard-Mugneret Bourgogne 2006, France ($21.98)
This gem of a pinot noir lends itself perfectly to Thanksgiving fair.
Pairing well with turkey, cool weather and great people, no one will be
disappointed by this medium-bodied burgundy.  Offering something of a
cool-climate nose, a juicy palate with a touch of earth, and a smooth,
round finish, even Bordeaux-loving Uncle Barry will be impressed with
this wine. (Dep’s)

Jay: (two wines)
Ramsay Pinot Noir, North Coast 2006, California ($17.99)
Ramsay Pinot Noir is a terrific Thanksgiving wine, and I have the scars
to prove it. In 2001, my first holiday season at The Party Source,
Ramsay was all the rage with our staff and customers. Case after case
of this well-balanced, juicy, Pinot Noir left the store. In the midst
of the biggest wine selling days of the year, it felt like Cincinnati
was inhaling Ramsay Pinot Noir. Well, despite our enormous warehouse,
we of course ran out of Ramsay the day before Thanksgiving. A concerned
elderly customer came asking for more Ramsay – nothing else would do for
her family but this terrific Pinot value. I had to inform her that,
sadly, we had run out of Ramsay – and then she smacked me! True story.
I’m pleased to say that the 2006 Ramsay is better than ever, and years later is still a square deal. (The Party Source)

Ecker Grüner Veltliner, Austria/Weinland, 2007 liter ($12.99)
Anyone looking for a dry, savory, insanely good value white wine for
their holiday table should consider the fat liter bottle of Ecker’s
2007 Grüner Veltliner. Master importer Terry Theise offered a perfect
description of this wine which I shall borrow: “Slim and racy, spring
water strained through herbs.” The lithe, thyme/green bean/mineral
flavors of Grüner are backed by fairly generous ripe fruit in a zesty,
bone-dry palate. Matched against such tough Thanksgiving customers as
The Green Bean Casserole, Ecker suggests: have seconds.” (The Party Source)

Danny: (three wines!)
Belle Vallee Pinot Noir 2006, Oregon ($23.99)
If you have a big buffet and need a red to quench, Pinot Noir is
perfect and Belle Vallee is hands down the best value in Pinot out of
Oregon. With heavy cuisine the smart way to go is light on the wine and
although this Pinot is dense, it’s rich fruit and excellent oak and
earth foundation will satisfy the full bodied red desire. If the budget
falls around $10, try Alfredo Roca from Argentina. (The Party Source)

Kerpen Riesling Spatlese “Artist Label” 2006, Germany ($29.99)
No question the best Riesling comes from Germany with Australia,
Washington, Alsace and Austria rounding out the top 5. Kerpen is
mouthwatering with it’s unparallelled balancing act of honey, kiwi and
mango making it the ultimate beverage with cuisine ranging from
baked/fried turkey to sweet potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. For
any non believers out there, this Riesling is devine and will make any
Thanksgiving special. If on a budget, try a drier style in Kung Fu Girl from Washington. At  $13, it’s single-handedly the best dry Riesling from the U.S. (The Party Source)

Mulderbosch Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon, South Africa ($12.99)
Pink wine? I know the image and reputation for this colored wine has
been in the dog house for decades. But people are starting to discover
that pink is a color and not a flavor. Mulderbosch takes the full
bodied varietal that we all know and love and turn into a dramatic,
elegant Rosé. Much like Champagne, a truly perfected Rosé is one of the
most elegant food friendly cocktails on the planet. (The Party Source)

Last year, I had local bloggers and retailers submit the perfect wines for a Thanksgiving feast. Because I have so many new readers this year, and because I’m still somewhat battling the flu and an inability to taste anything other than cough syrup, I’m reposting that series over Monday -Wednesday of this week.

Wishing everyone a happy  – and healthy – Thanksgiving week and a safe shopping weekend!

Image by Flickr user Hammer51012
via Creative Commons license