Wanna pour some wine?

Your help is needed! I got a call today from one of the organizers of the Covington Farmer’s Fair. I’ll do a bigger post on Farmer’s Fair next week, but for now, just know it’s a really neat (and big) event promoting sustainable living and eating / buying local.

It takes place next Saturday, Aug 28, from 10 am to 10 pm. There’s one small local winery that would really like to be there, but because of harvest, has to pull out unless they can find folks to pour for them. You’d have to sell the wine (take money), so we need you to be trust worthy, and you can probably get up to speed pretty fast.

Kevin and I will be pouring for them in morning through mid-afternoon, I think. However, we have plans for that evening. Is there anyone out there that might want to pour from roughly 3 or 5 pm until 10 pm? If there are enough folks, maybe we can split into more shifts. This is a fun local winery, based over in Alexandria (hint, hint), and I’d really like to have them at the Fair.

As a bonus, the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars will be playing from 5-10 pm, so you’ll get a free concert while you’re pouring.

Let me know ASAP in the comments or via email.

Thanks!

Harmony Hill Comes Downtown

This is one of the strangest combinations I’ve come across. Harmony Hill Vineyards is coming to the Mainstay Rock Bar downtown. I know Harmony Hill does the music thing, but hmm …. Regardless of how strange I think the combination, I’m certainly going to be there. After all, the most important thing about this event is that the wine from out in Bethel will be exposed to folks in downtown Cincinnati. I’m all for that!

The event costs $20 and includes a wine tasting (flight I assume) from Harmony Hill and a chance to meet and greet with the winemaker, Bill Skvarla. Bill is an absolute hoot, and explains the science behind wine better than anyone I’ve met. So take this closer-to-home chance to meet him. Your $20 also gets you a selection of paired appetizers prepared by Mainstay.

Come to the party on Thursday, September 16, from 6-8 pm. Mainstay is located on the corner of 5th and Plum, at 301 West 5th Street. Tickets are available at the door.

Rabbit Hash and Wine … and a Dog

What? Sort of a weird combination isn’t it?

A couple of weeks back, I had my first visit to Rabbit Hash on the back of a friend’s bike as we rode in the 2nd Annual Krystal Pepper Memorial Scholarship Poker Run. I fell in love with the place … of course, a hundred Harleys everywhere helped a bit with the ambiance.

If you haven’t been to Rabbit Hash, it’s hard to explain. It’s small, old-timey, full of character, and apparently home to a rather liberal-walk-around-the-street alcohol policy. Everyone was friendly. There was a cop stationed on the porch of the General Store, but we figure he was there to combat stupidity (don’t go falling into the river) as opposed to breaking up fights. I know they occasionally have rockabilly concerts at the store as well. In Rabbit Hash you can generally get burgers, hot dogs, beer, and now … wine.

I had noticed where the wine shop was going to open. I mean, there are only about 4 or 5 buildings, so it wasn’t hard to miss. The stairs leading up to the second floor shop read off different types of wines, including fruit wines. When I found out today that Curtis Sigretto of Elk Creek was opening the shop, I wasn’t surprised. Elk Creek is actually the perfect winery for that spot. Why? They offer more than just vinifera. By offering the fruit wines, they’ll appeal to a wider base of consumer.

Now, almost everyone around here has heard of Rabbit Hash (I’m pretty sure they’ve got a large marketing budget) and of course, they’re famous for their mayor. Elected in 2008, the current mayor is an adorable red and white border collie named Lucy Lou. It looks like Elk Creek is going to bottle several special editions of their wines with the dog on the label – yep, the Rabbit Hash branded wines will be called Mayor’s Select.

According to Cincinnati.com, the new wines aren’t all ready yet, but will be soon. The store itself opened July 25. The article goes on to quote Curtis as having some big plans,

There are plans to have a Rabbit Hash wine club and there is talk about having a Rabbit Hash wine festival, according to Sigretto.

“The Rabbit Hash wine festival will feature and celebrate Kentucky grown grapes and the processing of Kentucky owned vineyards and wineries,” Clare said.

Store hours are 11-7 pm, Thursday through Sunday, and hours may change for special events.

Editor’s Note: Elk Creek Winery is a frequent advertiser on this blog. At the time of this publication, they are not running an ad. In the interest of full disclosure, they have also been a past social marketing client of mine, although not for several months. I generally try to avoid writing articles that involve my advertisers or clients.  This is, however, news and not a review, and the dog is cute.

Wine and Beer Event – brought to you by Wine-Girl and Hoperatives

We’re having all sorts of events in July. The first one I want to tell you about is a wine and beer event at the Dilly Cafè. That’s right – it’s beer and wine lovers. You simply cannot go wrong.

We here at Wine-Girl are collaborating with our good friends the Hoperatives to bring you a beer-wine-cheese tasting at Dilly Cafè on Tuesday, July 27th at 6:30 pm. The tasting will be led by the Goose Girl herself, Lindsey Shafer of Goose Island Brewery. The cost is only $20.00 and the number of participants is limited to 30. There will be a waiting list if necessary. Call Dilly to make your reservations (513.561.5233).  We were planning today and already people were calling – so give a call to Dilly ASAP.

Working with Chuck and Chef Eric at Dilly and Lindsay from Goose Island, we’ve managed to put together a tentative list of pairings, although keep in mind that it is subject to a little bit of change.

1. Welcome drink: Sparkling wine
2. Cheese: Chevre  Beer: Goose Island 312 Wine Type: Sancerre
3. Cheese: Triple Creme Brie Beer: Goose Island Sofie Wine Type: Champagne
4. Cheese: Feta Beer: Goose Island Demolition Wine Type: Alsatian Reisling
5. Cheese: Washed Rind  Beer: Goose Island Matilda Wine Type: Grenache Rosè
6. Chocolate: Bitter, dark (80-85% cacao)  Beer: Goose Island Pere Jacques Wine: Southern Bell Shiraz

Just to recap:

Tuesday, July 27th
6:30 pm
Dilly Cafè, 6818 Wooster Pike, Mariemont, OH 45227
only $20.00
RSVP (please!) ASAP at 513.561.5233

Choice Treats on Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is pretty much synonymous with food and wine for us here at My Wine Education. It means two things: Taste of Cincinnati and opening weekend for the local wineries.

Taste of Cincinnati is the longest running culinary festival in the US. How about that? 32 years! Every year, Kevin and I go and the menu for us is pretty straight forward. I pretty much eat crepes and cheesecake and cream puffs … every dessert I can find. Kevin tries every BBQ he can find. We usually drink some Moerlein and Great Lakes beer and we have wonderful food-filled day.

Kevin and I are usually there on Sunday or Monday, as I can’t handle the crowds on Saturday. It’s generally hot, so we bring water and stay hydrated all day. No passing out down on Fifth Street!

You’ll find all the information you need about Taste at their web site – they even have a Twitter account!

On Saturday, instead of fighting crowds downtown, we’ll be enjoying a leisurely drive out to both Kinkead Ridge and Harmony Hill. Both wineries, as well as La Vigna Estate, open for the summer this weekend. However, while La Vigna and Harmony Hill will be open Fridays and Saturdays throughout the summer, Kinkead Ridge is open only this Saturday and Monday. If you want some Viognier-Roussane (I do!), get it now and get it early. It’s in limited supply.

If you want to spend the day lazily going from winery to winery, I recommend this route, starting in Ripley and ending in Bethel: Kinkead Ridge, Meranda-Nixon, La Vigna Estate, and ending at Harmony Hill. If you can, stop and pick up some munchies and sit out on the Harmony Hill patio with  glass of wine, listening to the music.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. And remember, if you’ve had too much to drink – just call the FETCH taxi service at 513.35.FETCH.