Northern Kentucky Wine Festival

I was sitting at the Cock & Bull in Covington last week when I saw the signs for the 2010 Northern Kentucky Wine Festival. Since it has moved to Mainstrasse, it’s been held in October on weekends when I am out of town. So I can’t go, but I hope you can!

This is the 5th annual event and it’s this Saturday, October 16, from 3-10 pm. Admission is only $10, which includes a souvenir wine glass and 4 tastings. Tickets for additional tastings and glasses of wine will also be available at $1 ea or 6 for $5 for additional tastings / $5 for a glass of wine.

This year, twelve wineries are confirmed, making the Northern KY Wine Festival the largest in the Commonwealth! Participating Wineries include the following:

• Lover’s Leap – Lawrenceburg, KY
• Acres of Land – Richmond, KY
• Stonebrook Winery – Camp Springs, KY
• Wight-Meyer – Shepherdsville, KY
• Black Barn Winery – Lexington, KY
• Elk Creek – Owenton, KY
• Baker-Bird Winery – Augusta, KY
• Atwood Hill – Morningview, KY
• Iron Pig – Union KY
• Horseshoe Bend – Willisburg, KY
• RiverBend Winery – Louisville, KY
• Seven Wells Winery – California, KY

In addition to the wine, there are always local artisans with booths. I used to always come home with at least one new piece of unique jewelry.

Take advantage of the autumn weather this weekend and head to Covington!

Tino Vino Closure Causes Chaos

About a month ago,  Tino Vino, a winemaking venture in East Hyde Park, closed its doors. Because the closing was sudden, without notice, some chaos has ensued. Customers who have placed orders for custom wine have been left with a large hole in their pocketbooks, no way to retrieve their wine, and no way to contact the owners.

The shop was originally owned by Annie McManus, Lindsay Valentino, Michelle Banks, and Jennifer Fairbanks. I admit, I’ve reached out privately to one of those ladies, as well as a former Tino Vino employee, to find out what happened. I honestly don’t expect to hear from anyone. I’ve been led to believe that Annie and Jennifer, at the end, were only peripherally involved in the venture and have acquired lawyers.

I found out about the closing because I’ve been contacted by several of Tino Vino’s customers who think I’m Michelle Banks.  I’m not. Let me make this clear – I do not have any business association with Tino Vino, nor have I ever. I’m as surprised as the rest of the you that they closed in the unprofessional manner they have.

Lindsay Valentino’s recently ex-husband, Steven Sykes Valentino, has his own legal troubles. He and his realty group, ORP, were accused of stealing more than $1 million from the condo properties they manage. One of the girls from Tino Vino was also an employee of ORP. I’m not sure if there is a direct relationship between that situation and the closing of Tino Vino, but common sense tells me there might be.

I have been trying to dig into the closing a little more, but there isn’t much out there. Both Howard Ain (WKRC) and John Matarese (WCPO) have tried to contact the owners with no luck. Both of those gentlemen did reach the landlord of the building, and they both reported an eviction notice on the door. (I drove out to Tino Vino on Sunday and was surprised to find the eviction notice had been taken down. To me, that’s a sign of life. Take it as you will.)

According to Ain at WKRC, the building owner cannot give out any of the wine, as it is still legally the property of Tino Vino. There is an eviction hearing scheduled for the end of the month. If something is not done by then, the Sheriff may have to dump the wine because it’s illegal to set it out or give it away.

My recommendation? Call your credit card company. If you can get your charge reversed for the wine you paid for, do it. It’s certainly worth the call. Also keep in mind that the shop has been closed for a month. If the utilities weren’t paid for in that time, then the wine was no longer in a temperature controlled environment. It may be baking in there under terrible conditions.

If I hear anything that will shed some more light on this situation, I will certainly publish it here.

Eat, Drink, Laugh Local: Farmers’ Fair and Brew Ha Ha

This Saturday is a big day for eating, drinking, and laughing local.

Last year was the first year for the Covington Farmers’ Fair. It was so successful, they’ve brought it back for a second year, and it’s bigger than ever.Headlining the event is Ed Begley, Jr. I know, I was surprised too. I thought he was some guy from a hospital/soap that my parents watched back in the ’80s. Apparently, he’s been working ever since and currently has a show on the Planet Green channel called “Living with Ed”.  It’s a reality show about trying to live “green” in Hollywood.

Photo from FarmersFair.org

The Farmers’ Fair is a daylong street fair and farmers market celebrating the local food culture. “Farmers’ Fair is a unique opportunity for those of us who have lost touch with our farming and food-producing roots to see the entire process from seed to plate” said Valerie Taylor, co-chair of the event. Paticipating vendors include Bees and Sweets, Carriage House Farm, Dad’s Favorite Cheeses, Dojo Gelato, Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, Napoleon Ridge Farm, The Sensitive Epicure Gluten Free Bakery, and many more.  Chefs from Local 127, Lavomatic, Chalk, and more will also be participating.  Finally, Berlin Reed from Oregon will be there. He’s the Ethical Butcher, and people, he’s going to be talking/cooking about “The Bacon Gospel.” Mmmm … bacon.

Don’t forget that eating local is also about drinking local. The two local wineries participating will be Elk Creek Winery and Stonebrook. You can find Kevin and myself pouring for Stonebrook in the morning to mid-afternoon. After that, blog readers just like yourself will be pouring. (Thanks gang!) Not enough for you? Josh Durr, cocktail master extraordinaire from Tonic on 4th, will also be there.

The fair features a farmers market, cooking demonstrations, chefs pairing with local farmers (food samples!), educational booths, and a live performance by the Comet Bluegrass Allstars. There’s even a children’s area with face painting, seed planting (and other educational things), and most importantly, a petting farm. I’m so finding myself a pony to pet.

Much to my surprise, this event doesn’t take place on Mainstrasse. Instead, it’s in the Greenup Street area (um, Roebling Entertainment District), located at the foot of the Suspension Bridge. The bridge, by the way, is currently open to foot traffic. Admission is free and the event will be held rain or shine, 10am to 10pm. Proceeds from the Farmers’ Fair benefit Central Ohio River Valley Food Guide (CORV), Slow Food Cincinnati, Ohio Valley Foodshed Project and the Future Farmers of America Northern Kentucky Chapter: Boone, Campbell & Kenton.

Once you’ve spent your day at the Farmers’ Fair, follow us and head on over to Brew-Ha-Ha at Sawyer Point. This is more of a beer thing, so I’m not going to spend too much time on it. But Kevin and I have gone every year and we never fail to have a good time, sampling beer, socializing with friends, and listening to the occasional comic. There’s a wide range of beer for sampling, so hopefully this year I can get Kevin to write up a post.

Brew Ha Ha 2009, from Bob Schwartz (http://5chw4r7z.blogspot.com)

Brew-Ha-Ha is both Friday and Saturday evenings. On Saturday, join the fun from 4pm – midnight with 50 comedians on 3 stages and a selection of 80 beers from which to choose. Wristbands are $5 and beer tickets are $1 each. One beer ticket equals 1 beer sample, and 4 beer tickets equals a full serving. Beer ticket sales stop at 10:30p.m. and beer dispensing stops promptly at 11:00p.m.

It’s easy to either walk to Brew-Ha-Ha or, as we’re going to do, leave our car in Covington and take the Southbank Shuttle to the event.

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.