I recently have discovered a sweet red wine that is great for all wine drinkers. The wine is Chocolatier Red Decadence and its red wine blended with natural dark chocolate flavor.

When you open the bottle for the first time let it breathe and take in the wonderful smell of dark chocolate and a hint of black cherry. Just smelling it is a joy! I was worried it was going to be too sweet but after I tried it I was wrong. The red wine is a perfect blend with medium tannins and is slightly sweet but not syrupy. The taste of of cocoa and black cherries are a perfect blend and the finish is a smooth blended red that has no bitterness to it.  Perfect with chocolate, alone, or with some spicy foods.

Pick up a few bottles for your holiday party. Happy Holiday everyone!

After a long – and hopefully productive – day of shopping Friday, spend some time tasting a variety of sparkling, bubbly wines from around the world. The Wine Merchant in Hyde Park is featuring Sparkling Wines during its Friday Night Tasting this Friday, November 25 from 6 until 8 p.m.

You’ll be getting a jump start on holiday dinner planning as they promise the eight sparkling wine selections are perfect for the holidays. $20 per person if you register in advance at least 24 hours before the event; $25 at the door. 

Visit  http://www.winemerchantcincinnati.com/ to reserve your spot.

This Saturday, Party Town is spicing up their free wine tasting with some art! They are welcoming Cindy Crofoot as featured artist in their first Wine & Art Show, from 3pm to 6pm, to kick-off the holiday season.

Ms. Crofoot, a local artist from Southeastern Indiana, specializes in Traditional Realism in oil on canvas, including Landscapes and Still Life. She will be displaying many works during the Party Town wine tasting. Her catalog of pieces can be viewed at her website, www.cindycrofoot.com.

 “With Thanksgiving coming next week,” says Drew Murphy, General Manager of Party Town, “we thought an Art Show would be a great way to get people in the Holiday mood just a little early.”

Party Town’s tastings, free and open to the adult public (21 and over), are held weekly on Saturdays and Sundays, from 3 to 5 PM, but for this special event the time will be extended to 6. Sunday will also be a regular tasting, but the art, sadly, will be gone.

This Saturday’s tasting is larger than normal, with 12 bottles from which to choose! The red table will feature the likes of Triton Tempranillo, out of Spain, Longboard Vineyards Point Break Red from California, the Loring Wine Company’s Cargasachi Vineyard Pinot Noir, Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa, Clerico Barolo Ginestra from the Piedmont in Italy, and Ben Glaetzer’s Amon-Ra Shiraz from Australia. The white wine table looks to be just as much fun, with wines from Charles Smith Winery’s Kung-Fu Girl Riesling out of Washington, Mohua Sauvignon Blanc out of New Zealand, William Hill Chardonnay out of California, Stag’s Leap Karia Chard from Napa, and Carl Schmitt-Wagner Riesling Auslese 2004 from Germany. To wake your palate up to such treasures (if needed), we’ll also be pouring Humberto Canale’s Extra Brut Sparkling Wine from Argentina.

Remember, both the tasting and the art show are free, so have some wine and enjoy yourself!

Party Town is located at exit 182 Turfway Road off I 71/75 in Kentucky.

Hello fellow wine lovers,

I just wanted to inform everyone that starting Thursday I will be pouring and hosting FREE wine tastings at Liquor City Bakewell in Covington KY.  Thursday and Friday, November 17 and 18, from 4 -8 p.m. I will be pouring the big six grapes. The tasting will be Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.

The big six wine tasting will get you to:

• taste the difference between each grape varietal
• taste the difference between light, medium, and full bodied wines
• see the color difference between the three whites and the three reds
• and you’ll be able to know a few basics about wines

If you happen to be in the Covington/Northern Kentucky area this Thursday or Friday please come and see me. Future wine tastings: November 21st & 23rd at Liquor City Bakewell.

Cheers.

Saturday, November 12th from 7:30 – 11:00, is the eighth Taste of the World Wine and Beer Festival at the Newport Aquarium. Michelle and I have volunteered to pour in the past and I can recommend the event. This year, in addition to the regular admission ticket, a new “Top Shelf” area has been added with food and cocktail pairings from Laine Steelman and Molly Wellmann. Laine is the new head chef at the Party Source and Molly is the mixologist behind Japp’s in Over-the-Rhine.

I have enjoyed wandering through the different rooms and finding new and different drinks and cocktails. I’m not sure exactly what beverages will be available this year, but the selection of spirits (usually a couple of Party Source private barrels, tequila, and cocktails) along with the beer and wine has made it easy for everyone to find something to enjoy.

General Admission Tickets are $85 ($95 at the door)
Top Shelf Tickets are $125

All proceeds go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 513.698.2457.

I’m happy to share that the Northern Kentucky Wine Festival is on October 15 from 3 – 10 p.m. at MainStrasse Village. The Sixth Street Promenade will feature over 15 Kentucky wineries. Local restaurants will be also offering delicious food items to complement the wines that will be available for sampling.  You will also enjoy visiting with local artists who will be showcasing their works during the event. The $10 Admission includes a souvenir wine glass and 4 sample tickets. Additional sample tickets may be purchased for $1 each or 6 for $5. If an attendee wishes to purchase a full glass of wine, special tickets can be purchased for $5 each. Wines may also be purchased by the bottle or case. You must be 21 to attend.

This year, the Northern Kentucky Wine Festival at MainStrasse Village is partnering with  Full Spectrum 2011. During October, the City of Covington celebrates the Full Spectrum Arts Festival to emphasize the celebration of artists and crafters.

MainStrasse Village is an historic neighborhood comprised of shops, restaurants, taverns and homes, located just off I-75/71.  Take the Covington, 5th Street Exit (Exit 192).  Free parking is available in the 5th Street Parking Lot, located between Philadelphia Street and Main Street.  For more information please call 859-491-0458 or visit www.mainstrasse.org.

I’m very excited to see MainStrasse Village host the Northern Kentucky Wine Festival, please join me for the wine, art, and fun!

I’ll be hosting a wine tasting at Water Tower Fine Wines over in Mt Washington on Friday night, 5:30 – 8:30 pm. Cost is $15 for 6 wines, although if you get there early, there’s a bonus sparkler. There’s also a premium pour for an additional cost. (The premium pour I picked out retails for around $70/btl.) Dave & Jan at Water Tower usually put out a pretty impressive spread of appetizers, included in the price.

Here are the stunning rosés we’ll be trying:

• Early Bird Sparkler Selection: Alice Osé Brut (glera and marzemino blend – Italy)
• Skouras Zoë (agiorgitiko and moschofilero blend – Greece)
• Isabel Mondavi I’M (cabernet sauvignon – California)
• Montes Cherub (syrah – Chile) previous review
• Etude (pinot noir – California)
• Five Star Cellars Kynzie (sangiovese – Washington)
• Belle Glos (pinot noir – California) previous review
• Premium Pour: Vilmart & Co Cuvée Rubis (sparkling pinot noir with a splash of chardonnay)

So bring your sweetheart – or come by to pick out a wine for your sweetheart – and drink pink with us on Friday night (and we can toast to my actually being in town!)

Water Tower Fine Wines is located just up the hill from Riverbend, right across from the Mt Washington Water Tower.

Photo by JoliSoleil via Creative Commons.

Dry Fly Wheat Whiskey (70.95) – Dry fly is a Washington distillery that is using 100% wheat aged for 2 years in a new charred barrel. This has a nice baked bread nose with straw finishing with a hint of mint and sweet. A whiskey that is 100% wheat  is rare, and this long finishing whiskey is  a great example of what can be done slightly differently using local ingredients.

Maker’s Mark 46 (33.99) – The “second great idea” from Maker’s Mark has an addition of toasted French oak into the final aging process. This makes a spicier version of the traditional Maker’s Mark that gives it a flavor that is closer to a Rye whiskey using wood instead of the grain to give the new flavors. A nice way to show what effect different types of wood or aging can have on a whiskey.

Party Source Buffalo Trace “Wheat on Rye” (59.99) – A collaboration between Party Source and the Buffalo Trace experimental team taking a traditional bourbon and performing a secondary aging in a used Rye barrel. This adds a spicy flavor while not overpowering the traditional softness of the wheat bourbon. The base was a barrel similar to Old Weller before the Rye aging and it did a really nice job of connecting the two different flavors into a single whiskey.

Rick Wasmund’s Kegs o’ Bourbon (Not Available) – The first of two different types of smoked bourbons. Rick smoked the grain over a nice soft wood combination (apple, cherry). This adds another level of flavor and was brought straight from the barrel to the tasting. I think this one needs a little more time to settle down and presented slightly confused on the flavors. I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to try a sweeter, fruitier whiskey.

MB Rowland Black Dog Corn Whiskey (31.99) and MB Rowland Black Dog Bourbon (Not Available) – The Black Dog is made using a “dark fire” the corn in our miniature tobacco barn, giving the product a smoky, sweet flavor. The bourbon version is then aged in the charred oak. this produces a bourbon that has distinct characteristics that are usually found in scotch. I thought this was a really interesting change and has potential for a lot of really nice applications.

Four Roses Small Batch Barrel Strength (74.99) – This is the new product replacing the Marriage line. The Marriage was limited to a combination of two of the Four Roses recipes and this allows for more options in the creation of the yearly release. This one was a nice traditional bourbon that was a great end to the tasting. A combination of 3 different recipes aged between 10 and 15 years makes this a very nice spicy bourbon. I will miss the story behind the Marriage, but this is a worthy successor.

I got a chance to talk with Corey on Saturday during the first tasting this past weekend. The cost for the selection of beers will be $2. This week featured recent closeout acquisitions on sale for 11.99 a case or $1-3 for a 22 oz bottle. Overall a solid first outing for the new beer tasting format.

Upcoming Wine tastings can be seen over on the DEP’s tasting page. Beer tastings will be announced weekly.

Let me make two things clear about rosé:

• Just because it’s pink, that doesn’t mean it’s sweet.
• Just because it’s pink, that doesn’t mean it’s white zinfandel.

In the past few years, I’ve grown to love rosé because it can embrace so many different characteristics. It can be made from a multitude of different grapes and often has the heft of a red with the chill of white.

Usually in October, I’ll drink pink all month and promote the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This year, I was both on the road for the almost the entire month and I was sick with a horrible case of bronchitis. Needless to say, I didn’t drink pink. The nice folks at Arizona Stronghold Winery, however, sent me this bottle as a sample, just in case I could. In October, some of the proceeds from sales of this bottle were donated to the BCRF. I’m a little late. Late is alright though, as rosé is a great wine to drink with turkey.

The 2009 Arizona Stronghold Dayden Cochise County Rosé is a blend of Zinfandel, Grenache, Sangiovese, Malbec, and Sauvignon Blanc from three different vineyard locations in Chochise County, Arizona.  They chose to make this rosé in the saignée style. Saignée is a method of rosé production that involves bleeding off the juice after limited contact with the skins. The juice only takes on a little of the color of the grape skins, due to the short time in which they had contact, leading to the pink color. The color is a nice medium-dark pink, nothing so peppy that you’ll be embarrassed to hold your glass in public. You can tell immediately that the wine has some heft.

The first thing we noticed was the rose petal nose. I hate saying that a rosé smells like roses, as it seems rather cliche, but there’s no denying that Kevin & I both got a floral aroma. The flavors are full of fruits and flowers, with some light strawberries wrapped in with some sour cherries and crushed flower petals. I know, that sounds ridiculous, but trust me. At only 11.9% AbV, this wine goes down fast and we powered through our bottle. It’s very balanced – you’re not overwhelmed by any one specific flavor or characteristic, and instead enjoy the entire delicate blend of flavors.

The Dayden has structure and heft – it’s not just a back-porch summertime rosé. The winery recommends pairing it with grilled vegetables, cold meats, and salads. I think we may have overchilled it, so that’s something you really need to watch with this one. While we enjoyed it right out of the fridge, it had a much sweeter finish when it was cold. As it warmed up a bit, it had a fuller, less sweet finish and we liked it even better. Definitely chill this wine, but you might want to pull it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you drink it, just to get it up to optimum temperature.

I was hoping this wine might go well with Thanksgiving dinner, and while it might pair nicely with the cranberry portion, I don’t know about the rest. However, it is probably the perfect wine to pull out when you’re having a cold turkey sandwich on Black Friday, after a long day of shopping in the crazy local mall.

You’re probably thinking I just reviewed a wine you need to fly to Arizona to get your hands on. Not true. Recently the good folks at Dep’s Fine Wines have started carrying Arizona Stronghold, so head over there and pick up a bottle for around $12.99.

Our score: