Featured Ohio Winery

• Outdoor 'picnic' feel (endless rounds of cornhole) 
• Friendly staff
• Generous samples 
• Large flights of fantastic wine AND beer
• Delicious cheese plates, soft pretzels, and pizza
• Weekend cookouts 

TRAMINETTE

tastes of: peach, apricot, spice

* light body, semi-dry, similar to Gewurztraminer

SEYVAL BLANC

tastes of: apple, citrus, vanilla

* medium body, oaked, similar to a Chardonnay

VIDAL BLANC

tastes of: apple, pear, mineral

* light body, crisp acidity, similar to a Riesling

SYRAH

tastes of: black cherry, spice, smoke

* full body, oaked , long finish

(Visit website for more wine offerings)

MON-WEDS 11AM-6PM

THURS 11AM-10PM

FRI-SAT 11AM-4PM

SUN 1PM-6PM

2276 East US 22 and 3, Morrow, Ohio 45152

(513) 899-2485

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photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/calsidyrose/4925267732/">Calsidyrose</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

Wine Review

WINE - Raven's Glenn - Sangria

OHIO WINE

SMOOTH * TANGY * PUNCHY

aromas of: cherry, raspberry, spice

tastes of: cherry, cranberry, apple, citrus, cinnamon 

* medium body, zingy fruit flavors , long juicy finish

price tag: $9

verdict: 3 / 5

Twas the day before vacation. We all know how those days go. Motivation was lacking. Poured myself a small glass of this Ohio made Sangria with a bowl full of kettle corn ... perfection. Motivation was still lacking... but my little afternoon snack was wonderful. The flavors got me feeling like fall.

makes me think of: autumn sunsets

Vineyard Update

Look at those ugly, good-for-nothing creatures munching and mating all over our precious vines! 

Yes ... we have reached our first obstacle in grape growing. I give you ... The Japanese Beetle. These little guys are nasty. All they do is mate and feast on plants. Grape vines are one of their favorites. 

I hate them.

Here we have some major destruction ...

and an angry farmer ...

Good thing is the vines are not all destroyed!

We spent some time over the weekend picking the beetles from the vines. I did some research and found out this year is an unusually bad year for Japanese Beetles. I think we will be applying some Milky Spore this fall. It's a bacteria that controls Japanese Beetles over time. It sinks into the soil and kills the larvae there. Hopefully this works. I'm hoping I won't have to use chemicals unless absolutely necessary. 

We do have some pretty vines growing!

North Market Ohio Wine Fest

Last weekend we had some Ohio Wine fun. 

North Market hosted their annual Ohio Wine Festival Downtown.

It was a glorious occasion. 

It was especially glorious to sample some of the varieties we are growing. ... or could grow. Red wines can be hit or miss, but Ohio does a FANTASTIC job with white wines. 

Some of our favorite tents (wineries) were:

SOINE VINEYARDS - Powell 

try: Traminette and Seyvel Blanc

go: http://www.soinevineyards.com/Home.html

FERRANTE VINEYARDS - Geneva 

try: Riesling and Pinot Grigio

go: http://www.ferrantewinery.com/

HENKE WINERY - Cincinnati 

try: Vidal Blanc and Seyvel Blanc

go: http://www.henkewine.com/

TROUTMAN VINEYARDS - Wooster 

try: Vidal Blanc and Seyvel Blanc

                         go: http://www.troutmanvineyards.com/

There were around 20 Ohio Wineries but those were our tops for the day.

It was $25 for a tasting glass, 10 tasting tickets (we blew through those) and a $5 voucher for food at the market. We sampled a bunch of wines, learned about how to cook lamb at a demonstration (things are way more fascinating when you are drinking), ate Greek food, and had a good time. 

THE ONLY NEGATIVE:
Around 4pm everyone in Columbus came stampeding into the festival and it was CROWDED. I was happy to see so many wine lovers ... but movement was limited. Next year we'll go early. 

conclusion: Overall, a great Ohio Wine experience. 

See you next year!

Festival Recap and Wine Review

Six tastes, three bottles, and a handful of glasses of wine later...

Sarah's Vineyard Summer Solstice Festival was a success! 

This was a different year for the festival. In previous years, over fifteen Ohio Wineries showed up to share their wine with the Cuyahoga Valley community. Since the winery is part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Parks and located on park property, they were not able to have other wineries sell other wine on their premises (a licensing issue that had been overlooked in previous years)...boo. So it was Sarah's Vineyard wine exclusively this year! We were a bit sad, but cheered up immediately after our first few tastes. Sarah's makes some great wine. ALSO, we were so happy to see such a huge and festive crowd there nonetheless! Everyone seemed to be having a merry good time. 

We explored some art vendors

We ate some incredible goat cheese and crackers from The Ornery Goat

We rested in the sunshine and enjoyed the live music...of the jazzy/blues variety





Such a great day! Thank you Sarah's for welcoming summer like this every year.
         

Now for the (other) bottle of wine I drank last week...

WINE - Bohemian Highway - Merlot - 2011

LIGHT * JUICY * VIBRANT

aromas of: cherry, cranberry, cinnamon

tastes of: cherry, raspberry, coffee, spice 

* lighter body, balanced tannin, easy drinking! 

price tag: $9

verdict:  3 / 5

paired:

This has been hanging around my wine collection for months. I feel like the label screams SUMMER and ADVENTURE. I opened it up last week for dinner. A very affordable and easy drinking summer red. I liked it better than I thought I would.

makes me think of: road trips/adventure

Summer Wine Festivals

Summer is upon us! ...and summer is the best season for wine lovers.

There are so many fun events popping up all over the place. Early tomorrow morning we are headed to one of my favorite Ohio wineries for their annual Summer Solstice Festival. 

Sarah's Vineyard is in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (in the Cleveland area). The festival is a great time and includes a lot of Ohio wine tasting, good food, local art, and live music. 

Last year we enjoyed some local music and had the most delicious peach chardonnay (I always claim not enjoying sweeter wines...but this stuff was incredible)


Here are some other great local wine events to check out this summer... 


NORTH MARKET OHIO WINE FESTIVAL - COLUMBUS

about: over 20 Ohio Wineries, market food, demonstrations, giveaways
dates: Friday, July 11 from 7pm-10pm 
           Saturday, July 12 from 12pm-9pm
           Sunday, July 13 from 12pm-5pm
cost: $25 includes a glass and 10 tasting tickets
go: http://www.northmarket.com/activities-events/wine-festival.aspx


TOAST OF OHIO WINE FESTIVAL - TOLEDO

about: Ohio Wines, gourmet food, live music, local art
dates: Saturday, July 26 from 12pm-8pm
cost: $10 includes a glass and 5 tasting tickets
go: http://www.merrygoroundmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/wine-festival-poster.pdf


VINTAGE OHIO WINE FESTIVAL - KIRTLAND

about: over 15 Ohio Wineries, food, live entertainment, demonstrations, exhibits
dates: Friday, August 1 from 1pm-10pm
           Saturday, August 2 from 1pm-10pm
cost: $35 includes wine tastings
go: http://www.visitvintageohio.com/



SIGNATURE WINES' SANGRIA FESTIVAL - COLUMBUS

about: Delicious Sangria, Latin Food, Latin Music
dates: Saturday, August 16 from 6pm-9pm
cost: $15 includes signature glass and a drink ticket
go: http://www.signaturewinesofohio.com/


...see you there!

On Ohio Wine

Oh glorious Ohio. How we love it when you show us signs of spring!

What do people do in the spring?

They plant things!

This spring my husband and I will be planting some grapes. Wine grapes. His family has a bit of land and we figure that since we both share a great interest in wine, we ought to plant grapes and see what comes of it. 

When we made these plans I became more and more interested in Ohio wine. I started learning about the land, what grapes grow best, and how Ohio has come a long way in the wine world.

Here's a bit on what I found.

• In the 1800s settlers started exploring winemaking in Ohio
• In 1823 the first grapes were planted in the Cincinnati area (now known as The Ohio River Valley) by a man named Nicholas Longworth
• The grapes Nicholas planted were called Alexander and Isabella. They were soon followed by Catawba grapes (a grape Ohio is now known for)
• By 1845, Ohio was producing 300 gallons of wine annually (that is about 125 bottles of wine)
• Before the Civil War, Ohio was the largest wine producing state in the union
• Unfortunately, because of the war, grapes were neglected and eventually destroyed by disease
• Around this time, German immigrants gathered around the Lake Erie shoreline and brought their winemaking skills. These skills, paired with the climate by the lake, created some excellent wine
• This area became The Lake Erie Wine Belt

Now there are over 150 wineries and vineyards in Ohio. Some are family run and others are corporate businesses.

Ohio wines are cool weather wines and are made with grapes that thrive in cooler temperatures. The wines tend to be sweet or semi-sweet in general, although there are some dry and off-dry wines that are quite tasty! Some examples of Ohio grapes are Riesling, Pinot Gris, Vidal Blanc (this grape is used in Ice Wine as well), Traminette, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc...among others.  

We took an Ohio wine trip about a year ago and had a fantastic time. Over a long weekend we were able to visit about eight Ohio wineries. They all had a different vibe to them. Such a fun and insightful adventure.

The Ohio Wines website has some great information and lists all of the wineries and vineyards in Ohio.
Go HERE for a list of wineries close to you and start exploring them.

THEN... When you are as excited about Ohio Wine as we are, you can buy a map and pin all of the wineries you have traveled to!

Check this out!

Find the map HERE

Have a WINEderful weekend!