Longest week ever...but Cincinnati Wine Festival awaits! I'll be there Friday night. Is there a decided hashtag yet? 5 hrs ago
Person in front of me on my flight just asked for a little ice in her Chardonnay. Ummm.... 1 week ago
RT @CorknBottleCov: Come try some Schlafly Black and Tans to get you ready for St. Patty's Day @ our cov beer tasting only $1 1 week ago
RT @abottleortwo: The cut off for reservations is today at 6:00 PM. only 4 more seats available for Saturday's tasting http://bit.ly/c9Ycv22 weeks ago
RT @UrbanCincy: The answer is yes, I did just have a Zebra Cake Little Debbie snack for the first time in over a decade. // Best treat ever 2 weeks ago
It’s Cincinnati Wine Festival week! Super excited about this weekend. Looking forward to tasting a lot of wines with good friends. In the meantime here is some wine news to whet your appetite for this weekend.
Wine Bars 2.0
From the Food & Wine magazine blog, this is a quick read on the latest in wine bar trends including new style tasting rooms and places where you can get wine on tap.
30 Wines in 30 Days (Wines you should know)
Wine for Newbies is launching a series starting April 1, each day focusing on a different varietal. Great way to get a Wine 101, especially if you drink each lesson!
See you at the Wine Festival! Also, feel free to follow Uncorked Cincinnati on Twitter for regular updates and random tidbits.
In Pennsylvania the Grand Groundhog himself, Punxsutawney Phil, announces the coming of Spring with a glance at his shadow. In Cincinnati, it’s beer of course with our own celebration of Spring’s coming…BOCKFEST!!!
Photo by Jim Effler
First a bit of background for those new to Bockfest. Bock-Fest comes from a celebration of Bock beer…a rich and complex lager beer. Back in Cincinnati’s hay day of brewing in the 1800s, the more than 18 local breweries started a tradition of releasing all their Bock beer on the same day. This day marked the end of Winter and coming of Spring and soon became Bockfest as we know it today. Now onto the beer.
Over-the-Rhine’s Bockfest begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday. Festivities kick off on Friday evening around 6 with the Bockfest Parade on Main Street, followed by the Blessing of the Bock Beer in front of Bockfest Hall (located this year in a portion of the Kauffman Brewery at 1621 Moore Street). A free, continuous shuttle bus will take you all throughout Over-the-Rhine to the many great participating Bockfest bars including Arnold’s, Mr. Pitiful’s and Milton’s.
On Saturday the good times continue with the Prohibition Resistance Tours. It’s a great way to learn about Cincinnati’s brewing past while exploring some of the actual historic brewing buildings. Saturday culminates with the crowning of the Bockfest Sausage Queen at 8 PM. The free shuttle also continues all day and night Saturday from 10 AM to 1 AM.
On Sunday a good ticket is the Historic Church Tour which begins at 2 PM at Bockfest Hall and runs about two hours. Music and more beer continues all day at Arnolds.
To learn even more about Bockfest and purchase tickets to the many fun events visit www.BockFest.com.
Wine labels can be a bit intimidating, especially when you’re trying to compare labels from different regions. U.S. labels look a lot different than French labels which look a lot different than Spanish labels. Each label has similar information, though, just presented in different ways. Our favorite wine show, In Wine Country, attempts to crack the code so you can feel more confident the next time you’re at the wine store.
Each week (or almost each week) we comb the world of wine for articles, ideas and insights that we find particularly interesting, and we hope you do as well.
Photo by It's Holly
Wine May Fight Cancer, But How?
From Wine Spectator, a new approach to wine chemistry reveals cancer and obesity fighting properties in wine. Research shows some compounds in wine—including resveratrol—function as angiogenic inhibitors, and those are the real cancer fighters.
Gary Vaynerchuk Drinks Some Beer
Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV is famous for his highly energetic and fresh approach to wine and wine tasting, so when I noticed Gary was tasting some beer on his show I was intrigued. Definitely interesting to watch Gary’s take on beer tasting with Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver.
No, not the Olympics, but equally exciting for Harmony Hill Vineyards as they celebrate two huge wins at the 25th Hilton Head International Wine Festival.
Harmony Hill’s 2008 Rubato took home a Gold medal while the 2007 Refrain took home a Bronze. The Rubato is 100% Chambourcin (French-American hybrid), barrel-aged to produce a vibrant aromas and flavors of toffee, black currant and cherry compote set off by plenty of smoky, toasty oak and a hint of black pepper. The Refrain is a Cabernet blend that pops with ripe berries and firm tannins.
For the past 25 years the Hilton Head International Wine Festival has been promoting the island as a top food and wine destination. Outside of the wine there are several culinary events that also celebrate the Festival.
Harmony Hill Vineyards is one of the area’s premier winery destinations. In the summer time they are known for their Friday and Saturday night entertainment featuring local music talents. Harmony Hill’s underground wine cave is also worth the trip, one of only four similar structures in the U.S.
Harmony Hill is closed for the season but will re-open Memorial Day weekend. In the meantime visit their website or try Harmony Hill Wines for yourself at one of these Cincinnati locations.
Whole Foods – Norwood
Biggs – Hyde Park, Mason, Eastgate, Anderson
Andy’s Mediterranean Grill
Market Wines – Findlay Market
