Fountain Square - Downtown Cincinnati

The event runs from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM with Pinot Grigio as the varietal focus. For those of you new to Bacchanalian Society events, a different wine varietal is featured at each event. Teams, consisting of 1 to 3 participants, are admitted by bringing 3 bottles of the same featured varietal. Two of each team’s 3 bottles are bagged, tagged and ranked by each participant. The 3rd bottle is set aside and left unopened. The teams that brought the 5 highest ranked wines divvy up each team’s 3rd unopened bottle, except for the lowest ranked wine which will be returned to the team that brought it. Still confused? Check out the official rules page.

Proceeds from the Fall Gathering will benefit the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati, and that by itself makes it a great event. So grab a friend or two and check it out.

You can RSVP for the Bacchanalian Society’s Fall Gathering by clicking here. Enjoy!

The selected wine varietal for the Spring Gathering is Pinot Noir.  Tickets are $15 via online pre-registration or $20 at the door, with all proceeds benefiting the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.  If this is your first Bacchanalian event be sure to check out their rules page as this isn’t your ordinary wine gathering, but it’s a lot of fun.

The Bacchanalian Society throws quarterly wine events that are a combination wine tasting, social gathering and philanthropic effort.  Each event features a different wine varietal and benefits a different organization or charity.  The mix of people is always unique and it’s a ton of fun.

To register for the Spring Gathering click here. Have fun…and designate a driver!

Piazza Discepoli - Glendale

Explore DRY Riesling at microWINES – Friday, 5:00 PM
Riesling is an extremely versatile grape capable of producing world-class wines in all styles from bone dry to intensely sweet. No other grape is able to express itself through this full stylistic spectrum with such grace and competence. microWINES specializes in small production wines, and their selections are always very good. This is a self paced tasting at the tasting table, with microWINES expert staff on hand to answer any questions.

microWINES – 7292 Kenwood Road, Kenwood
microWINES.com

Best of the ‘10 Fest – Little Sonoma Fine Wines - Friday, 4:30-7:30 and Saturday, 3:00-6:00
With the 2011 Cincinnati Wine Festival coming up next week, Little Sonoma is letting you warm up your palate by exploring last year’s winners.  Taste 6 medal winners from last year.  Stop into Little Sonoma next weekend for this year’s winners.

Little Sonoma Fine Wines – 6078 West Chester Road, West Chester
LittleSonomaWines.com

Viva Italia! – Piazza Discepoli – Friday, 5:00-8:00
The name pretty much gives it away.  Piazza will have several amazing value Italian wines on hand for tasting.  It’s also a great chance for you to get to the Glendale Town Square, one of Cincinnati’s absolute gems.

Piazza Discepoli – 23 Village Square, Glendale
PiazzaDiscepoli.com

You can see all of the latest Cincinnati Wine Events on the Uncorked Events page.  Let us know of any events we should add by sending an email to bryan@uncorkedcincinnati.com.

Enjoy the weekend!

Photo by Cincinnati Wine Festival

For those of you new to the Cincinnati Wine Festival, the “main event” if you will are the Grand Tastings…600 wines from over 100 wineries, live music, tons of really good food (worth the price alone) and a silent auction where you can walk away with some steals.  This year’s Grand Tastings schedule:

Friday Evening, March 11 – 6:30 – 9:00 PM
$70.00 prior to event, $75.00 at the door
$105 for Grand Tasting plus Special Tasting ticket, $110 at the door *

Saturday Afternoon, March 12 – 2:30 – 4:30 PM
$60.00 prior to event, $65.00 at the door
$95.00 for Grand Tasting plus Special Tasting ticket, $100.00 at the door *

Saturday Evening, March 12 – 6:30 – 9:00 PM
$70.00 prior to event, $75.00 at the door
$105 for Grand Tasting plus Special Tasting ticket, $110 at the door *

*For an extra $35 enjoy seven high end wine tastes for one hour prior to the Grand Tastings.

Grab your tickets by clicking here

Additional ways to enjoy the Cincinnati Wine Festival weekend include the Winery Dinners and the Charity Auction and Luncheon.

Photo by Cincinnati Wine Festival

The Winery Dinners are extremely popular (many are sold out already), with several local restaurants teaming up with world-class wineries and their winemakers to provide an amazing culinary experience.  The Luncheon consists of a silent and live auction of rare and exclusive wines, followed by 5-star cuisine from the Hilton Netherlands chefs.

Enjoy this year’s festivities, and please come back and share your stories and pictures.

For folks new to the Bacchanalian Society and their quarterly events, here’s some info, and make sure you check out their rules here (they’re unique):

By helping charities to organize and conduct wine tastings every quarter – that’s right, only four events a year – the Bacchanalian Society integrates social and professional networking with philanthropy. The wine tastings attract a diverse mix of inquisitive wine enthusiasts – novices and experts alike – to join on common ground for the benefit of charity. Everyone is welcome, as long as you’re over 21, but wine snobs should check their attitudes at the door.

Proceeds for the Winter Gathering benefit A Kid Again, an organization dedicated to providing fun-filled group activities and destination events for children & families facing life threatening illnesses.

For more info or to register your team for the event, make sure you visit the Bacchanalian website or visit them on Facebook.

Friday – Thanksgiving Wines at The Wine Merchant
The Wine Merchant is making it easy for you to find a few perfect wines for the Thanksgiving table.  Eight wines to choose from along with a few appetizers.  The tasting runs 6:00-8:00 PM.  $25 per person at door, or just $20 by ordering online.

Friday – Lyeth Estate Tasting at Water Tower Fine Wines
A spectrum of wines from Lyeth Estate, predominately red with some white options.  Tasting runs 5:30-8:30 PM.  $15 for 6 wines.

Friday & Saturday – Cabs, Ports and Chocolates at Little Sonoma Fine Wines
Rich and sexy Cabernet Sauvignons and Ports, and chocolates that marry well.  Nothing more needs to be said.  Tasting runs 4:30-7:30 PM on Friday, and repeats on Saturday 3:00-5:00 PM.  $15 with no reservations necessary.

Saturday – A Trip Through Champagnes at microWINES
Kick off the holiday season with a bang! This event features hand selected Champagnes that simply shouldn’t be missed. Explore the different regions, varietals and styles. If you think all bubbly is the same, this tasting will open your eyes to an amazing, complex new world of flavors.  The events runs 5:30-7:30 PM.  $75 per person.

You can view all Cincinnati Wine events by visiting the Uncorked Cincinnati Events page, and let us know if we missed any by sending an email to events@uncorkedcincinnati.com.

On October 20th from 7-8 pm EST DEP’s will present an hour with the wines of St. Supery (Napa Valley), live at the Fort Thomas store.  What’s unique is that participants can also join the tasting online at twittertasting.depsfinewine.com, and follow and comment on Twitter using the hashtag #depswine.

Joining everyone via Twitter will be special guests from St. Supery and around the blogosphere.  At DEP’s Ft. Thomas store will be representatives from Republic-National Distributing (St. Supery’s wholesaler in Kentucky).

So to recap, there are two ways to participate:

Offline: Join everyone at the Fort Thomas store on Wednesday, October 20th from 7 until 8 pm or

Online: Log onto your Twitter account and comment using the hashtag #depswine.  Ahead of the event you can stop by DEP’s and pick up a bottle each of the St. Supery wines being tasted at a reduced price.  The four wines are:

• 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
• 2008 Oak Free Chardonnay
• 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2005 Elu Red Meritage

Virtual wine tastings via Twitter are nothing new, but the way DEP’s is integrating both online and offline in one tasting to get the biggest impact is unique and fun.  It will be an interesting experiment to watch.  If you participate we’d love to hear your thoughts via the “comment” link below.

Photo by Hannaford

Proceeds from the Fall Gathering will benefit Winners Walk Tall, an organization that strives to develop today’s youth into tomorrow’s winners through a character-building program that teaches fundamental values and life-changing skills.

For those of you knew to The Bacchanalian Society, their mission is to integrate social and professional networking with philanthropy by helping charities put on wine tastings. There are only four Bacchanalian events per year…Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.

What also makes the Bacchanalian Society events unique is the competitive nature of their wine tastings. You and the other participants provide the wine and also serve as the wine tasting judges. The competition is based on what the Bacchanalian Society calls the Rule of Three, and instead of trying to explain those rules in detail here please visit the Bacchanalian Society website to get the rundown.

Fall Gathering Details:
Date: Wednesday, Sept 22 from 7-10 PM
Where: Fountain Square, Downtown Cincinnati
Wine Varietal: Australian Shiraz
Charity: Winners Walk Tall
Suggested Donation: $15 in Advance, $18 at the door

Photo by AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker

Start your Cincinnati Fourth of July weekend at Piazza Discepoli in downtown Glendale for their Friday Night Wine Tasting. Glendale’s historic Town Square is one of my favorite spots in the city, and a quintessential American town square that’s perfect for celebrating the Fourth.  Piazza Discepoli will be featuring the Staff’s Favorite Picks, from a 2009 Simi Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc to a 2007 Joel Gott Mohr-Fry Ranches Vineyard Zinfandel.  The tasting runs from 5:00-8:00 PM.

Afterward grab dinner at The Iron Horse Inn also in the Glendale Town Square. Iron Horse offers a couple of different dining options. Downstairs features fine dining at affordable prices, while the upstairs bar area called Bracker’s Tavern is more casual featuring pub-type fare. A huge wine list along with several craft beers makes it a great stop.

On Saturday it’s time to get out and enjoy the sunshine, and a great place to do that is Harmony Hill Vineyards in Bethel, Ohio.  Harmony Hill is a boutique winery that features award winning wines along with great music.  On Saturday from 2:00-5:00 PM acoustic guitarist Mark Hundley will be performing.  Stroll the vineyard, grab a bottle of wine and sit back and enjoy the music.

For dinner on Saturday night head to 20 Brix, located in historic downtown Milford (catching on to the historic downtown theme yet?).  20 Brix is a wine bar, wine seller and restaurant all rolled into one, and has become one of my favorite places to dine in Cincinnati.  The food is impeccably prepared and delicious, and you won’t find a better wine list in Cincinnati.

On Sunday, perhaps after running in Evendale’s July 4th 10K run, try Dilly Cafe in Mariemont for lunch (UPDATE: Dilly Cafe is still a great place for lunch, but just found out they are closed on July 4th).  Dilly Cafe is truly one of the great lunch spots in Cincinnati (try to grab a table outside).  It’s tough to go wrong with anything on the menu, but my favorite is the North Atlantic cod sandwich and sweet potato fries, paired with a Chenin blanc or one of 30 quality wines by the glass.

And of course a Fourth of July weekend just wouldn’t be complete without a fireworks display. Head to Ault Park in Mt. Lookout for their 45th Annual Fourth of July fireworks display.  After the fireworks sit back, relax, and enjoy that extra bottle of Harmony Hill Rubato you brought home.

Have a happy and safe Fourth!

Harmony Hill Vineyards
A small boutique winery in Bethel, just about a 40 minute drive outside of Cincinnati, Harmony Hill is known for two things: great wine and great weekend entertainment.  This weekend will be no exception.  All of the 2009 wines will be available included the Concerto and dessert wines.  A new roof has been added to the Hill Center Stage and great entertainers are lined up all weekend including Doc Dan & the Stray Dog Band, The Suburbanites, and John Ford.  Hours are 5-9 PM on Friday, 2-9 PM on Saturday and 2-9 PM on Monday.

Kinkead Ridge Vineyard and Winery
Located in Ripley, Ohio, Kinkead Ridge specializes in premium wines produced in limited quantities.  A tough 2009 harvest means this weekend might be your only shot to pick up the 2009 releases from Kinkead Ridge.  The winery will be open on Saturday and Monday from 10 AM to 6 PM for the release of the Kinkead Ridge Viognier/Roussanne and River Village Cellars White Wine.  Unfortunately Kinkead Ridge will be closed this summer due to the limited availability of wine.

Meranda-Nixon Winery
Also in Ripley, Ohio, Meranda-Nixon pretty much stays open all year, so although not officially their opening it’s still a place you should check out.  The Meranda-Nixon tasting room will be open on Friday from 1-7 PM, and Saturday from 11-9:30 PM.  Saturdays are steak and salmon night in the tasting room…just $50 per couple for dinner and a bottle of wine.

La Vigna Estate Winery
Located in Georgetown, Ohio, La Vigna will be open this Memorial Day weekend for the release of their 2009 Proprietary White Wine and our 2008 Proprietary Red Wine. To celebrate opening weekend, Jazz trombonist Sarah Morrow will be performing on Saturday.

Vinoklet Winery
Home of seven award winning wines, Vinoklet Winery and Restaurant is located on 30 acres of picturesque rolling hills and lakes in Colerain Township.  Vinoklet will be featuring their “Grill to Perfection” dinner this Friday and Saturday evening…tasting of 6 wines, a bottle of wine, a choice of entree (the patron grills), a buffet with soup through assorted desserts, coffee and iced tea for $74 per couple. Reservations are recommended by calling 513-385-9309.