Thank Grapes It’s Tuesday at City Cellars
4 wines, some cheese and often live music gives you something to look forward to early on in the week. From 5:30-7:30, it’s a great after-work happy hour with colleagues, or a great way to get away from your colleagues! City Cellars is located on Race Street Downtown in the Central Business District.

Friday Evening Tasting at Little Sonoma
Each and every Friday Little Sonoma pours six or so wines beginning at 4:30. The theme changes each week and might be a certain varietal, occasion or even a guest vineyard pouring. It’s a great pre-dinner cocktail before heading to dinner at Mesh or Jag’s. Little Sonoma is located on West Chester Road in West Chester.

Friday’s at Cork ‘N Bottle
Cork N’ Bottle offers a free (yes…free! They can do that in KY) wine tasting every Friday from 4-8 PM at their Covington store. It’s very casual and a great way to explore one of Greater Cincinnati’s largest wine selections. Cork ‘N Bottle has two locations…Crescent Avenue in Covington next to Willie’s, and Buttermilk Pike.

Saturday Afternoons at Dilly Deli
Each Saturday Dilly Deli pours at least a quartet of wines from 1-4 PM, featuring a special guest doing the pouring. A few glasses of wine and lunch at Dilly Deli is not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati. Dilly Deli is located in Mariemont on Wooster Pike in the Mariemont Strand.

Saturday Wine Bar at The Wine Merchant
Every Saturday from 3-6 PM The Wine Merchant has 15-20 bottles available to taste. At 50 cents a taste it’s a great way to pick a bottle for Saturday night dinner at home or with friends at Slims. The Wine Merchant is located on Edwards Road in Oakley.

The Events page on Uncorked can also help you discover more great local wine and food events.

What are your favorites? Let everyone know by adding a comment below. Cheers to Cincinnati!

We’ve wanted to visit this shop for awhile as it sits right in the heart of historic downtown Glendale, one of the most charming spots in all of Cincinnati.  Picture a New England town square with quaint shops and wonderful little restaurants, made even more spectacular with Holiday decorations.

Piazza Discepoli opened its first location in College Hill in the Spring of 1989, with the Glendale store added in 2003.  Piazza focuses on a broad selection of American and International wines, commitment to personal service, and an aesthetic environment to deliver an overall great wine experience.  The Glendale store feels welcoming from the minute you work in the door.  We were really impressed with the sophistication and coziness of the store that urges you to stroll and explore.

Last night’s tasting was a selection of the staff’s favorite last minute wines for Christmas.  The list included:

• 2008 Independent Producers Chardonnay – $11.99
  Always nice to taste an American Chardonnay that is more fruit than oak.  Apple and pear was especially forward.
• 2006 Three Doves Merlot – $19.99
  Full disclosure, we’re not huge Merlot fans and the Three Doves wasn’t our favorite of the night, but overall not a bad bottle.
• 2007 Cline Cashmere – $15.99
  Our favorite. A combination of Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Syrah gives this wine a smooth, creamy feel.  More importantly, a portion of the Cline Cashmere proceeds helps fight Breast Cancer.
• 2006 Amalaya de Colome – $17.99
  This wine, we discovered at the tasting, comes from the highest vineyard in the world, and the oldest winery in Argentina.  This Malbec is smoothed nicely by Cabernet Sauvignon.
• 2008 Stump Jump Shiraz – $9.99
  The value of the night!  This is a wonderful Shiraz and at $10 an absolute must-have.

At the end of the night we walked away with a bottle of the Cline Cashmere and the Stump Jump, as well as a new appreciation of one of Cincinnati’s great wine shops.

Piazza Discepoli’s Glendale shop is located at 23 Village Square in Glendale.  For more information visit www.PiazzaDiscepoli.com or visit their profile page on Uncorked.

My wife and I have attended six tastings at The Wine Merchant and it seems each one is better than the previous.  The Wine Merchant tastings are elegant but casual with attendees being able to move at their own pace and in whatever order they wish.  The staff is also extremely knowledgeable on each wine which is perfect for a relative newbie like me looking to learn and have fun at the same time.  The folks at The Wine Merchant clearly want each person to leave with a better understanding and appreciation of the wines being tasted.

Now a quick background on the Bordeaux region.  At more than 280, 000 acres, the Bordeaux region in France is the 2nd largest wine-growing area in the world.  The soil structure heavy in calcium is ideal for growing vines which is a big reason for the region’s success and world popularity.  The vast majority of Bordeaux wines are red, outnumbering white six to one.

On to the wines.  Another unique trait of Bordeaux wines is they are nearly all blended, the most common blend being Merlot and Cabernet.  The Bordeaux tasting at The Wine Merchant was no exception with some amazing Merlot/Cabernet blends that ended up being among our favorites.  Below are the wines featured during the Bordeaux tasting and some collective thoughts from the group tasting with me.

Whites

• 2008 Château Laulerie – Montravel
  Very clean and fresh.  Overall we thought this was an OK wine but a pretty good value at $12.
• 2007 Château Marjosse – Entre-Deux-Mers
  This was our preferred white by far.  A ton of flavor.

Reds

• 2005 Château Laulerie – Bergerac (Right Bank)
  The first Red immediately reminded us why Bordeaux Reds receive such world acclaim.  Silky smooth with some spice in the finish.
• 2005 Château Feret Lambert – Bordeaux Supérieur (Right Bank)
  Wow.  This one was one of my favorites and in our group’s top three.  A lot of black raspberry and spice, blended perfectly.  The baby blue label on this bottle isn’t hard to look at either!
• 2006 St. Colombe – Côtes de Castillon (Right Bank)
  Complex and warm.  You can picture yourself in front of the fireplace enjoying this.
• 2006 Château Larrivaux – Haut-Médoc (Left Bank)
  Another wonderful rich wine, a bit sweeter than the St. Colombe.
• 2005 Château Saint-Estèphe – Saint-Estèphe (Left Bank)
  Another amazing option that made it into our group’s top three.  The folks at The Wine Merchant say this pairs well with a steak and I agree.
• 2005 Château d’Aurilhac – Haut-Médoc (Left Bank)
  And of course they saved the best for last.  This was our consensus top pick.  It’s absolutely creamy dreamy with a long finish you hope keeps going and going.

The Bordeaux tasting at The Wine Merchant was my favorite tasting so far this year.  They always do an amazing job of choosing a nice variety of wines across multiple price points.  As I said earlier The Wine Merchant staff is also extremely knowledgeable, making it a great place to learn and explore.  You can learn more and find out when the next tasting will be at The Wine Merchant website.