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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2005 > September
September 2005
Marilyn Monroe Naked: Now THAT’S Wine Marketing!
It was the very first centerfold of the very first issue of Playboy magazine. And now the famous image of a nude Marilyn Monroe is selling wine in a most imaginative way. The buyer of the collectors’ edition magnum of wine can undress her.
And I am not making this up.
The wine is the Marilyn Wines Velvet Collection 2003, a blend of 55 percent cabernet and 45 percent merlot from the Napa Valley that — oh, WHO are we KIDDING, we care about as much about what’s inside the bottle as we did about reading the articles in Playboy. These wines are collectors’ items, creatures of brilliant marketing, and wine quality is irrelevant.
The undressing part, you ask? Here’s what the Marilyn Wines web site has to say: “The historic nude portrait of Marilyn Monroe that graces Velvet Collection bottles is protected by a decorative plastic overlay that can be removed after purchase to reveal the stunning details of the original photo. Start at the upper right hand corner, using a fingernail, and carefully lift the plastic film away from the label.”
Slowwwww-ly.
This isn’t just a west-coast kind of thing. The Velvet Collection magnum is available locally. I saw it at Arrow Wine’s Far Hills store for $179.99, marked down from $220, but it may be available elsewhere as well.
But if you buy it, take it home in a brown paper sack — and hide it under the bed so your parents don’t find it.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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A wine-tasting kind of weekend
Some world-class wines are being offered for sampling — even moreso than usual — in Dayton-area wine shops this weekend. Of particular note are the Jay’s Kitchen Door tastings — some heavy-hitting Brunellos from the 2000 vintage on Friday, then three of the biggest-name California Cabernets (Mondavi, Beringer, Dominus) from the 1996 vintage on Saturday. Arrow’s Far Hills store has the 2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia on the tasting bar Saturday. These are top-shelf offerings, and although I’m sure the samples won’t be cheap, this is for most of us the ONLY way we’ll ever experience these wines, since the bottles are so expensive.
Also worthy of note are the sparkling Cremant de Loire (poor man’s Champagne) at Cuvee and the Guindon Muscadet from France, one of the crispest and driest white wines made, tonight at DLM Washington Square. Click the link to see the full list, which comes courtesy of a local wine listserve.
As always, until we devise a permanent home for these tastings on this web site, if we missed any or if you would like to add your two cents worth, or if you’d like to post another upcoming event, please post a comment.
To see the list of wine-tastings this weekend, click on “Continue reading.”
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Dorothy Lane Market’s Washington Square store
Thursday, September 29, 2005 5-8 pm
2004 Domaine Guindon Cote de Loire Muscadet
2001 Chehalem Pinot Gris
2000 Verget Cote de Bouqueyreaud Chablis Grand Cru
2002 Savigny-Les-Beaune 1er Cru
2004 Hitching Post Pinot Noir
2002 Maxwell Four Roads Shiraz/Grenache/Viognier
1996 Peter Lehman Mentor
Jay’s Kitchen Door
Friday, September 30, 2005 4-8 pm
2000 Brunellos: Tertimali, Ciacci, Uccelliera
Volpaia Chianti
DLM Oakwood
Friday, September 30, 2005 5-8 pm
2002 Louie Latour Pouilly-Fuisse
2000 Dievole Chianti Classico
2001 Babcock Syrah
2000 Beaucanon Trefecta
1998 Terra Rosa Brunello Di Montalcino
DLM Springboro
Friday, September 30, 2005 12-7 pm
Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc
Le Cog Rouge
Tandem Syrah
Firestone Cabernet Sauvignon
Cuvee Wine Bar and Cellar
New wines beginning Friday, September 30, 2005
Domaine du Landreau 2001 Cremant de Loire
Blanco Nieva 2004 Verdejo
Maso Canali 2003 Pinot Grigio
Byington 2002 Santa Cruz Chardonnay
Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine 2003
Simi Sonoma County 2002 Merlot
Tobia Rioja Crianza 2001
Unti 2001 Petit Frere Syrah
Saturday Food: Spinach Dip, Sundried Tomato, Salami and Grilled Onion Open Face, Duck Rillettes
Jay’s Kitchen Door
Saturday, October 1, 2005 1-6 pm
1996 Dominus
1996 Beringer PR
1996 Mondavi Reserve
Arrow Far Hills
Saturday, October 1, 2005 11-4 pm
2000 Muller Catoir Riesling, Burgergarten, Kabinett
2001 Giant Steps Chardonnay, Yarra Valley
2003 Vega Sindoa, Cabernet Sauvignon-Tempranillo
2000 Sebastiani Zinfandel, Sonoma
2003 Mi Sueno Pinot Noir, Sonoma
2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia
DLM Oakwood
Saturday, October 1, 2005 1-6 pm
Te Mata Woodthrope Viognier
2003 Artezin
2002 Garaudet Clos Des Mouches
2003 Falesco Pesano Merlot
2003 Amirault Bourgeil
2003 Marquis Philips Cabernet
DLM Washington Square
Saturday, October 1, 2005 12-5 pm
2004 Flagstone Noon Gun
2003 Domaine Herve’ Chablis
2002 Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz
2002 Veleta Tempranillo
2003 Tiera Zinfandel
2000 Remo Farina Amarone
Dorothy Lane Springboro
Saturday, October 1, 2005 12-5 pm
Morgan “Hat Trick” Chardonnay
Woodthorpe Pinot Noir
Cayuse Syrah
Risow Cabernet
SIPS Centerville
Wine tasting 5-7 pm every Saturday
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Buy Wine Locally or Shop Online?
In case you might not have seen these two recent comments under the “Favorite Wine Shop” entry, Elisabeth writes:
“Dayton’s wine shops are a great place to start, but when you get the wine bug real bad, it pays to shop online. My favorite online store for both European and domestic wine is K&L, online at klwines.com. Yes, you’ll have to pay for shipping, but their prices are quite low, and the selection can’t be matched by any store locally.”
K&L Wine Merchants is located in northern California, by the way.
Elisabeth’s advice prompted this reply from Mike:
“Does K&L employ local people, pay local taxes, support local charities, hold local wine-tastings, or do anything for the local retail landscape?”
Perfectly legal online wine shopping has been available to Ohioans for years through web-based retailers such as Wine.com. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision has paved the way for an expansion of wine shopping online, although Ohio legislators still may slap restrictions on the practice later this year. Some California wineries have mailed notices to Ohio customers announcing that it is now legal for them to ship wine to Ohio — and pointing out that consumers should fill out the proper form and pay taxes to Ohio’s state government to make the transaction entirely legal. Such purchases circumvent Ohio’s “three-tier” distribution system that mandates minimum markups from the distributor to the retailer and from the retailer to the consumer.
Does this make online wine shopping the right thing to do for you? What about the issues that Mike raises?
Link to “post a comment” and let us know what you think.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Chateau de Beaucastel and wine revelations
Some wine experiences trigger delightful revelations and reaffirm all that is right about wine.
It might be the wonderment of how a bottle of Champagne can make Asian take-out a special occasion. Or how a bottle of wine sampled “at the source� seems to taste so much more sublime while looking over the vineyards that produced it.
For me, the experience came earlier this month at a Chateauneuf-du-Pape tasting orchestrated by University of Dayton professor Tom Davis and local physician Basel Yanes. Specifically, this was a “vertical� tasting (multiple vintages from the same producer) from arguably the region’s top producer, Chateau de Beaucastel.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape lies in the southern Rhone region of southern France and produces complex, long-lived wines from blends of many grapes, but mostly grenache and syrah. In good vintages, the reds from CdP produce concentrated, powerful reds with sweet fruit and spicy aromas of black pepper and bacon fat. They age gracefully, losing a bit of their fruit and power and gaining complexity in aroma and silkiness on the palate. Some take decades to reach their peak.
This tasting would certainly test that notion. Davis and Yanes compiled an array or Beaucastels that included 1970, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1995 and 2001. Among others.
The consensus favorites among the tasters were the 1981 and 1983, both wines that had shed their tannins, preserved their fruit, boasted aromas that jumped out of the glass and delivered finishes that lingered so long they begged the next sip. These were wines at the apogee of their evolution.
The two oldest wines (’70 and ’75) were still in surprisingly good shape. Their fruit had begun to fade but the flavors were smooth and pleasurable. The wines less than 20 years old remained vibrant and young, with evident tannins, copious fruit, a touch of occasional heat from high alcohol and great promise to become much like the favored ’81 and ’83 when they hit their respective peaks.
It’s what Davis and Yanes poured next that triggered my “Wow� moment. This one was a mini-horizontal that included the 1990 Beaucastel with three other top-tier 1990 Chateauneufs alongside.
The entire time I had been trying the Beaucastels from various years, I hadn’t clued into the distinctive quality of the Perrin family’s wines, but instead had been searching for how the wines differed. But with four 1990s in front of us, the Beaucastel was instantly recognizable by its aromas, even without tasting.
You could have blindfolded me and stuffed cotton into one nostril and served me 20 different Chateauneufs, and I’m convinced I could have – you could have – we ALL could have – recognized the Beaucastel from its nose alone. It reached out of the glass, slapped my face and said, “Darn RIGHT I’m Beaucastel, and don’t you forget it!�
What was the reason? Davis speculates that it’s because Beaucastel is known for using ALL 13 of the allowable grape varietals (see below) in CdP – some of them, surprisingly, white-wine grapes that are used in small proportions – in its blend. It also may be the mysterious confluence of soil (in this case, very stony soil), climate, weather and other factors that go into “terroir� that allows a wine to reflect the exact plot of earth it came from.
Somehow, that was all quite reassuring. Not to mention delicious.
Bonus question: How many of the 13 grape varieties allowed in Chateauneuf-du-Pape can you name? Davis, who also teaches a wildly popular wine class at, got ‘em all, with a little help. They are, at least according to one wine reference book: Grenache, syrah, mourvedre, picpoul, terret noir, counoise, muscardin, vaccarese, picardin, cinsault, clairette, roussane and bourboulenc.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Top Ten Reasons Wine is Better than Beer
Wine vs. Beer
I’ve gotten so many comments on this fun little story that ran in the Sept. 14 Dayton Daily News pitting me against beer columnist Jim Witmer in a duel for “The Top Ten Reasons Why Wine is Better than Beer” (vice-versa for the beer dude) that it deserves a command performance.
Can anyone come up with more (publishable) reasons why wine trumps beer? Let’s keep this thing going!
By the way, my 17-year-old son got a good laugh out of my reason number 10: “Who ever heard of a wine belly?”
“That’s pretty funny coming from you, considering you HAVE one,” he told me.
Har-Dee-Har.
To see the full story, click on the story link underlined above or the “continue reading” link.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Determined to singlehandedly reverse the erosion of support for malted beverages, Dayton Daily News beer columnist Jim Witmer offers his “Top 10 Reasons Why Beer Is Better Than Wine” while wine columnist Mark Fisher, still gloating over Gallup Poll results, proposes the “Top 10 Reasons Why Wine Is Better Than Beer.”
It was the Gallup Poll that shocked the drinking world - and it has beermakers crying in their suds. For the first time in more than a decade of Gallup polling, just as many Americans identified wine as their drink of choice as beer. Actually, wine beat beer 39 percent to 36 percent, but the difference is within the Gallup Consumption Habits poll’s margin of error, so the survey’s authors are calling it a tie.
Still, that’s a huge change from what Gallup found in 1992, when 47 percent of Americans said beer was their favorite alcoholic drink, and only 27 percent chose wine. Wine preference jumped six percentage points just since last year, “the first significant shift in wine preferences recorded in the last eight years,” the Gallup folks said.
Now that’s an upward - as opposed to a Sideways - trend. Beer defenders point out that sales of wellcrafted microbrews and other flavorful offerings are rising, suggesting that beer enthusiasts might be drinking less, but they’re drinking better. And wine no doubt benefited from the explosion of popularity of the Charles Shaw line of “Two-Buck Chuck” wines and its imitators. Could it be that beer drinkers are becoming more sophisticated while wine drinkers are becoming less so? Perhaps we should ponder that question over a tasty pint of pale ale - or a nice glass of pinot noir.
TOP 10 REASONS WINE IS BETTER THAN BEER:
- Did you ever hear of a “wine belly?”
- Wine glasses don’t weigh as much as beer mugs - less wear and tear on the wrist and elbow, fewer cases of carpal tunnel.
- Fewer unanticipated belches (unless consuming champagne).
- Doesn’t open the “flood gates” quite the same way beer does.
- Was there an Oscar-nominated movie last year about beer?
- Ages better - and so do those who drink it!
- Jesus didn’t turn water into beer; he left that to Miller and Anheuser-Busch, which proceeded to get the process backward and turn beer into water.
- Tastes better with ALL kinds of food - not just brats, chili and tacos.
- When asked what attributes they’re looking for in the perfect mate, “Knows how to navigate a beer list” never makes top 10.
And the No. 1 reason wine is better than beer: Tastes great, less filling!
TOP 10 REASONS WHY BEER IS BETTER THAN WINE:
- Beer doesn’t rely on a piece of wood to give it character.
- The French don’t set the standard for beer-making and food-pairing.
- Beer is richer, better looking and has a better body.
- The twist-off cap. Wine makers are just starting to figure that one out.
- Beer doesn’t need a movie about two losers (Sideways) to increase its popularity.
- Beer never has a “bad year.”
- An old English beer-drinking song inspired the melody for The Star-Spangled Banner. Wine coolers inspire Britney Spears.
- No phony pseudo-sophisticated snobby elitist names starting with “chateau.”
- Beer is so cool we use it to describe ourselves. We want six-pack abs, not magnum thighs.
And the No. 1 reason beer is better than wine: The Mayflower was loaded with beer, not wine. So was Ben Franklin when he discovered electricity.
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They Don’t Call It ‘Super Saturday’ for Nuthin’
The “Super Saturday” tasting at Arrow Wine’s Far Hills Avenue store turned up two terrific red-wine bargains: Petraio Nero D’Avola 2003 ($4.99), a ripe and easy-drinking Italian red from the island of Sicily, and the Luzon Jumilla 2004 from Spain ($8.99), a dry red with concentrated flavors and a bit of a “hot” finish from the listed 14.5 percent alcohol.
I missed the south Arrow’s tasting and most of the others in town. Anybody else find some good wines to sample this weekend, out on the tasting circuit or at home?
Mark Fisher
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Wine, Beer and Tobacco Smoke
You may have read in this morning’s Dayton Daily News that the Thirsty Dog Grille and Brewery will close at midnight tonight, and the establishment’s general manager says the closing is a direct result of Centerville’s ban on smoking in restaurants and other businesses. What do you think of a smoking ban in eating establishments that serve wine and beer?
Mark Fisher
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Tips for a Safe and Enjoyable Wine-tasting
A reader of Uncorked poses this timely and excellent question:
How do you start out tasting wine on a Saturday morning and not wreck the rest of your day by getting blottoed?
Here are some suggestions from a savvy veteran:
� Whether it’s four or five wines available for sampling or 16-plus as there will be at both Arrows on Saturday, be picky when choosing which wines to try. There is absolutely no pressure or expectation on the part of the pourer or anyone else that you will try “the full boat� of everything offered.
� Every wine-tasting venue offers a dump-bucket (or they should) for tasters to discard the remnants of their glass, and again, no one will “look at you funny� for using it. If you don’t like a wine, dump it and move on. Even if you DO like a wine, but have tasted enough of it and want to try others, DUMP IT and move on. We here in the heartland were raised to clean our plates and not “waste� what we’ve paid for, but that concept simply doesn’t apply here. If you finish every sample and are sampling many, the only thing you’re wasting is yourself.
� Wine tastings almost always offer something to snack on – cheese and crackers, usually, and occasionally something more substantial. The eats are free. Take advantage of them.
� It’s time-honored advice because it works: drink water. Before, during, after.
These suggestions combined with designated drivers and other common-sense precautions will help make for a safe and enjoyable wine-tasting experience.
An afternoon nap doesn’t hurt, either.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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This weekend’s wine tastings
I’m still trying to sort out the best way to get weekly wine-tasting information to you, but in the meantime, courtesy of a local wine listserve, here’s a partial listing of this weekend’s activities via the link below. If we missed one, feel free to add it in a posted comment.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Dorothy Lane Market Washington Square Thursday, September 22, 2005 5-8 pm 2004 Vinum Cellars Chenin Blanc 2004 St. Suprey Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Col de Lairole Coteeaux du Languedoc 2000 Chateau Coucy Bordeaux Montagne-St.Emillion 2003 Kinkead Ridge Syrah 2000 Beaucanon Estate Merlot 2001 Miner “The Oracle”
Jay’s Kitchen Door Friday, September 23, 2005 4-8 pm 2003 Chateau De La Greffiere Macon La Roche Vineuse 2002 Domaine Maume Bourgone Geoffrey Chambertin 2000 Chateau Graysac 1999 Chateau Faugeres 2001 Verite Le Desir
DLM Oakwood Friday, September 23, 2005 5-8 pm 2004 Kinkead Ridge Viognier Roussanne 2003 Daniel Shuster Pinot Noir 2002 Tandem Syrah 2002 Geyser Peak Cabernet 2000 Lake Breeze Winemaker’s Selection
DLM Springboro Friday, September 23, 2005 12-7 pm Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc Hawk Crest Chardonnay Hawk Crest Cabernet Kay Brothers Shiraz
Arrow Wine and Spirits, both stores, Super Saturday, September 24, 11-5 pm - at least 16 wines at each store (see “Check Out Local Wine Tastings” entry from earlier this week for more on this one) Here’s a partial listing of wines to be sampled at the Far Hills Arrow store: Luzon (Spanish Red) Rex Hill Pinot Noir Nero D’Avola (Italian Red) Montellori (Chianti) Domaine Dragon (French Red) Blanchet, Pouilly Fume Black Bart’s Bride Castle Rock, Sauvignon Blanc Moro (Italian Super Tuscan) Gloria Ferrar Sparkling Cocodrilo Cabernet Sauvignon Ateo (Tuscan Red) Benziger Chardonnay Sierra Centabria “Cuvee Especialâ€? August Briggs Cabernet Sauvignon, Limited Release Kilikanoon, Shiraz
Jay’s Kitchen Door Saturday, September 24, 2005 1-6 pm NV Pierre Peters Blanc de Blanc 2001 Hartwell Merlot 2003 Elyse Nero Misto 2001 Chimney Landslide Cabernet
DLM Oakwood Saturday, September 24, 2005 1-6 pm 2004 Verget Macon Villages 2003 Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir 2000 Beaucannon Cabernet Franc 2003 Teira Zinfandel 2002 Miner Cabernet 2000 Chateau Couty St. Emilion
DLM Washington Sqwuare Saturday, September 24, 2005 12-5 pm 2004 Voga Pinot Grigio 2004 Vedette Loire Vindu Pay Chardonnay 2004 Alder Fels Gewurtztraminer 2004 Panarozz 2003 Boccadigabbia 2000 Havens Reserve Merlot 2001 Beaucanon Estate Trifecta
DLM Springboro Saturday, September 24, 2005 12-5 pm Black Chook Shiraz/ Viognier Branson Coach House Shiraz Angus The Bull Cabernet Coriole Chenin Blanc
SIPS 1035 S. Main Street, Centerville Wine tasting 5-7 pm Saturday Wellington Chardonnay Vinum Cellars Pets Bella Novel Napa Cab Nain Spanish Red Drouhin La Foret Pinot Noir
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Honig wines from Napa
I caught up with Michael Honig, president and national sales manager for Honig Vineyard and Winery in Napa Valley, this afternoon (9-21) during his whirlwind tour of Dayton He’s in town to pour his wines at a special wine dinner at 7 p.m. tonight at Jay’s Restaurant in Dayton’s Oregon District. Here’s what I wrote about Michael in a Dayton Daily News column two years ago, and it’s still true today:
“Honig’s winery is in the Napa Valley’s high-rent district, in Rutherford nestled between prestige vineyards such as Caymus and BV. But don’t expect him to put on Park Place/Broadway airs just because of his Zip code.
Honig’s playful streak shows up in his postcard marketing campaign, in which he and his winery’s employees pose in outlandish costumes to spoof everything from Calvin Klein ads to the Robert Palmer “Simply Irresistibleâ€? music video. It is not, some might sniff, the Napa way.
Well, neither are Honig’s wines - and that’s a good thing.â€?
Honig may make the best $15 sauvignon blanc from California. The 2004 Napa Valley SB boasts aromas of lychee and grapefruit, and none of that New Zealand “cat-pee� character, and tastes just downright delicious. The 2004 Honig Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc ($21.99, formerly called the reserve) has a touch of oak and a bit more steeliness.
The Honig 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($31.99) has a solid core of raspberry-infused fruit, just a kiss of oak and excellent concentration. Given the super-expensive zip code it comes from, where many Rutherford neighbors are asking $75 or more for their cabs, it’s a smart buy.
Short notice, I know, but for details on tonight’s dinner, call Jay’s at 222-2892.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Favorite Wine Shop
Compared to other similar-sized cities, I think greater Dayton has a wealth of great wine shops. Which is your favorite? You can vote online for “Best Wine Shop” at DaytonDailyNews.com. You can voice your opinions in many more categories in the Best of Dayton People’s Choice Awards.
But why stop there? Let “Uncorked” know which is your favorite wine shop — and why — by clicking the “Post Your Comment” link.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Wine Marketing Chutzpah Extraordinaire
What images cross your mind when you think of the term “small winery?”
Maybe the grandfatherly patriarch puttering around the cellars, turning the small oak barrels, testing the wine occasionally and preparing to blend a few cases of the prized juice of his family’s vineyards?
Yeah, me too.
So I REALLY just about spit out my cabernet when I saw the side of a wine delivery truck in downtown Dayton touting Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi wines with the astonishingly brazen slogan, “Taste our small winery tradition.”
Ahem. Just to be clear on the facts: Woodbridge, originally launched by the Robert Mondavi winery, is now owned by Constellation Brands, described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “the world’s biggest wine conglomerate” producing 80 MILLION cases a year — more than Gallo. Woodbridge’s web site boasts the capacity to crush 3,600 TONS of grapes per day, to bottle 42,000 cases a day, and to store 54.2 million gallons of wine.
Production on that scale is about as far as what you and I think of a “small” winery as, well, I can’t think of an analogy that is on a grand enough scale to fit.
Nothing against Woodbridge wines, which have consistently tasted better than most other wines in their price range. But good heavens to Betsy, please don’t peddle them as products of a “small” winery!
P.S. By the way, Charles Shaw wines aren’t produced singlehandedly by some grandfatherly figure names Charlie, either.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Check out local wine-tastings
If you’re curious about wine but don’t know where to start — or like wine and want to learn more — the best place to begin is at the informal drop-in tastings that several wine shops around town have every week.
I’ve encountered folks who shy away from these tastings because they think the events will be a snooty affair and they’ll suffer some sort of public humiliation or embarrassment from the snobs standing around swirling their glasses with their pinkies in the air.
Not true.
Here’s how these tastings work: Stores usually have four or five bottles available for sampling. The price of each taste depends on the price of the bottle, but usually it’s a buck or two. You’re not expected to try all the wines, there’s no pressure to buy the wines you taste, and there’s a “dump bucket” to discard wines you didn’t care for, or if you don’t want to finish your glass for any reason. You don’t have to stand there and make small talk while you’re sipping — you can walk around and look at the wines.
The shops that do this include but are not limited to both Arrows, all three Dorothy Lane Markets, Jay’s, the Little Store, the Emporium, Cuvee (formerly Cindy’s), Grapes of Ruth, and more (if you know of others, by all means, have them post their wine-tasting information on this site, as a comment to this entry, and keep ‘em coming). Days and times vary, so check with your favorite retailer. Some restaurants are also getting in on the trend.
This Saturday (Sept. 24) offers a special opportunity. Both Arrow Wine and Spirits stores (Lyons Road in Centerville and the Far Hills store in Kettering) are having a “Super Saturday” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will offer at least 20 wines for sampling. Arrow invites four or five wine distributors to come in and bring four or five wines. There is no charge for admission, and each sample is priced based on how expensive the wine is. Try just one, or walk around and select what you want. Unless you have a designated driver — heck, even if you DO have a designated driver — don’t try all 20.
It’s a golden opportunity to learn and discover.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Welcome to Uncorked!
Welcome!
You’ve tuned into the “Uncorked” wine blog by Dayton Daily News wine columnist Mark Fisher. Here you’ll find observations, opinions, provocations, queries, pronouncements, tasting notes, details of upcoming wine tastings and other assorted mayhem.
What you won’t find, I hope, is pretense. The wine world has plenty of that already.
A quick introduction: I’m a native Daytonian and have worked as a reporter for the Dayton Daily News since 1983 (I started when I was 12. Okay, not really). I’ve written the “Taste of Wine” column — which runs twice a month inside the Friday Life section — for the Daily News since 1989. In the “day job,” I covered higher education for 15 years before becoming the newspaper’s food and dining reporter in August 2006 (Information updated 9-16-06).
I’m no “expert” on wine; I know just enough be dangerous, just enough to recognize when some other self-anointed “expert” is blowing smoke, and enough to be humbled about how much I don’t know about fermented grape juice and the magic that surrounds it. I think that places me somewhere in the overlapping zone between “wine enthusiast” and “wine geek.” I embrace the former, but don’t deny the latter.
In addition to passing along news and opinions, I’ll invite wine shop folks to submit their special events and the lists of wine they’re tasting each week (Hey, it wasn’t MY idea to take the tastings lists out of the paper … ) so we all can stay on top of what’s going on. Otherwise, I’ll do my best to keep the conversation lively, and I welcome your help. Don’t be shy about posting your comments, critiques, criticisms and whatever other insight this dialogue (and a sip of chardonnay) may trigger.
Cheers! Mark Fisher “Uncorked”
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