The best wines for March Madness

By Mark Fisher | Friday, March 19, 2010, 06:50 AM

Hey, we’ve got to have something to do between basketball games, right?

This week’s sterling list of wine tastings, dinners and special events comes to Uncorked via the exhaustive efforts of a Dayton-based wine listserv that compiles the events, an act not unlike herding cats, I’m told. For that we are thankful.

In addition to the fine events on the list below, make sure you check out The Winds Cafe’s Spanish Wine Dinner scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 23. Mary Kay Smith calls this her “favorite wine dinner of the year,” and you can check out the menu here.

I hope your brackets are flourishing … Click on “continue reading” if the tastings list doesn’t appear immediately below. Cheers!

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Grape-eating baboons ravage S. African vineyards

By Mark Fisher | Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 11:13 AM

Packs of baboons are stripping wine grapes from their vines in South Africa, according to this Breitbart.com article that quotes one vineyard manager who has lost 40 percent of his crop.

As loyal reader ChiefWino noted when he forwarded this link, “And California thinks med flies, grape moths and phylloxera are bad … “

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Last call for alcohol to come early this weekend

By Mark Fisher | Friday, March 12, 2010, 08:37 AM

Call him a party pooper if you must, but he is, after all, just doing his job.

Ernie Davis, the acting superintendent of the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Liquor Control, is reminding all bars, clubs, restaurants and other liquor permit holders that Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend, officially beginning in Ohio at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14.

But what about all those bars and clubs that close at 2:30 a.m. because that’s the time that they must stop serving alcohol under state law?

“When the clock strikes 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, the time will spring forward and be, in fact, 3 a.m., 30 minutes past the legal closing time for permit holders who are entitled to be open until 2:30 a.m.,” Davis said in a news release. “All sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages at permit premises must cease prior to 2 a.m., when clocks should be advanced one hour.”

Matt Mullins, spokesman for the liquor-control division, called the news release “a public service” to help ensure bar and club owners know — and follow — the letter of the law. Mullins said neither he nor his colleagues can recall any effort by the legislature to insert an exemption into the law allowing bars and clubs to avoid having to close a half-hour early one day out of the year.

Of course, in the fall, late-night imbibers get that half-hour back, and then some. When the switch to Eastern Standard Time means the clock “falls back” an hour at 2 a.m., bar patrons get an full hour of extra service.

But not surprisingly, the division of liquor control is silent on that point. “We don’t send out a new release in the fall,” Mullins said.

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Wine dinners & tastings to hasten the thaw

By Mark Fisher | Friday, March 12, 2010, 06:58 AM

Dayton-area restaurants and wine shops have once again assembled an eye-popping array of wine tastings and dinners, which you can peruse in one fabulous list courtesy of the herculean efforts of the Dayton-based wine listserv that puts all of this information together each and every week.

One addition to the list that will help usher in the spring thaw: El Meson restaurant at 903 E. Dixie Drive in West Carrollton will host a Spanish Wine Dinner featuring the wines of Faustino from the Rioja region of Spain at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 16. The cost is $65, plus tax and tip. Call (937) 859-8229 to make reservations.

And check out the following list, which contains some pleasant surprises and some incredible wines:

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New study says women wine drinkers less likely to gain weight

By Mark Fisher | Thursday, March 11, 2010, 07:20 AM

Yes, you read that right.

For middle-age and older women specifically, “compared with nondrinkers, initially normal-weight women who consumed a light to moderate amount of alcohol gained less weight and had a lower risk of becoming overweight and/or obese during 12.9 years of follow-up.” That’s the conclusion of this new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine entitled “Alcohol Consumption, Weight Gain, and Risk of Becoming Overweight in Middle-aged and Older Women” conducted by researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Some news coverage of the study, including this piece in TheWeek.com entitled “Wine: The new weight-loss miracle?” and this CBS News report entitled “Wine and Your Weight” have focused more specifically on wine’s benefits, which may outweigh those of other forms of alcohol in this weight-gain study.

It should be noted, of course, that moderation is key in any research that examines wine and health, and that the research doesn’t suggest that drinking wine or any other form of alcohol can help a person lose weight. Lord, please spare us the “wine as miracle diet drug” headlines.

But still, interesting stuff, don’t you think?

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Memorial tasting tonight, winemaker events the next two nights at busy Cuvee

By Mark Fisher | Monday, March 8, 2010, 10:00 AM

Cuvee Wine Bar, 4457 Ohio 725 in Bellbrook, has three consecutive nights of special events, beginning tonight, Monday March 7, with a tasting to remember co-owner Jessica Paringer, who passed away one year ago due to complications of cystic fibrosis. Thee wine bar isn’t normally open on Mondays. For more information, call 937-848-2161.

Here’s the email from the wine shop:

To celebrate our dear friend, Jessica, Cuvee will open from 4-7 on Monday, March 7th Please come by to share memories and a glass of wine.

Drop-in tasting Tuesday, March 9th from 5pm-7pm Rich Parducci, Proprietor/Winemaker of McNab Ridge Winery Chef will be serving: Creole BBQ Shrimp Smoked Brisket Sliders

Wednesday, March 10th from 5pm-7pm Drew Nieman, Owner of Vanguard Wines and Winemaker Extraordinaire presents wines from some of his friends in California: Bridesmaid, Caldwell and Ramey Chef will prepare: Roasted Tenderloin and Mozzarella and back by popular demand: Burgundogs

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Cincy WineFest AND our very own Dayton-area wine tastings

By Mark Fisher | Friday, March 5, 2010, 03:48 PM

Local tastings, oh heck yeah, we’ve got ‘em, thanks to a Dayton-based wine listserv that compiles them, but there’s also this little matter of a tasting down south next weekend …

The 20th Annual Cincinnati International Wine Festival will be held March 11-13, with the grand tastings March 12-13 at Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St. in downtown Cincinnati.

The Cincy WineFest kicks off with 11 “Winery Dinners” at Cincinnati-area restaurants Thursday night, March 11. Winery representatives will team up with restaurant finest chefs to create a multi-course dining and wine tasting experience. A list of restaurants and the wineries they’re paired with are available on the festival’s web site, www.winefestival.com. Cost of these dinners range from $125-$150.

The event’s first Grand Tasting is scheduled for Friday night from 6:30 to 9 p.m., where more than 600 wines from 130 wineries will be available for sampling. The grand tastings also include live music, food and a silent auction. The cost $70 in advance, $75 at the door, or $105 for a Special Tasting ticket ($110 at the door) for access to a special tasting room with high-end wines.

Saturday brings a Charity Auction and Luncheon at a separate location — the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hall of Mirrors — and two grand tastings at the convention center. The auction and luncheon begins at 9:30 a.m. with a Champagne reception, followed by the live auction at 11 a.m., and the luncheon immediately following. The cost is $125. The afternoon Grand Tasting will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., with a cost of $60 in advance, $65 at the door ($95/$100 to add on the Special Tasting ticket); and the Saturday night Grand Tasting from 6:30 to 9 p.m., $70/$75 and $105/$110.

Proceeds for all of the events benefit multiple charities in the Cincinnati area. For more information and a complete description of each of the events, visit www.winefestival.com or call (513) 723-9463.

Now about those Dayton-area tastings, a mere click of the “continue reading” link below, and they are yours, in all their glory … check out the March 11 Napa Valley cabernet tasting at Arrow Wine in Centerville in particular. Some list! Cheers …

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Dayton beer event to spotlight food

By Mark Fisher | Wednesday, March 3, 2010, 06:59 AM

My colleague Katie Wedell has written a story entitled “A fine food feast awaits beer lovers at winter tasting festival” about the 2nd Annual AleFeast to be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, March 6, at the Dayton Masonic Center.

Why is this event an ale feast rather than an ale fest? We’re glad you asked. Here’s an excerpt from Katie’s story summarizing the eats that will be available to AleFeast attendees:

Chefs David Glynn and Mike Wilhelm: Jambalaya and seaweed salad with scallops

The Pub: Yankee Pot Roast

That’s one fine food menu. I wonder whether we’d be able to find a beer to wash it down?

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Miami Valley School to auction ‘Instant Wine Cellar’

By Mark Fisher | Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 08:52 AM

The Miami Valley School is holding its annual fund-raising auction at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 6, at the school, 5151 Denise Drive, and one of its live auction lots is what the MVS folks are calling an “Instant Wine Cellar.”

After looking at the four-dozen or so wines in the auction lot, it’s easy to see why. This truly IS an instant wine cellar. Some of California’s finest, including Opus One, Heitz, Colgin, Dunn, Laurel Glen, Arrowood, Stag’s Leap and Mondavi are represented in a collection that blends new and older vintages (to view the full list of wines, click on “continue reading” below). This is quite a prize. Here’s an excerpt from an email from Marti Cole, who chairs the live auction, with a few more details, including bid-by-phone:

The values of the wine range from about $40-$400/bottle. If anyone would like to attend the auction which includes a served dinner, silent and live auction, we are accepting reservations at the development office at 434-1848. We also accept bids by phone — please contact the office by Friday, March 5 to bid.

Click here to view the full list of wines.

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