Wine pairings with Halloween candy?

By Mark Fisher | Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 12:45 PM

The fine folks at A Taste of Wine in Miamisburg asked its e-mail-list members whether they have raided their children’s Halloween candy, and suggested the following candy-and-wine pairings:

“For Skittles, Candy Corn and Starbursts, try a sweet riesling. Peanut Butter Cups would pair well with cabernet sauvignon or red zinfandel. And Snickers would be delicious with a 10-year tawny port.”

So now you know.

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‘Feminist Wine Club’ will benefit NOW

By Mark Fisher | Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 07:29 AM

The California National Organization for Women (NOW) and Bottlenotes have joined to launch the Feminist Wine Club, according to a NOW news release issued late Monday night, Nov. 2.

“All wines in the Feminist Wine Club have been carefully selected by Bottlenotes to showcase some phenomenal wines made or imported by women, or produced at wineries owned by women,” says the Feminist Wine Club web site. “All proceeds from the Feminist Wine Club go to the California National Organization for Women.”

NOW calls the wine club “an easy, enjoyable, non-intimidating way for women to learn about wine, build community, and support women winemakers and causes as well.”

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Miami alums to host wine tasting for scholarships

By Mark Fisher | Monday, November 2, 2009, 08:50 AM

Here’s a news release I received about Middletown-area Miami University alumni hosting a wine-tasting and auction event to support students scholarships:

MIDDLETOWN, OH - A wine tasting party and silent auction will be held at the Miami University Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, sponsored by the Middletown Area Chapter of the Miami University Alumni Association. The evening’s proceeds will support scholarships for students beginning their education on the Middletown campus but may follow them to Oxford, Hamilton or the new VOA Learning Center.

Five wines with accompanying hors d’oeuvres from the Dorothy Lane Markets of Springboro and Dayton will be served. Dorothy Lane’s wine expert, Todd Templin, will provide tasters with information concerning each of the selected wines, including white, red and dessert wines.

More than twenty items will be offered in a silent auction, including an original watercolor painting of the Black (Pugh’s Mill) Covered Bridge near Oxford by the late, renowned watercolorist Frank Martindell. The painting was featured in Mr. Martindell’s one-man show at the Middletown Art Center in 2007. Other items range from massages and spa treatments to Miami and Reds sports memorabilia and sports gear.

Reservations may be made by calling Joanne Harper at 513-529-1451 or by following an on-line link on www.miamialum.org. The cost is $40.00 per person or $35.00 for members of the Miami University Alumni Association. You do not have to be a graduate of Miami to attend. Anyone wishing more information may contact Joanne Harper (harperjh@muohio.edu), Paula Cohen (513-423-4443) or Ellen Kukuk (513-423-1778).

The Voice of America Learning Center is located at the corner of Cox Road and VOA Park Drive in West Chester.

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Dayton’s finest wine-and-beer tastings and events list, free for the perusing

By Mark Fisher | Friday, October 30, 2009, 06:47 AM

Week in and week out, this list is simply breathtaking, and this week’s is no exception. Our collective thanks to the Dayton-based wine listserv that compiles this collection of wine and beer tastings, dinners, fundraisers and other events, then graciously shares it with Uncorked. Yes, these events make for fine reading — but even better attending. Check out the French winemakers pouring their wines at DLM Springboro tonight (Friday, 10-30), and the Italian winemaker pouring Saturday afternoon at DLM Oakwood (these people traveled halfway around the world just to pour for us!), or the upcoming beer dinner at Jay’s — something a bit out of the ordinary.

But don’t overlook the very different, special-themed tastings this weekend at Little Sonoma and Jungle Jim’s — unlike any I can ever recall seeing in the many years of these wine lists. Great ideas!

Click on “continue reading” if the list doesn’t appear directly below … Cheers!

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Got wine tastings? Check!

By Mark Fisher | Friday, October 23, 2009, 10:02 AM

Wine tastings, wine dinners, wine-themed fund-raising events, beer tastings, beer dinners — we’ve got ‘em all, thanks to the Dayton-based wine listserv that compiles the following list and shares with Uncorked and its members. For that, we thank our lucky stars. And for the tastings themselves, we thank our lucky stars a second time.

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New wine lounge hits a bump in the road

By Mark Fisher | Friday, October 16, 2009, 04:31 PM

The “Grapes — a Wine Lounge” that we told you about Thursday (and in this morning’s Dayton Daily News Life section) has encountered a bit of a snag.

The lounge had opened inside the Centerville Pub at 68 West Franklin St., in a loft area that previously was used mostly for storage. But Centerville city officials apparently noted that the building’s occupancy paperwork did not call for that portion of the building to be used to seat customers, so the wine lounge can’t seat guests there until the occupancy paperwork issue is resolved, Grapes co-manager Gayle Burtt said this afternoon, Oct. 16.

In the meantime, however, the sports bar will set aside some tables and will still serve the wines and appetizers that are on the wine lounge’s menu, and customers can peek into what will, hopefully soon, become the Grapes wine lounge, Burtt said.

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Dayton-area wine lovers get VIP treatment (again)

By Mark Fisher | Friday, October 16, 2009, 07:29 AM

Just look at this wine-tastings list: a great Chateauneuf-du-Pape’s from a highly regarded vintage; ‘an ‘04 Brunello; a 2005 Jordan Cab; an old Port to take off the autumn chill; some big-time Australian wines; a grand opening event at Rumbleseat Wines; visiting winemakers at the Wine Gallery & Cafe; a tasting to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness at Taste of Wine; a “Super Saturday” at Arrow Centerville; a “guest-chef” wine luncheon at Jay’s; a slew of fine beers; and, finally, Ardie!

Good Golly Miss Molly. Are we not blessed?

Thanks to the Dayton-based wine listserv for compiling this amazing list and sharing with Uncorked … Enjoy!

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