Tag Archives: OH

TBT: Dine & Dashe 🍷😊🍷

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The perfect ending to a spectacular Monday here in the Cleve (a sunny day right now is always cause for celebrating), my friends, Shelly, Lisa and I attended the February wine dinner at Sarita in Lakewood, OH.

Featuring wines from Dashe Cellars, and presented by Whitney from Vanguard Wines, our evening began with Shrimp Madagascar paired with a 2015 Grenache Blanc. Cool climates and higher elevation help to cultivate this rare varietal. On the nose it made me think of a honey bun; bearing a subtle sweet bread-y scent. The main flavor we tasted was honey but because it was a dry wine, it wasn’t a cloying sweetness. The balanced acidity cut gently into the cream sauce of the shrimp dish.

My favorite wine of the night was the 2016 Chenin Blanc “Black Bart Cuvee”. This wine gets its name, Black Bart, not from the vineyard where it’s grown but the 500 gallon concrete ‘egg’ vessel in which it’s fermented. Concrete helps to highlight the mineral quality of the grapes, and helps to keep the lively freshness. After harvest, the grapes are pressed and fermented four weeks until the desired dryness is realized. This was paired with Scallop Crudo w/ pink grapefruit, avocado and malagueta honey that provided a sweet heat that was incredibly delicious with this wine.

Since 1996, Dashe Cellars, a family-owned winery, has operated in the urban location near Jack London Square in Oakland, CA. Going against convention, and with the conviction that outstanding wines could be found outside the traditional wine route parameter, they use natural winemaking techniques including: small lot fermentation, using indigenous yeasts, and little to no fining/ filtration.

Michael Dashe oversees the harvest and winemaking, and partners with small (including some organic-certified) growers in Mendocino and Sonoma counties to name a few. Working together, they try to achieve a balance of steep hillside vineyards, old vines, and vigor-reduced growing conditions. Steep hillsides force the grapes to struggle a bit and exposes them to better balance of sun, heat and cooling temperatures. Lower yields increase the quality and complexity of the wine. Struggle makes even grapes stronger!

As our evening progressed, we sampled Carignana (similar to Pinot Noir) with braised duck and goat cheese grits; fettuccine, bbq braised ribs (paired with two beloved Zinfandels), and finished it off sampling a selection of dark chocolate truffles and cheeses with a 2014 Late Harvest Zinfandel.

The next wine dinner takes place in April, and I’m really looking forward to experiencing a great selection of different wines, and what Chef Tony Romano will come up with next!

 

 

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Cheers!

©The Wine Student, 2018

H2~Full of Grace


The afternoon was spectacular. If you’ve ever lived in climates with four seasons, your senses begin anticipate the beautiful change that’s taking place all around: the brilliant colors heralding early autumn, and a slight, refreshing chill in the air.

To wind down a little, after running errands and, blissfully, with no time constraints, HubbyDoug and I spent our mid afternoon at H2 ~ Huth and Harris Wine Merchants in Medina, OH. We’d been in briefly during the Ice Festival and I’d promised myself that I’d revisit when I had time to sit, sip and peruse the well-stocked shelves.

The atmosphere made me think of the beautiful wine shops we visited while we were in Paris. The leather furniture, rough-hewn tables and dark wood ambient enveloped us in a warm, relaxed vibe. Looking out the open main doors, we could just watch the world go by as we slowed down to enjoy our wine.

H2 provides a great variety of  wine flights; white and red, by-the-glass selections, and accompanying tapas menu. I felt so relaxed, I let Doug choose. His pick: Four Graces Pinot Noir.

I enjoyed just meandering around with my glass in hand checking out the extensive collection of wine. It was a great way to spend a lazy Saturday. It’s  a space I’d love to come back to, and to share with our friends.

Cheers!

©The Wine Student, 2015

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Great Expectations

When the frost is on the pumpkin, we usually have the mindset that summer’s fun is on the wane and we need to start battening down the hatches against old man winter. But I like to believe that there’s still a lot of fun to be had.

Here are two new venues that promise to bring a little mirth to the wine in your glass.

Athens Uncorked ~ Located close to Ohio University, Athens Uncorked is poised to become the ‘first grown-up’ wine bar in Athens. With over thirteen years of café and culinary experience, siblings Nate Hayes and Kathryn Blake’s vision is to provide Athens a quiet, ‘off the beaten path” adult lounge atmosphere. Avid wine students themselves, Nate and Kathryn have been hitting the books to research which wines will make up their flights and tasting menu. “We were red wine snobs,” confessed Hayes. “But since we’ve been sampling so many whites that we want to put on the menu, it’s opened our eyes to how many great white wines are out there.”

A variety of seven themed wine flights will range from organic wines, sweet to dry whites; bold and beautiful reds, to a ‘Home Sweet Home’ flight showcasing native Ohio wines. “We really want to hit all the bases with our wine flights,” said Hayes. “ And every two months or so, we’ll change and reset the menu to give our guests a new experience in what’s available.” Their Cellar collection will feature high-end wines sold by the bottle. To keep the focus on the wine, a small, simple tapas-style menu will be available.

Though they’re currently in the throes of construction, Hayes was kind enough to take me on a little tour; they had just finished painting the walls a gorgeous, deep purple color. We did most of our interview in the cosy loft area that will be used for monthly tastings and special events. He described the decor as “comfortable and relaxed” with couches, chairs and tables designed to keep the emphasis on their tagline of ‘wine, conversation and friends’.

Athens Uncorked has targeted the opening for mid-November and expect to be in full swing in time for the Thanksgiving holiday season.

Athens Uncorked, 14 Station Street Athens, OH, 45701

The Wine Mill ~ In the heart of Peninsula, Ohio, in a vintage mill dating back to 1846, The Wine Mill is a part of history re-imagined. Partners Steven McClellan and Patrick Cunningham have a vision of pairing a charmingly rustic setting with a wide variety of fine wines.

Dave Mazzone, Fine Wine Specialist at the Wine Mill, said the wine flight groups are at price points that are easily accessible. “We’ll have a wide array that will have an upscale regional and varietal interpretation. We want the focus to be on having people try things that are new to them,” he said. “The wines featured will be more boutique, and not the average wines that can be found anywhere.” In selecting featured wines for the tasting menu, Mazzone said the key is to offer the familiar as well as the new. “We want to maybe challenge people’s paradigms of what wine drinking ought to be but also still delivering, in a very high level, to what people’s expectations already are. So the vision is to be a blend of those two thoughts.”

The Wine Mill will also have their own label varietal wines. “There’s going to be a Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and a Cabernet available in the very near future. After that, a reserve Napa Valley red wine as well,” Mazzone said. “The Wine Mill will be exploring some relationships, through me, that I’ve got with some great grape growers and great wine producers to commission them to produce wines for The Wine Mill that they’ll put their own personal label on,” he said. “They’ll be Ohio wines that aren’t necessarily grown in Ohio. Even though it’s not locally sourced produce, it’s going to be a locally sourced business.”

As for eventual plans for full scale winery at The Wine Mill, Mazzone said that the original vision was to begin as a winery but since achieving licensing permits can be lengthy process, the thinking became more long term. “My advice to them was to open up their doors, offer a niche product at a fair price, and do it in a really well-serviced way, and build a following.” Producing their own wines will be a marriage of local and bi-coastal. Planting grapes on the adjacent property will be the next phase. “There’s a lot of room there to do a few select varietals,” said Mazzone. “And anything else produced would be grapes sourced from other wine growing regions.”

For the menu, food items will be unique in presentation but designed to serve two or more. “Just like the song says, ‘one is the loneliest number’,” joked McClellan. “Everything we offer will be in quantities for the entire table to share,” he said. “We’ll also be featuring a selection of high-end cheeses because the wine deserves it.”

The tasting area, including an upstairs loft, and outdoor patio, can accommodate groups of up to 150 guests. The bordering eight acre property will have winding trails leading to a natural, wooded ceremony | event area furnished with chairs, tables, and fire pit. “We want to keep a natural, not manicured, feel,” said McLellan of the outdoor space.

Progressing from concept to construction to opening has been “a real learning experience,” said Cunningham. Pending permits and finishing touches, he estimates that The Wine Mill should be set to “open in mid-November.”

The Wine Mill ~ 4964 Akron-Cleveland Rd. Peninsula, OH, 44264

It’s such an exciting time for the Ohio wine industry. These two new wine ventures both share a vision and enthusiasm for the grape, as well as offering visitors fun and unique wine experiences, any time of year.

I wish them both the best of luck and can’t wait to stop by again to check out how things are going!

Cheers!

©TheWineStudent, 2014

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Up the Creek to Find a Hidden Gem

Up the Creek wine flight

Up the Creek wine flight

With the dog days of summer nipping at our heels, my friend, Shelly, and I decided to take a little road trip. The past few weeks had been incredibly busy for us and we needed to find a place that we could just relax, decompress, and sample some wine. Shelly was already familiar with Thorn Creek Winery, having planned an event with them last year but it was new to me ~ not that I ever need any arm twisting to check out a winery.

Located in Aurora, OH and only 30 minutes by car from downtown Cleveland, Thorn Creek, is a sweet ride to rustic charm, beautiful gardens and some nice wine. Established in 2005, owner David Thorn envisioned what would become the Thorn Creek experience; old world European ambience, blended with a casually elegant vibe.

Before we ordered our wine flight, we took a little tour of the gardens and winery. Down stairs was a beautiful event space that juxtaposed a smaller nightclub feel with the warmth of a winery cellar due, in part to the wooden casks that lined the walls. Outside, the gardens unfolded almost labyrinth like, winding casually from an old English courtyard, through a lanterned brick pathway to a tented waterfall garden wedding space.

Thorn Creek’s approach to winemaking includes purchasing select grape products from other wine growing regions around the country; then marrying those qualities with grapes native to Ohio. For our wine flight, we chose Up the Creek, which included Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Cab Sauvignon, Merlot,  Aurora Cream Red, and Aurora Cream White. We paired our wine samples with seasonal strawberry lettuce wraps and some amazing braised short rib sliders, which brought more depth to our wine selections.

My pick: the Pinot Grigio, which had a great honey-like vibe and texture. It paired beautifully with the strawberries, goat cheese and chocolate dusted almonds. Shelly liked the Cab reserve, which we had in addition to our flight. She found it had a slight pepper-y finish on its own but when paired with the sliders, awakened a more full bodied warmth.

One of the things I enjoy about life in Cleveland is the incredible variety of urban and rural experiences; both are cool in their own unique way. Nearby destinations like Thorn Creek give the experience of being at a Napa winery getaway without feeling like you’ve really left the city.

Cheers!

©TheWineStudent, 2014

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