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Ohio wines: find out what all of the fuss is about
Ohio wines have performed well on the national stage and have gotten some significant national press of late, and this weekend, you have an opportunity to see — well, taste — why, at the The National City Ohio WineFest.
The festival is scheduled for this Friday and Saturday at the National City 2nd Street Market at East Second and Webster streets, just east of downtown. It features the wines of 13 Ohio wineries. Festival-goers can order a taste, a glass, or a bottle of the wines offered.
Participating wineries come from all corners of the state and include Warren County’s Valley Vineyards, located in Morrow, and Darke County’s Winery at Versailles (the full list of 13 is below). One notable exception is Kinkead Ridge, which will not pour in the Dayton event and which has scaled back the weekends it’s open to the public because many of its wines are in limited supply.
Each day of the event has a slightly different feel. During “Preview Night” from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, June 6, adults pay $20 at the gate — $15 presale tickets are available at the market and at Dayton-area National City Bank branches — for 10 “sampling tickets” to taste wines (some tastes cost more than one ticket) in an atmosphere that includes live jazz. Attendees can purchase additional sampling tickets or buy wines by the glass — and they can keep the glass.
Designated drivers, by the way, can buy a $5 admission ticket and can buy full bottles of wine to go, but are not permitted to sample wines.
Saturday, June 7, is billed as a “family fun day” for the festival, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday’s admission is free; wine-tasting tickets are available, and wines are sold by the sample, glass or bottle.
The market’s regular merchants will be selling their locally produced vegetables, meats and breads, and other vendors will hold craft demonstrations. There will be a PT Cruiser Car Show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and live music is scheduled throughout the day. Festival organizers are promising Saturday activities “exciting for the entire family.”
Contact the market at (937) 228-2088 or click here for the market’s web site.
Here are the 2008 participating Ohio Wineries:
— Breitenbach Wine Cellars, Dover
— Chalet Debonne Vineyards, Madison
— Ferrante Winery, Geneva
— Firelands Winery, Sandusky
— Henke Winery, Cincinnati
— Meranda-Nixon Winery, Ripley
— Maize Valley Winery,Hartsville
— Mon Ami Winery, Port Clinton
— Saint Joseph Vineyard, Thompson
— Signature Wines, Columbus
— Winery at Versailles, Versailles
— Valley Vineyards, Morrow
— Woodstone Creek Winery, Cincinnati
How to Go
— What: National City Ohio WineFest
— When: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, June 6, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 7.
— Where: National City Second Street Market, 600 E. Second St. (at Webster Street)
— Why: To showcase Ohio wines
— Cost: $20 admission on Friday night ($15 presale tickets available at National City Bank branches through this afternoon); admission is free on Saturday. Wines can be purchased by the taste, glass or bottle.
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Comments
By patty
June 9, 2008 12:41 PM | Link to this
On the Ohio Wine Festival. Kinkead Ridge’s absence was noted but there were several wines I liked. The Firelands Pinot Grigio was my favorite locally grown wine and the new Signature Winery’s cab was nice too. It was too bad the weekend’s weather didn’t cooperate.By Nancy Bentley
June 4, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this
From Kinkead Ridge… We will truly miss being at the festival this year. Our production was impacted by the severe freeze in April of last year and we just don’t have wine available for sale. The Dayton Wine Festival is a first class event run by first class people, both National City Bank and the market staff. Although we can’t attend this year, we would love to participate next year. Be sure to visit a new attendee, Signature Wines, try their wines and say hi to Kelly Harvey, the owner and winemaker. We hope the festival is a huge success and that everyone has a wonderful time. I will miss the Hungarian cabbage rolls!By JLM
June 4, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this
Do you know why KincaidRidge is not a particpant? From their website: The 2007 Riesling and 2007 white Revelation (predominantly Roussanne) were released at the winery (904 Hamburg Street, 3 blocks behind McDonalds, east of downtown Ripley) on May 24 and May 26, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and are now sold out at the winery. A very limited amount of these wines will be made available to wine stores. Because of the Easter 2007 frost, very little inventory is available, fewer than 100 cases. My comment: Reds are not released until fall. And there are only limted quantities of recent years releases.By ed
June 4, 2008 12:28 AM | Link to this
Do you know why KincaidRidge is not a particpant?By Wanda
June 3, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this
All: For six years, it has been a great pleasure for National City to bring some of the finest wineries from across the state of Ohio to downtown Dayton. This not only provides an opportunity to enjoy some award-winning wines but also to become reacquainted with the National City 2nd Street Market. Keep in mind that each of these independent businesses (wineries and market vendors) provides locally produced products that support the Ohio — and Dayton — economies. We hope to see you there!By Mark Fisher
June 3, 2008 12:21 PM | Link to this
Richard: Yes, Ohio led the nation in wine production in 1860, mostly due to widespread plantings in the Cincinnati area along the Ohio River, according to the Ohio Wine Producers Association. The Sandusky area along Lake Erie and other parts of the Lake Erie coastline also produced wines in the 1800s.By Richard Shaffer
June 3, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this
Mark: is it true that in the mid-1800s, Ohio was the largest wine producing state in the USA? Richard