Local winery in jeopardy

Myrddin Winery, which is owned by one of my church's parishioners (and a worship associate, to boot), is having some trouble with keeping their doors open due to disputes by neighbors who do not want a "bar" in their neighborhood. The first and only time I visited this winery--after church one Sunday with some of my fellow winos--I was greeted with the rather offensive sign at the beginning of the road that read, "Winos Go Home." As I traveled down this neighborhood towards the winery, various neighbors had signs reading, "Would you want a bar in your back yard?"

Yes, I thought indignantly, I would. Especially a winery. It sure as hell would make my whole life easier. I could have my wine and stumble home without driving. Of course, I'd probably become an alcoholic... At least when I have some driving distance to a winery, I can limit my use. Sort of.

"Winos" are not a particularly loud, drunken group. I would hardly qualify a winery as a bar. I've never seen drunken fights or ludicrious posturing taking place in a winery. It's the safest place for a single gal to go without worrying about being hit on my cheesy guys with cheesy pick-up lines.

Still, I guess the neighbors have the right to complain. It sounds like the owners of Myrddin are trying to jump through a legal loophole and, by the strictest letter of the law, I suppose they don't have much of a case. It's sad because this winery is located on beautiful property next to Lake Milton and they do serve some great wine (they have a sparkling merlot that is totally great and unique--something fun for the holidays). I am wondering what is meant by "limiting" their business. I hope they're still allowed to sell, but I bet they do better money when they have traffic sitting around and drinking on the premises.

Berghold Merlot

On Saturday, the bf and I went to a performance of the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls for my company's picnic. I decided this was the perfect moment to open the bottle of Berghold Estate Winery's Merlot that I purchased while visiting Lodi, California in May. I remembered that this was a nice semi-dry red with a slight oakey aroma and flavor that I enjoy in reds (but care not for in whites so much). So determined that I must preserve the experience in its entirety, I purchased some plastic wine glasses from BB&B an hour before leaving my house for the event. I just felt that normal disposable glasses was going to do a terrible injustice to the experience of this wine.

Well, my memory of the wine served me well. The aroma was strong but pleasant after I let it breathe a little in its glass (though plastic it was). It seemed to pair okay with the light sandwiches that we had for dinner--especially since the chicken salad sandwich was lightly flavored with dry berries. The wine didn't overpower the food at all.

I wish I would have remembered the particular flavor of the wine... I've gotta get better at writing notes as I am drinking the wine rather than reflecting later on a taste that has long since been washed from my tongue. Suffice it to say, however, that the wine was memorable enough as an enjoyable experience that I would definitely buy it again.

I know Lodi has a reputation for being the cheaper, less refined wine region of California. My cousin states, though, that the area is coming into its own these days. It's hard to believe Lodi would ever have a bad reputation, for two of my favorite wines come from this region: Earthquake Zin and 7 Deadly Zins (both bottled by the same winemaker, Michael & David Family). Perhaps I'm just not a good enough wine-drinker to distinguish greatness from Greatness. But I always accolade and buy the wines that taste good to me.

Apology for abandonment

Hey, all... Sorry that I've not updated this blog in awhile. It's not that I've not been drinking wine; I simply have not been drinking new ones to rave about yet. I know, I know--I should get in the habit of categorizing and describing all the wines that I drink. I do have a few bottles--a Merlot and a Zinfandel--that I acquired from a winery in Lodi, CA when I visited in May. As soon as I open these bottles, a review will be written. (I did drink them at the winery, but did not have tasting notes with which to describe their aroma and flavor, and since it's been a few months, I simply remember liking them.)

I did revisit Emerine Estates to try their Deja Vu, which I did find very good. A write-up is due as soon as I open that bottle I brought home. It's easier for me to take conscientious note of the wines when I am at home and by my computer.

Right now I have two bottles of wine open: a Chalet Debonne Merlot and a Emerine Estates Caramel Apple. The Caramel Apple is borders on being too sweet for me, but I did open it for a party I had last weekend because I knew my friends would enjoy it (probably more than me). The Debonne Merlot is okay--Ohio is not the best producer of good Merlots--and I knew it was going to be this way, but I got the bottle for free from a bicycle tour in the Ohio wine country that I rode last year. Though, I have to say that by Ohio standards, it's a drinkable Merlot--not too desperately dry in that "dead" way that I often attribute to Merlot from the northeast states. It's fine, but not something I'd go out of my way to buy. No, Debonne does a much, much better pinot noir-syrah blend that I love. They also have a great Chamborcin.

Anyway... not much detail there, I know. Maybe later when I'm near a wine bottle. Tonight it's back to the Winery at Wolf Creek for an picnic dinner and drink (inspired by the description of my friend Diane's recent birthday visit there with her husband).

I'm a space cowboy

The boyfriend and I visited The Winery at Wolf Creek last Saturday. This is a local winery we occasionally visit (and where we had our first date!). Every time we go, there's a wine that wasn't previously on the list, which is good because they seem to sell out pretty quickly on some of their other wines by the end of the winter. Could it be because it's so close to civilization and we Ohioans have nothing to do all winter but drink? Anyway, this time, we discovered a little gem called Space Cowboy.

Now, yeah, being Mars Girl and a sometimes amateur astronomer, I admit to being partial to space-themed alcohol, food, theatre, rides, runs, etc., etc. But I was a in wine snob mode and a little incredulous about trying another fruit wine. The little siren in my head was screaming, Sweet! Sweet! Stay away!

However, the spacey name, along with the label of cowboy strandling a peach in front of a star-filled background, called to me so I asked for a sample... and was happily surprised. This wine was very smooth with only hints of peach amidst a base that tasted to me like a semi-sweet Riesling. It had a dry finish.

We drank a bottle and the pleasantness lasted throughout...

A visit to Emerine Estates Winery

A lot of wine snobs will pass up a fruit wine because it generally tends to be overly sweet. I admit that in the past I have snubbed wineries that made fruit wine. However, the day I stumbled upon Emerine Estates in Cherry Valley, Ohio, my prejudice against fruit wine was put to an abrupt end. Jason Emerine, the wine maker and owner (obviously) of Emerine, crafts some lovely sweet to semi-dry fruit wines that do not assault your pallet with sugar and maintain the best aspects of the fruit's flavor. Emerine states the purity of flavor in his wines is due to using organic compounds rather than chemicals in the fermentation process. Having a background in chemistry and physics, Emerine explained that he tries to find natural sources to create the chemical reactions required to make the alcohol component in the wine. He definitely accomplishes this feat.

My personal favorites in the repertoire are: Tropical Paradise, Country Apple Riesling, and Hunters Cranberry. For something special, when you're in the mood for something more unique to bring to a party, the Caramel Apple and Apple X-Cider are really fun, albeit more on the sweet side. If you're a real wine drinker, the Country Concord will annoy you, but delight your "uncultured," once-in-a-blue-moon-wine-drinking friends.

On my most recent visit to the winery (last Saturday), I learned that Emerine is crafting some new traditional wines to capture some traffic from the wine snobs with the distaste for fruit wine. Coming soon is a double Cabernet Sauvignon he's calling Deja Vu. I'm highly interested in this wine and will be returning in a few months when it is ready to try.

He's also been working with a coffee and vanilla flavored wine called Aphrodisiac. I did try this one, but feel it needs more work--the coffee overpowers the lighter spices he added such as the vanilla and nutmeg. If he can figure out a way to tone down the coffee, he might have something. My current favorite coffee wine is a coffee orange wine called Midnight Sun from this winery in Florida. I have faith that Emerine can outdo this beauty with his skills... but he hasn't gotten there yet!

I also discovered that Emerine already makes some traditional wines he won't be selling on his regular menu... he apparently creates wines for another local winery (he can't name who). I tried a Johannesburg Riesling that was out of this world. In fact, I was able to purchase an unlabeled bottle. I'm excited to try it again, as I was a little inebriated when I tried, which never helps in distinguishing the realness of a flavor.

I think that we should expect to see some exciting things from Emerine in the future. He says he has over 100 wine recipes in his head that he would like to rotate on and off his wine list. I'm excited to taste what he has in store!