For Valentine’s Day this year I tried out my latest discovery. I recently met Cheryl Sher, owner of Sher Bliss wine and chocolate shop in Columbus, Ohio. She makes chocolates from a recipe that has been in her family for years, and also sells wine. It would only make sense to combine the two, right? Bliss in a Bottle is her creation: a bottle of wine dipped in chocolate! What could be better than pairing two of my favorite things? These bottles are so artfully done that you can still read the label. Mine is a sparkling Cabernet Sauvignon from Italy. It was dipped in dark chocolate and absolutely delicious! There are milk and white chocolate options as well. Cheryl says they are even beginning to add mint and raspberry to the chocolate so that it will better pair with the wine.

I had never tried a sparkling cab before and it was really interesting. This Altana Perlage Frizzante is organically grown and 11.5% alcohol It was dry and had all the characteristics of a regular cab: dark fruit, very rich, a hint of vanilla oak on the finish, and had just a hint of sweetness.

The bottle is covered in celophane so that the chocolate bits are caught there for you to enjoy instead of all over a counter top or floor. There are two strings underneath the chocolate that pop out above the bottle for easy cracking. ( I would have taken a video but I was sans makeup this particular evening; and I’m not out to frighten anyone) My friend Ryann and I had a nice dinner and followed up with this bottle for dessert. It was so pretty! And there was only one rule: we can’t leave anything in the bottle. Why would we?  

To find out more about Sher Bliss, or to visit the store front visit                                                                       http://sherbliss.com

http://blissinabottle.com

The Ohio State University v. Michigan college football game is arguably the biggest football clash in both states. Recently my friend has decided to put together a blind wine clash consisting of wines from both states.

Story adapted from an earlier published piece at www.supplewine.com

by Emma Criswell
published: 11 Nov 2009

As I sat down at the judges’ table, I noticed that in addition to being the only judge under 35, I was one of only two women on the 8-person Ohio half of the panel. I quickly realized what everyone means when they say wine is a man’s world.

The event was organized by my friend, Andrew Hall, who throws an Ohio/Michigan wine clash every year to coincide with a big football rivalry: Ohio State University and University of Michigan. Andrew contacts wineries from both Ohio and Michigan and selects 11 wines from each state (which matches the number of players on the field for each team in a football game) for a blind tasting. There are two legs of judging: one in Columbus, Ohio and the second in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Andrew then compiles the results from each tasting and averages them to determine a winner. The judging I participated in was held at the Twisted Vine wine shop in Columbus.

This was the first wine competition I was asked to judge. It was all very new to me, and it’s probably new to many of you as well. Here’s how it went. There were three flights of tastings: red, white and dessert. We judged on many different facets, such as color, aroma, bouquet, taste on the palate and finish. We totaled up the points for each wine, took notes and then came up with a first, second and third choice for each flight. At the end of the tasting, we picked our overall favorites, regardless of which flights they came from.

It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

I must say I was very nervous and intimidated when I first arrived at the event. The other judges, who were all from out of town, were talking about various champagne brands and saying they were surprised that we could have them shipped to Ohio. It was an intimidating conversation to walk into, and I felt like I had no idea what I was doing there. However, once we got through the first flight of wines and began to discuss them, I noticed that most of the things I liked and disliked about the wines were similar to what the other judges pointed out. I gained the confidence I needed to give more input and to get to know the judges.

A few days after the event ended I read the press release announcing results from the clash, and I was very pleased to see that the wine that won the competition was also my personal favorite: Longview Winter Ice 2007 (Dessert Wine) Leelanau Peninsula MI. The wine was very well done; everything about it was outstanding, from the liqueur to the finish.

The Ohio leg of the wine clash was really incredible and was a wonderful experience. The whole event was very well planned and orchestrated with very intelligent judges. I hope to have the chance to take part in many more competitions like this in the future.  In the end, Michigan won the wine clash, but Ohio won the football game.

For the full 2009 Ohio vs Michigan Wine Clash results, click here.

My roommate brought me home three bottles of wine and a copy of Wine and Spirits Quarterly today, I’m also getting ready to throw a dinner party and I’m being asked if friends should bring the wine. That doesn’t seem out of the ordinary, it’s just made me realize that I am the “wine friend.” I am frequently asked what kind of wines to pair with food, what wines to try when someone is just getting into wine, and friends have realized that the mere mention of wine will get my attention. It’s gotten to the point where people who are just getting to know me realize my passion for wine.  I had mentioned to a friend that I went to a bar I didn’t particularly like the night before, he responded by telling me that the bar had good wine. (The bar doesn’t really have good wine, he was just telling me that to see if I would change my mind because of wine.) I even met with a professor who I am a teaching assistant for to discuss a class and ended up having to feed the meter so he and I could talk more about wine.

I feel like the Wino of OU because I’m always the one holding the wine glass when everyone else has the red plastic cups; because I’m getting to the point where I can recommend starter wines to people; because I talk about it so frequently that friends have purchased Wine for Dummies just to keep up with me; because for my house warming party I am hosting a wine tasting; and I could go on.

So how did I get to this place, the place of loving Cab when at first I thought Riesling was a little too dry? How did I get to the point of shameless self promotion of both my wine articles at The Second Glass and this blog? Where else? It started right here at OU!

A professor of mine, who has become a dear friend thought it was a cool idea to let us try wines from the areas we were learning about. Naturally, I didn’t really like the wine he brought in at first, but I thought it was fascinating and set out to find out how it was made. From there I began to learn about the wine making process and the different grapes and purchased lots of wine information books. I approached the world of wine a bit differently and discreetly at first because my family doesn’t drink wine and they didn’t appreciate my growing love for it, I had no one to teach me or recommend anything to me.  I then reached out on Twitter. I began reading the tweets of sommeliers and would Google the wine, I would make myself try all different whites and reds, I’d write my own tasting notes that I could understand, and then I began to write for The Second Glass. That gave me a lot of opportunity to try wines that I wouldn’t normally have known anything about and meet people in the wine industry who I otherwise wouldn’t have.

Now I will mention something about a wine and have to stop and ask myself “How did I know that?” I soak up the wine biz like a sponge, I’m only starting to get into it, but I know this is my true passion. I have already left my heart and many great friends in wine country. I can only hope to continue with my knowledge and teach my friends about this world so I won’t be the only one drinking shiraz at the party.

Raven’s Glenn winery is only about an hour from my house, but I had never been there. I began noticing their bottles every where from wine shops to restaurants to gas stations around SE Ohio, and I wanted to check them out. I set up a meeting/interview with the owner, Bob Guilliams and had a fantastic time. Talking to him for an hour is like taking a wine class: fantastic.

“Our aim at The Second Glass is to demystify wine.” I proudly proclaimed to Raven’s Glenn owner, Bob Guilliams. “I’m so glad you said that!” he replied and then happily told me that this was the same goal he and his wife had in mind when they began this amazing winery 6 years ago.

Bob and his wife Renee wanted to make wine more approachable, especially to Midwesterners. The idea for the winery and restaurant came to them after several ski trips to California that ended up in Napa and Sonoma California. “We know that only about 20% of people who enjoy wine really know a lot about it, and we wanted to make wine more accessible to the other 80%.”

The Guilliams’ make sure to put the customer first, and stay true to their comfortable and accessible atmosphere. The on-site restaurant makes you feel like you’ve walked into Napa, without ever leaving Ohio. The vineyard is seated on the Tuscarawas River across from a golf course. Bob says he loves this because he never has to worry about the neighbors forgetting to mow their grass.

I was lucky enough to schedule our interview on not only a bottling, but also a vine planting day. As we walked into the winery I was immediately hit in the face by the smell of wine, “ahhh heaven”, I thought as we made our way past the bottling machines, a quick hello to Bob’s son, and on to his office. I felt like I was taking a wine class listening to him, he had really done his research, and learned all he could about wine and which wines grow best in our varied climate here in Ohio; reiterating that he had to learn the hard way. He checked out many books and films, but knows that wine is more of a science than an art and their resident oenologist, Tony, really helped him when the winery first opened.

He bases all he does at the winery around Robert Mondavi’s theory that people who taste the fruit will enjoy the wine. “When we started, we understood from research that about 80% of consumers prefer a modest amount of sweetness to their wines so it was only practical that we address that element of the market.” Bob tells me.

He has seen a modest shift in what sells over the years and attributes this to the changing palates of their customers. According to statistical nationwide surveys, wine consumption has been growing between 4 and 6 % yearly. This is evident when he tells me that Raven’s Glenn has gone from producing 1500 gallons 6 years ago to 60,000 gallons yearly today. They come out with between 19-21 wines each year and will gladly change a wine or stop producing one to meet their customer’s needs. “This year, we are removing the white zinfandel and replacing it with a white merlot.”

I noticed that their ice wine was only sold in 375 ML bottles and cost more than the larger bottles of wine; I asked him why this was. “Because many of the grapes end up on the ground.” This is because to qualify for “Ice Wine” the grapes must be harvested during December or January to qualify for this unique dessert wine that is distinctive to this region of the United States.” “Oh! So is that why some wines are more expensive? They have fewer grapes to make it with?” I asked. “This is certainly the case with Ice Wine but can also be the case to a slightly different degree with other wines. It makes since that the lower the tonnage per acre of grapes you let the vines produce from a given field, the better the quality if growing conditions are uniform. Most times, when you want to make a better quality wine you need to have less tonnage of grapes, and that also translates into a higher price.”

“So, which wine is your favorite?” “I try not to drink all that much of our own wine.” Bob said as he smiled back at me. I was astonished! “You don’t drink your own wine?! Why?!” He then explained he didn’t want to get what was called ‘cellar palate’. This happens when a vintner exclusively drinks his or her own wine; they begin to think that theirs is the best. “I didn’t want to close my world to other wines. The way I know is by entering our wines into as many international wine competitions as we can afford. If we win something, then I know it’s a good wine.” Obviously, they have a lot of good wines. Looking over their wine list, there are less than 5 that haven’t won an award at least once. Mr. Guilliams is a modest man.

To conclude our wine class, I mean, interview I asked about the front page of their web site touting the title “Ohio’s Crown Jewel of Wineries.” “It came from a customer!” Guilliams said this man had come in one weekend and explained that he had been to many other wineries around Ohio, and that Raven’s Glenn was unique. A crown jewel of wineries, and the name stuck. Very fitting, I say. I have never felt more comfortable around wine than when I was here.

Mondavi says good wine is made better with good food, so after our interview I decided to stay for some lunch and a wine tasting. I’m so glad I did, I got the VIP treatment if there ever was one! It wasn’t just me though, I watched the employees interact the same way with all of their customers from my prime real estate table looking out onto the Tuscarawas River.

I had a wonderful lunch of wedding soup (secret recipe of the chef, he came out to tell me so), a lovely 3 meat lasagna, a glass of their two time gold medal winning chardonal, and just when I thought I could eat no more, my waitress came out and talked me into a chocolate chip canoli! I then tasted their dry wine “Flight” and was very impressed. It is a classic “wine tasting bar” style atmosphere, the employees stand in front of you and explain what you’re drinking. Bob explained the reason for this sort of tasting: “We don’t want to be in your face. We talk across to you, not down to you. Most importantly we want you to take your knowledge home.”

If you’d like to check out their wine list, complete with my personal favorite, White October Chardonnel, click here http://www.ravensglenn.com/wine_list

Their restaurant also has a cool feature pairing both a sweet and a dry wine with each meal to accomadate every palate.

Being from Ohio, it only made sense to research Ohio wines. I thought I would find a few, but there are many a winery in Ohio. This brief article of mine was published at The Second Glass a little while ago.

“For the richest and best,
Is the wine of the West,
That grows by the Beautiful River,
Whose sweet perfume
Fills all the room,
With a benison on the giver.”

That was an excerpt from an early 1800’s poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called “An Ode to Catawba Wine”. Think he’s referring to Cali? No. Washington? Uh uh. That poem is all about Ohio wine. That’s right, Ohio. It was considered “the West” at the time the poem was written, and the Buckeye state boasted the best wine in the US during the days of western expansion. Ohio means ‘beautiful river’ in the Catawba Indian language. The grape is actually thought to have originated in the Catawba River valley in North Carolina. That river named the grape, and the grape, in turn named the wine. Fun little progression there, huh?

The Ohio wine industry began booming when Nicholas Longworth of Cincinnati realized the Ohio River valley would be a great place for wine making. He planted a huge crop of Catawba grapes in 1820. These grapes are very hearty and able to withstand the cold climate and rough winters the state normally has. By 1840, Ohio was producing 300,000 gallons of wine annually, and in 1860 the state led the nation producing 1/3 of all wine. However, it all went downhill from there. Crop diseases such as black rot and mildew wilted the vineyards, and with the Civil War going on, wineries lost a lot of man power. I know what you’re thinking: “yeah, because the slaves were gone.” Nope! Ohio was a free state remember! Stop thinking so negatively.

All was not lost for Ohio wines, even when prohibition forced wineries still in operation to switch to juice making, or sacramental wines—sure, sure— Lake Erie wines began to flourish. A long growing season, coupled with a fluctuation of German immigrants skilled at wine making allowed the area to once again become a contender in wine. Ohio Riesling even won Best Of Show at the San Francisco State Fair Wine Competition!

Today, there are five documented wine regions, along with countless other areas not officially named where wine is made in Ohio. There are 109 licensed wineries that produce 750,000 gallons of wine valued at $75 million.

They have come a long way from the early 1800’s and Catawba grape wine. The regions, output, types of wine, and of course, prices have changed. One thing remains the same: wonderful wine is still grown by the “beautiful river.”