If I elaborated on how much my life has changed in this past year I could write a book. Come to think of it, I have been toying with the idea of a memoir….Back to reality.

I just changed my Master’s concentration yesterday, which is why I felt the need for this post. Originally I was accepted into the Media Studies program focusing on children’s television education. I then branched that out to include public relations as I got more and more into wine. Yesterday I bumped into my adviser and we got to talking about how much I love the wine industry and everything I’m doing with it as far as The Second Glass, this blog, and one more surprise that I will get into soon. She suggested that I move my study over to Media and Cultural Studes, focusing on wine culture specifically. I am switching advisers to someone who knows a lot about wine, culture, history, and is a self professed foodie. I think my college experience is getting better by the day…

Looking back a year ago I had basically nothing to do with wine. I still drank it at parties and get togethers, but to think that I would crave shiraz a year later was unthinkable. I received my undergrad in Broadcast Journalism, all I had ever wanted to do was become a reporter; or at least that’s what I thought I had always wanted to do. By the end of my college career, I really wanted to explore other media options such as magazine writing and PR, but I had too many credits to change and too few prerequisites to make any difference.

I graduated, and couldn’t get a job for 5 months. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because in this time I discovered Twitter, The Second Glass and my new love of wine. I was forced to try red wines when a dear friend of mine began taking me to weekly lunches and exposing me to his 30+ years of wine knowledge and vintages. To say I didn’t appreciate it was an understatement; I could barely handle it at the time! That’s when I really fell head over heels. The more I decided to dive into the world of wine, the more I wanted to learn and the more I wanted to experience.

It’s funny to say, but wine has made me brave. Not brave in the hitting on men at a bar while drunk with wine sense, but brave in the trying new things sense. I was able to go to California for two weeks because I wanted to write an article about it, I can go into restaurants and realize the tastes of the people in that area from the wine list, I can go to a wine shop and know what I like and be willing to try new vintages and grapes. All of this came from me applying to get my Master’s. After being pretty lost in the sudden economic downturn and massive joblessness in the country, to know what I was going to be doing in a year gave me a lot of confidence to go out and live. Boy have I lived, and boy have things changed!

Now that I’ve done my 360 spin from newscaster to wino extroadinaire I’m ready for the next year. Once I finish my study I want to go to Egypt for a month, then visit Rome and Greece with my best friend. After that, you won’t be able to move me from Ohio to California fast enough. Let’s see what changes I have to make on that prediction a year from now…..

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.

If you know me at all, you know I love Ancient Egypt. I have been fascinated with the land of the pharaohs since I was 4 years old and my father brought me home a picture book. I cannot tell you how many papers I’ve written and classes I’ve taken just knowing that I would get to write and learn more about Egypt. When I found out from my friend Vincent Brown (@bennu on Twitter) that an ancient wine cellar had been found with the first king of Egypt, I had to jump at the chance to write about it. With that, here is my article about The King Wino: Scorpion I…

When Egyptian Pharaohs were buried, their most prized possessions went with them. Pharaoh had a cat? Poor kitty was killed and buried along with its master. Pharaoh had a favorite servant? You better bet they came too! These kings were buried with all their prized possessions: money, art, statues, toys, and clothing. Thanks to a recent discovery, we now know they were also buried with wine cellars. That’s right! King Scorpion I, was buried with an entire wine cache! Don’t you wish you could have that same luxury?! Well, minus the dead cats and organs in jars.

This discovery changes everything historians previously thought about Egyptian wine making. Scorpion reigned over 5000 years ago, centuries earlier that the perceived inception of Egyptian wines. The wine that Scorpion was sipping isn’t your normal wine, however.

Residues inside clay pots in his cache suggest he was savoring spiked wine. This stuff was loaded with herbs for medicinal purposes. You must remember that in 3150 B.C. Egyptians couldn’t run to the drug store for ailments, they had to take care of them naturally. Herbs dissolved very well in liquids, especially wine and beer. These same practices were also followed in China, Rome and Greece.

These Egyptians knew their stuff. Not only did the various herbs, flowers, and tree resins add to the overall flavor, they also worked quite well. Researchers and archaeologists are currently studying the residue in Scorpion’s wine jars to see if they can replicate the ancient recipes. The team hopes to see if they’re worth their salt in today’s world. Lead archaeologist Patrick McGovern is anxious to see if these herbal wines could aid in treatment and prevention of modern diseases and cancer.

Additionally, my favorite love poem came from this period of time, and it mentions pomegranate wine. While archaeologists don’t know if any of these wines were pomegranate as of yet, it’s still fitting to share because it means something to me.

Saam-Plants Here Summon Us

Saam-plants here summon us,

I am your sister, your best one;

I belong to you like this plot of ground

That I planted with flowers

And sweet-smelling herbs.

Sweet is its stream,

Dug by your hand,

Refreshing in the north wind.

A lovely place to wander in,

Your hand in my hand.

My body thrives, my heart exults

At our walking together;

Hearing your voice is pomegranate wine,

I live by hearing it.

Each look with which you look at me sustains me more than food and drink

While on Twitter one day I ran across Salud Spa Bar. Intrigued by the name, I checked out the web site. They specialize in a flight of “wine scents” developed by Salud’s creator, Kelly Podorsek as a solution to being cautioned against wearing perfume to wine tastings. This, I know a lot about, having had many a sommelier asking “who is wearing vanilla?” followed by an irritated look; I wanted to try these scents. As any true wino knows, perfume can interfere with the bouquet of wine at a tasting. That’s the beauty of these, they are created for and do enhance the bouquet of the wine. “Wear your Salud perfume while sipping your favorite glass of wine.” I can say that these fragrances have never interfered with a bouquet while I was sipping.

I sent Kelly a message, and she graciously sent me a flight of samples. They come in Chardonnay (my favorite), Syrah, Riesling, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc. Each scent is made from fragrance oil that soaks into your skin, rather than laying on it like a normal mist perfume.

As I said, I love Vanilla and Chardonnay smells amazing on me. I understand that fragrances smell differently depending on your body chemistry, but I have never had so many compliments on a single fragrance. Sure I’ve received compliments from friends on various fragrances, but never so many for the same one. Salud spa bar can be found here. You can order a sample, 1/3 ounce for $22, or $34 for a 2.6 ounce bottle.

Where else can you go where you can not only grab some lunch and buy a designer dress that costs more than a case of wine while trying out 26 tasting rooms? Healdsburg’s square of course, and I accomplished all three of those tasks. The designer dress added to the whole wine tasting experience, of course. At least that’s what I’ve been telling myself…

Anyway, Healdsburg square is a really eclectic place, complete with tasting rooms, boutiques, bookstores, coffee shops and even a soap company. I had the good fortune to be there on a Saturday when the Healdsburg farmer’s market is also going on, and I got to see another side of the town. While there I stopped into several different tasting rooms, but if I had to pick there are two who stand out in my mind: Toad Hollow and Artiste.

Toad Hollow

I knew I had found a fun place when I walked in and asked for Jim. The gentleman I later found out to be Jim began explaining to me that he was in fact, Debbie and Jim was the woman standing next to him. This fun attitude carries over to the wine. Everything from Risqué sparkling with a toad dancing the can-can on the label to their award winning Rose of Pinot Noir: Eye of the Toad. Jim shared with me the best winery mission statement I have ever heard: “People want value, and they also want good one. One of the missions of Toad Hollow is to provide both.” Especially in today’s economy, we want good wine and a good price. Their Dry Pinot Noir Rose was voted best value by Wine Spectator at under $10 a bottle.

From Toad Hollow I made my way over to Artiste. Everyone I spoke with told me I had to go there and meet the winemaker, Bion Rice. Inside the tasting room I think there is just as much art as there is wine; even on the bottles. Artiste picks an impressionist painting to showcase on their wines. The label explaining what the wine, where it comes from, and who created that particular painting is located on the back.

One of the aspects I enjoyed most of Artiste’s tasting room was the “Artiste Tasting Palette” that consists of a small bite of food to pair with the wine you taste. Another note about Artiste that set it apart from the rest is that they will not create tasting notes for their wines. As I tasted butterscotch on the finish of the mourvedre, I was told that was expressly one of the reasons tasting notes are not written; because each palate is different, and very impressionable.

From Artiste, I drove back into Dry Creek, past the general store, and up to Family wineries where Amphora is located. I was first drawn in by the name. I am a lover of ancient history; especially Greek and Egyptian. The amphora is a long piece of pottery with two handles originating in Greece.  The winemaker, Rick Hutchinson was as great as his wine. He has expanded his award winning wine list since the winery’s inception in 1997 to include everything from Chardonnay to Cabernet Sauvignon. I went to visit twice here, and the second time Rick was making custom blends for me out of his barrels according to the wines I said I liked the best. What a guy!

This was the best part of my experience in wine country, I loved the Dry Creek Valley, and what I loved most wasn’t the wine (GASP) it was the people. Of course the overall wine experience was more than I ever could have dreamed of the people were the ones who made the wine tastings fun, they were the ones who told me the best wineries and tasting rooms to go to, they were the ones who showed me around and took me to dinner. As I’ve told my friends, I have never felt so at home. I’d honestly move out there tomorrow if I didn’t have another year left of grad school. Wine is my passion, and it can only keep growing if I’m surrounded by winos like myself.

I have never been more upset to leave a place than I was to leave wine country in California. Never before have I taken a vacation purely for myself, on my own, and for my own benefit. Never before have I just traveled around, met new people and not been afraid of what comes next. I did it this time; and it has been one of the best experiences of my life.

I found the most incredible network of friends in Sonoma County, CA. Specifically, my dear friend, Jim Morris. He introduced me to some great people, great wine, and most importantly took me under his wing and gave me VIP treatment among these vineyards I had never seen before.

Sure, I drove through Napa, I saw all the big wine makers like Gallo and Mondavi, but the Dry Creek Valley really captured my heart. I fit in so well there, sharing stories with people who impart upon my passion for wine. I felt like I fit in there more than I fit in here in Ohio. I fell in love with wine country and its people; so much so that I cried on my drive to the airport.

The first winery I went to was Bella. Bella started in 1995, and is primarily run by Scott and Lynn Adams. Who, like me fell in love with Dry Creek and purchased land to begin wine making. The winery is made up of four vineyards:, Big River Ranch, Lily Hill Estate, Bell Canyon Vineyard, and Two Patch which is made up of what else? Two patches of vineyard. As we arrived we walked through the courtyard, replete with hula hoops and picnic mats, past the safari truck that takes guests to the top of the vineyards and into their wine caves. Bella has their tasting room inside their wine caves, which really adds to the aesthetics of the whole experience. As you taste you can see the barrels and candelabras beyond their doors while you escape the heat of a summer’s day. We then took a ride up to the top of the vineyards and tasted some Bella Petit Sirah that hadn’t been released to the public yet. The view also wasn’t too shabby. I wouldn’t mind spending my days here.

From Bella, we went to Jim’s current, and my future place of employment: Michel-Schlumberger. Schlumberger is an organic winery, and is also extremely beautiful. It brings to mind a Spanish mission as you wander around the property. There are flowers, vegetables, and even a lake to check out as you sip your wine. I spent several days here, even helping to re-vamp their wine club flier and suggesting the Coteaux to visitors who thought I already worked there. The winemaker, Mike Brunson seems to be a very knowledgeable, approachable guy; however, I didn’t get to know him that well during my time at the winery. Hopefully I can talk more in depth with him upon future visits. I have so much to say about this winery; I’ll post on it specifically soon.

I then went to Healdsburg’s square, bought an extremely expensive dress, and went wine tasting. More on this later…..

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.”