We are excited to announce that we will be partnering with Slow Food Columbus to offer an exclusive, full-day tour of the wineries of the Ohio River Valley. We will see where and how some of the best Ohio wines are made, learn about the history of Ohio wine, and taste a wide variety of wines.
This scenic and educational tour will include tastings at four wineries, souvenir wine glasses, lunch, dinner, and transportation, as well as wine with dinner. Dinner will be at the farm-to-table-focused Wildflower Café in Mason, Ohio, where local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients are used to create classy comfort food. The tour is amazing value at $99 for a one of a kind day.
We will leave downtown Columbus at 8:30 a.m. and return after dinner. The wineries we will be visiting are:
Kinkead Ridge—Ron Barret and Nancy Bentley sold their lauded Oregon vineyards and came to edge of the Ohio River with a mission – make wines worthy of the area’s lost fame. If national and international press is the metric, they succeeded. Their whites are always strong and their red Bordeaux blend, Revelation, has been Ohio’s top wine in every Ohio vs Michigan Wine Clash.
Valley Vineyards—Valley Vineyards just celebrated its 40th anniversary and remains a pioneer in the recapturing the viticultural history of the Ohio River Valley. Now run by the third generation of the Schuchter family (their roots in Morrow are deeper than the vines!), Valley produces a complete range of wines from refreshing light whites to full-bodied and ageable Cabernet Sauvignons as well as ice wines and port.
Meranda-Nixon—The story of Meranda-Nixon has been featured in the Wall Street Journal as Seth Meranda and Tina Nixon revitalized their family tobacco farm by turning to viticulture. In just a few years they have become a quality leader in Ohio wines with a variety of wines from a surprisingly lovely pink Catawba (a throwback to the area’s original viticultural fame) to Chardonnay and full-throttle Cabernet Sauvignon which has fooled people into thinking it was from Napa.
La Vigna—The newest winery in the area, the picturesque La Vigna has come on strong with just two vintages released. Simply named White and Red, these wines from classic French varieties are continuing to uphold the new standard of quality in the Ohio River Valley.
