Illustration by Lars Leetaru
Let your gaze linger on this month’s cover or on the opening spread of our “Grape Expectations” section. As you see the sun set over these vineyards, can you imagine you’re in a fabulous wine region of Italy, France, or Portugal? Or you’re stopping by a family-owned winery in the Napa or Sonoma valleys? Or you’re just about any place other than Colerain Township?
If you think about it, drinking wine can be like a mini vacation. We’re fortunate to have dozens of retail outlets around town offering wines from far corners of the globe, exotic places like New Zealand and Chile and upstate New York. Take a sip of sparkling white Cava wine and taste crisp apple flavors from the Catalonia region near Barcelona, then transport yourself to late afternoon at a small sidewalk café in Spain. Can you feel the warm breeze? Much cheaper than an international flight and hotel reservations, with no TSA hassle.
You can also enjoy a staycation by checking out wine produced in this part of the world. We’re all trying to buy local as often as possible, so why not bring home Midwestern versions of chardonnay, Riesling, and merlot bottled in our necks of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky? You’ll probably be surprised to learn there are more than 25 working wineries in our region, many of which offer tours and tasting rooms. It’s a thriving little industry that—like everyone who tends the land and supplies our food—could use more support.
Lots of us love local history, so you can focus on the fact that these wineries are heirs to a rich history of wine production in Cincinnati, especially with Nicholas Longworth and his vineyards in Mt. Adams, Walnut Hills, and Columbia-Tusculum. There was a time in the mid-1800s that Cincinnati was the country’s winemaking capital, until the hillsides were developed for housing (and Eden Park) after Longworth’s death.
Of course, you can just pour a glass of your favorite wine, kick back, not think about any of these geography or history lessons, and forget the problems of the day. There doesn’t have to be a reason to partake. No whining, just wining.
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