Put-in-Bay Wine Festival

If you needed another reason to enjoy a fall Saturday at Put-in-Bay, this is it. The fifth annual Put-in-Bay Wine Festival is Saturday, October 4, from 11am to 6pm.

The Festival features more than 200 wines, many of them from Lake Erie wineries, including Put-in-Bay's own Heineman Winery. There'll also be live entertainment, food from island restaurants (including chocolate dipped grapes), and a silent auction.

Admission is $5 plus $1 tasting tickets. Wine samples are from 1 to 8 tickets. The Put-in-Bay Wine Festival is being held in DeVivera Park, in the heart of downtown Put-in-Bay. For more information, call 419 285-2213.

^{(photo credit: istockphoto)}

Free Downloadable Wine Book

Best Deal Magazines is currently offering "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wine" as a downloadable version for free. The guide is currently off of print in bound form, but is loaded with good advice on how to select, taste, and collect wine. Although aimed at the beginning wine lover, there's sure to be something of interest to the experienced sipper also.

To download your copy, visit the Best Deal Magazines Web site.

Halloween Costumes for Wine Lovers

Halloween is only a little over a month away. It's time to start thinking about your costume. Did you know that there are several wine-related costumes available? Consider the following:

Purple Grape Costume (pictured at left)
The Grape costume includes short grapes tunic and purple leaf hat. Available in Adult size Medium.


Pinot Wine Box Costume (pictured at right) - Costume is Polyester laminated onto foam for a very durable costume you can use year after year. One size fits most.

Vineyard Vixen (pictured at bottom left) - Costume includes Includes a purple and maroon dress with attached tulle petticoat, apron and lace-up sleeve detailing, headband with faux grapes and a cork necklace. (Wine glass not included.) Available in regular and plus sizes.

^{(all product photos courtesy of Buycostumes.com)}

Making your own Wine

Did you ever wonder if you could make your own wine...and how you'd go about doing it? Chris Pearmund, a Virginia winemaker and former wine merchant, will walk you through the steps of turning grapes into delicious wine all in the comfort of your own home in the video below.

Drink for the Cure

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Fat Bastard wines are doing their part to cure this disease by donating 25 cents for every bottle sold in restaurants and retail stores, up to $75,000. This is the sixth year the company has run this program and to date, they have donated more than $250,000 to breast cancer research.

During October, Fat Bastard wines will be easy to spot on the shelf. They'll have a pink ribbon necker with an attached pin for consumers to wear. Fat Bastard's wine collection includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Wine Pairings for Labor Day

Labor Day is next weekend and many of us will be grilling up hot dogs, bratwurst, and other traditional picnic fare that is difficult to pair with wine. In a recent article, Washington Post columnists, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg offer suggestions on what to serve with "dinner in a long bun." Among their suggestions are an Alsatian Riesling with bratwurst, a Rioja with a chili dog, and Chianti with Italian Sausage.

^{(photo © istockphoto)}

Ohio's AVA Regions

The American Viticultural Area (AVA) system is a program administered by the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Similar to Italy's Indicazione Geografica Tipica designation, it maintains the requirements for putting a place name on a wine label. For instance, in order to list an AVA name on the label, a wine must be made of 85 percent grapes grown in that area.

There are over 185 such designations in the United States, 95 percent of which are in California. However, Ohio has six AVAs. They are:

• Lake Erie - The shoreline from Toledo to New York
  
• Grand River Valley - The area surrounding Lake County's Grand River
  
• Isle St. George - North and South Bass Islands in Lake Erie
  
• Kanawha River Valley - Along the Kanawha River in South Central Ohio
  
• Ohio River Valley - The largest AVA in the country, this area spans from Indiana to West Virginia, along the Ohio River.
  
• Loramie Creek - In Shelby County, in West Central Ohio
  

(photo credit: peddle chen/cc license)

Ohio Wine Grapes: Catawba

Catawba grapes, a purple-reddish grape found in the Great Lakes region and along the East Coast of the United Sites, was discovered by accident in North Carolina in the early 1800s. The Catawba grape first arrived in Ohio, in the Cincinnati area, which was once the center of Ohio wine-making. It made its way to Northern Ohio in the early 1900s and found a climate that suited it, protected by the waters of Lake Erie.

Catawba grapes are used to produce sweet sparkling and still wines. They are also commonly used for juices, jams, and jellies. Among Ohio wineries that produce Catawba wines are Mon Ami Winery in Port Clinton, Ferrante and the Old Firehouse Wineries in Geneva, and Heineman Winery on South Bass Island.

^{(photo credit: Flickr user: jolie jeanne/cc license)}

Cleveland's International Wine Show

Cleveland has a new wine event. Encouraged by the enthusiastic turn-out for the wine pavilion at last November's Fabulous Food Show, the Cleveland Wine School and the I-X Center have joined forces to create the International Wine Show. The inaugral event will be held at the I-X Center on May 2 and 3, 2008.

More than 500 wines from around the world will be available for tasting. There'll also be wine seminars, food and wine pairings, and live jazz music.

Tickets are $60 per person and include all tastings and activities as well as a crystal shot glass. Advance tickets are available from the show's Web site.