July  2006

We celebrated Ron's 59th birthday with friends at Nectar, Chef Julie Frances' new restaurant in Mt. Lookout. Every course was fabulous!

The 2005 Bordeaux blend white Revelation (84 cases produced) is now sold out at the winery. Released Memorial Day, sold out July 15, a six-week life span. The next wines that will become unavailabile at the winery will be the Riesling (149 cases produced) and the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon (limited quantities remain).

Kinkead Ridge bests Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
The 2004 Kinkead Ridge Ohio River Valley Viognier/Roussanne ($15) just topped the 2003 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, France ($25) in the first-ever Ohio Wine Challenge, in which wine experts from North America judged Ohio wines against wines from Europe and California.

Bernard Portet, the founding winemaker of Clos Du Val in the Napa Valley and of Domaine Nizas in France says this about the 2004 Viognier/Roussanne:

"Finally did I find the opportunity to open up your bottle of Viognier-Roussanne with a couple of friends and then with John Clews, the VP, Director of Vineyard and Winery Operations of Clos Du Val. I did like it very much. I did find it very fragrant but not shouting “Viognier” all over the place, elegant, with plenty of charm. Balanced and equally elegant and charming palate. Much of the character of its aroma could be found in its taste. There was a great balance of fullness, freshness, and good complexity, along with a good finish. Definitely a very enjoyable wine. John did concur with the above. Congratulations!"

Kinkead Ridge gets great comments from the Dayton wine festival attendees. Click here to read the Dayton Daily News wine blog

We recently added a table and chairs on the crush pad if you would like to bring some food and share a bottle of wine at the winery.

Bottling is finished! We did 377 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon on Monday June 5 and 6, with five people on Monday, and eight people on Tuesday, including volunteers Mark Frommayer and his uncle Bill, and Chris Waugh, who will be opening the Wine C.A.R.T. wine store in Cincinnati. 

May 13: 1290 WHIO radio interview with the winegrower, Dayton, noon. Click here and select the Kinkead Ridge show to listen to the audio.  MANY thanks to Dorothy Lane Markets for giving us the opportunity to share our story.

May and June are bottling months. The winery is really getting jammed. When I tell people the wines are hand-crafted, I'm not kidding... you can see the four-bottle filler, and every cork, label and capsule are put on one at a time.

SILVER MEDAL. Kinkead Ridge 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon (production 228 cases). This is our first and only entry into this prestigious competition. Our other five wines are sold out at the winery. New releases coming in May and September.

A limited quantity of Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon is now available in Cleveland. Contact us for information.

EVENTS

May 27 and May 29. 2005 white wines released at the winery

May 13: 1290 WHIO radio interview with the winegrower, Dayton, noon. 

  

  We will be pouring at:
  May 19-20, West Chester Wine & Food Festival

  June 2-3, Dayton 2nd Street Market Wine Festival

We have a wine blog! Click here! 

Jon Christensen (Columbus Dispatch) reviews our Viognier/Roussanne
2004 Kinkead Ridge (Ohio River Valley) Viognier-Roussanne ($14.95)
"This remarkable achievement deserves to be compared to the priciest dry whites from France's Rhone Valley. Its rich hints of apricot and other stone fruits, minerally crisp finish, food-accompanying versatility and restrained alcohol put this southern Ohio gem ahead of just about anything close to its price. "

"Why  go for those long distance relationships when you can find love in your own back yard." 

Kinkead Ridge wines featured with Chef Jean-Robert on The Dish

Quote from Tom Stevenson, editor, in the New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia, recently  published. Tom reviewed our Viognier/Roussanne in the 2006 Wine Report paperback. 
"Michigan is currently outclassing New York despite having only 90 wineries compared with the latter's 203, and nothing like its financial resources. The general consensus is that New York has the greatest potential of all northeastern states, but only a handful of its wineries are working hard to achieve that potential. Virginia promises to be the East Coast's Washington State, while Pennsylvania and Ohio are the dark horses."

Kinkead Ridge winery (est. 2002) garnered 3 medals at the 2005 American Wine Society commercial competition in Las Vegas. Competition was stiff; this was the first AWS competition held west of the Mississippi River, and many California wines were entered. Many California wines are being fermented with oak chips so they are high in alcohol and "drink now" wines; ours are quite finessed, and will age beautifully, unlike some of these wines. We medalled with the 2003 Syrah, 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2004 Viognier/Roussanne. Only one other Ohio winery (Ferrante, Geneva, est. 1937) won medals for vinifera wines. For all the results, click here.

Ron's 2005 Vintage Report
2005 in the vineyard was a vintage of extremes. Unlike 2004 where moisture, heat and humidity were well distributed, it seemed like the heat and humidity would never end. Rainfall came either not at all or in a deluge. Fortunately, harvest turned out mostly dry with only the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot caught by rain at the end of October. In the winery, most of the fruit came in low in acid and high in sugar. Adjustments were made and fermentations, though quirky, finished well. Overall, the wines show good promise, and for some, 2005 may prove to be the best vintage yet.

 

Tom Stevenson's 2006 Wine Report. Kinkead Ridge 2003 Viognier/Roussanne named one of the top 100 Exciting New Wines in the World. "Viognier/Roussanne 2003 Kinkead Ridge, Ohio (Atlantic Northeast, US $15). Sandra Silven, wine writer Detroit Daily News: Crisp, flinty, bone-dry, palate-coating tropical flavours. Starkly clean"
Tom:
"In complete contrast to Domaine du Clovallon, this Viognier has balls: 48 percent Roussanne balls, to be precise. Excellent structure and acidity. Cutting-edge Atlantic Northeast -- I really must pay a visit!"
This wine is sold out at the winery.

Here's the review of Domaine du Clovallon that we are compared to: "The best Viognier of the Midi -- ripe, unctuous mouth-feel, without being cloying or confected. Rounded with ripe apricot fruit and excellent varietal character." (Rosemary George MW). 
Tom says: Yes it is, but to be sexist for a moment, you have to be female or a bit of a girl's blouse to like most Viogniers, particularly one as soft and highly perfumed as this."

Kinkead Ridge Vineyard and Estate Winery one of two wineries mentioned in the Compass American Guide, Fodor's Ohio, First edition. This guide has "spectacular photography, evocative prose, and detailed four-color maps, plus tips and practical information to help you make the most of your trip." See www.fodors.com. Available at fine book stores and www.amazon.com.

 

 

If you have tasted our wines and would like to write a mini-review, e-mail them to NBentley@KinkeadRidge.com. Have you taken our wine on the road? Send us a photo! We'll publish your comments and photos on the Testimonials page. 

Brillat Savarin noted two features which distinguish man from beast:
1. Fear of the future.
2. Desire for fermented liquors.

Words on Wine: 
Famous quotes throughout history about wine. Click here.

Funny drinking quotes:

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel shame. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
~ Jack Handy    

Click here for more funny drinking quotes.

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Kinkead Ridge featured on Wine on the Web

In 2001, Andrew Jones,  internationally known wine broadcaster and author taped an interview with Ron at the vineyard for his Radio Postcards. We were excited to be featured on Wine on the Web in very important company, including King Estate, Oregon, Chateau Phelan-Segur, Bordeaux, DeLoach Vineyards, Russian River Valley California, Frogs Leap, Napa Valley California, and Frescobaldi Nippozanno, Italy. Click here to read the text of the Radio Postcard.