"Kinkead Ridge Winery is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the finest estate-bottlers this side of the Mississippi, winning a rare double-gold medal in the 2006 American Wine Society Competition for their 2004 cabernet franc. In 1998, after 10 years of growing pinot noir at the Chehalem Valley Vineyards in Yamhill, Oregon, 60-year-old Ron Barrett, along with his partner Nancy Bentley, relocated to Ohio to start their own vineyard. Regional soil maps, Barrett says, revealed this land's ideal composition: 30 inches of neutral to slightly base soil, underlain by hundreds of feet of broken limestone. "World class grape soil," he says. Spend some time on this 126-acre farm with its immaculate vinifera grape vines -- cabernets, viogniers, and rieslings, petit verdot and syrah, roussanne and sauvignon blancs -- and you gain an almost romantic appreciation of the viticulture lifestyle. Which is a mistake. "I would never call it romantic," Bentley says. "You never see all of the problems that occur, all of the weather disasters around the corner." And the work: Each of these 5,000 vines is hand-pruned from 30 shoots down to two or three. And then there's the around-the-clock "punchdowns" to stir the wines, and the hand bottling, corking, and labeling. Still, among the purveyors of his wine, Ron Barrett is a rock star. As someone who can just as easily discuss the prehistory of southern Ohio as the merits of pairing a premium Viognier-Roussanne blend with goat cheese, people seek his knowledge and company. A recent case of his wine sold for twice its value after he autographed the box. "I call it 'the gene, " Bentley says. "People call and say they want to start a vineyard", and I say "We'll have to see if you have the gene." For people like Ron, it's in their blood. They have to do it. But it's an extreme amount of work." --Brent Donaldson

"The first whiff nearly knocked me off my feet. I was standing on a rickety metal ladder leaning against one of the large fermentation vats in the space -- really not much more than an oversized garage -- where Ron Barrett makes his wine.... read more from editor Jay Stowe...
 

A review of the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (sold out at the winery) was posted on 12/24/07 on Mark Squires Bulletin Board, on erobertparker.com. For those of you who still have it in your cellars, you may find this interesting.

Greg, NYC: 2004 Kinkead Ridge Cab Sauv, Ohio River – "What to say about this wine that Loren brought. I was simply floored. If you are not going to expect much in the way of wine from a state, that state has to be Ohio. Or so I thought.

Not true.

The wine was stunning, partly because my expectations were so low and even more because it was so damn good. That was a real cab. The nose demonstrated the expected varietal cassis and herbal qualities, the palate had the tart black fruit, a touch of herbs, some tobacco, a bit of wood that hasn't yet integrated fully – in short, just a wonderful young cab. And seventeen bucks. I'm trying to think of a cab from California that delivers at the same level for the price. Perhaps Beckmen? BV Rutherford? I'd like to try this blind with some of those. This was just a wonderful surprise from Ohio."

Kinkead Ridge Winery accomplishments, 2002-2007

2003 Viognier/Roussanne named one of the Top 100 Exciting Wines in the World, Tom Stevenson, British editor of the New Sothebys Wine Encyclopedia

●         2004 Cabernet Franc named one of the Top 100 Exciting Wines in the World, Tom Stevenson, British editor of the New Sothebys Wine Encyclopedia. Only 12 American wineries made the list

●         2004 Cabernet Franc, Double Gold Medal, American Wine Society competition. 1000+ international entries, only 2 Double Gold Medals

●         2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Gold Medal Finger Lakes Wine competition. The only vinifera wine from Ohio to win a gold medal. Only 15 were awarded internationally for Cabernet

●         Featured on nationally-syndicated PBS TV program, America's Heartland

●         Featured on Ohio-syndicated PBS TV program, Our Ohio

●         Kinkead Ridge video “The Romance of the Vineyard” one of five finalists in the Wine Spectator video contest

●         Kinkead Ridge featured on the cover of Ohio magazine

●         Kinkead Ridge listed in Kevin Zraly's American Wine Guide (former sommelier of Windows on the World, World Trade Center)

      Kinkead Ridge wines praised by Bernard Portet (founding winemaker of Clos du Val) and Melyvn Masters (restauranteur, author)

Kinkead Ridge mentored the winegrowers of Harmony Hill, Meranda and LaVigna

●         Kinkead Ridge wines featured on the Dish TV show, with Chef Jean Robert de Cavel

●         Kinkead Ridge featured in Ladies Home Journal and Country Living (courtesy of the Farm Bureau)

●         Kinkead Ridge 2006 Viognier/Roussanne rated one of the top 2007 favorite wines, the WineBuzz magazine and wins Gold Medal at the American Wine Society competition.

●         Kinkead Ridge featured in Ohio Wine Country Excursions

●         Kinkead Ridge featured in From Garden Gate to Dinner Plate, Food and Farms of Ohio

●         Kinkead Ridge featured in national magazine, Wines and Vines

●         Kinkead Ridge wines reviewed by Mark Fisher, Dayton Wine Blog

●         Kinkead Ridge wines reviewed by Jon Christenson, Columbus Dispatch

●         Kinkead Ridge 2005 Cabernet Franc featured currently at Pigalls and JeanRo Bistro

●         Kinkead Ridge wines featured by Chef Julie Frances, Nectar

●         Ohio wine dinners, Kinkead Ridge featured at Rhapsody, Sturkeys, Daveeds, Bexleys Monk, Lindeys German Village, Iron Horse Inn

●         Kinkead Ridge wines reviewed by Lenn Thompson, New York wine writer

●         Kinkead Ridge wines reviewed by Sandra Silfven, Detroit Daily News

●         Kinkead Ridge newspaper articles, too numerous to mention

●         Kinkead Ridge wine poured at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C. and by Senator Voinovich

●         Kinkead Ridge the only non-distributor winery to pour at Gourmet Sensation

●         Kinkead Ridge invited to pour at Fleur de Fetes, Dayton

●        One of four wineries (and the only Ohio winery) featured in the January Cincinnati Magazine