New Location, More Great Wines At Brunings Wine Cellar

Cheers To National Moscato Day On May 9

May 9, 2013 by Lisa Grigsby

America's youth have a sweet tooth, and it's driving the sales of Moscato. Just over the last three years, sales of moscato have exploded into something of a sugary sweet bomb. In 2011, the Wall Street Journal reports, sales grew 78%; in 2012, moscato overtook sauvignon blanc as the second most-popular white varietal (chardonnay still holding onto its number one spot), with sales of 2.8 million, reports the Napa Valley Register. And sales of moscato grew again by 25 percent in 2012. "In the U.S., moscato’s popularity has exploded over the past three years, with sales growing faster … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Wine Tagged With: #MoscatoDay, Gallo, National Moscato Day

Grapes of Gratitude to benefit local nonprofits!

February 26, 2013 by Lisa Grigsby

Competitive wine tasting comes to the Miami Valley this Thursday, Feb 28th at 6pm. Grapes of Gratitude is a team wine tasting event created to allow local nonprofits to raise money while participants blindly taste an array of wines of the same varietal. Groups of 1 -3 people form a team and each team brings 3 of the exact same bottles of wine to be tasted. The first varietal chosen to showcase will be Cabernet Sauvignon. To participate your team will bring 3 identical bottles of a Cabernet Sauvignon to the event. When your team arrives at the Dayton Grand Hotel for the event, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Featured Articles, Wine Tagged With: AIDS Resource Center Ohio, Dayton Grand Hotel, Grapes of Gratitude

Tasting the Stars in Champagne

February 14, 2013 by Brian Petro

"I only drink champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty." ~Madame Lily Bollinger Madame Bollinger would know the best time to drink champagne. As one of the greatest women to work in the champagne industry in the house whose name she bears, Mme. Bollinger brought champagne through the Great Depression and World War Two. She promoted a style of champagne that changed the industry, moving it from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Happy Hour, The Featured Articles, Wine Tagged With: cava, champagne, Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, facts, France, fun, history, prosecco, trivia, Valentine's Day

Waiter, There is Champagne in my Cocktail…

December 28, 2012 by Brian Petro

Champagne is a beverage that we bring out only at special celebrations. It was the French royalty at the beginning of the 18th century that popularized the trend of drinking this sparkling beverage. It became perceived (with marketing help from the grape growers in the Champagne region of France) as a drink of the affluent, so the people of the middle and working classes only would drink it for special occasions. Even though champagne and other sparkling wines have become fairly easy to find and purchase at a modest price, it is still something we associate with infrequent celebrations and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Featured Articles, Wine Tagged With: champagne, cocktails, Dayton, Dayton Ohio, DaytonDining, entertaining, history, Holiday, new year's eve, Things to Do, Things to do in Dayton

Christopher’s To Host Autumn Wine Dinner

October 18, 2012 by Lisa Grigsby

Christopher's Restaurant in Kettering began serving beer and wine about a year ago and now on Saturday, November 3rd they will be hosting an autumn wine dinner at 4:30 pm. It will feature an exquisite, five-course, small plate menu with samplings of 5 different wines from their newly updated wine list. Reservations are required and limited. You can call 299-0089 or stop by Christopher's at 2318 Dorothy Lane to purchase your tickets. Reservations will be available until October 31st unless they sell out, which at $30 per person will be quickly, I predict! The Menu is as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wine Tagged With: Christopher's Restaurant

Wine – Its Own Event

May 17, 2012 by Brian Petro

Tilting the glass a bit gives you a better view.

Wine is complex. From the selection of which type of wine to the individual brands, even the cost of the wine, all of it can be intimidating if you are trying to expand your knowledge. When you hear people talking about wines, you hear them using words like tannic or dry to talk about how it tastes. Or they will mention it tastes like chocolate, berries, herbs, vanilla, earth (!) or tobacco (!!), and they will say the last two as if that is a POSITIVE thing. They will sniff and swirl and do all manner of odd rituals before they even taste it. After they taste it, there is a fairly good chance … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Featured Articles, Wine

Fleur et Vin

May 12, 2012 by Lisa Grigsby

Twenty years ago Vail Miller, Sr of Heidelberg Distributing and Mike Frank of Arrow Wine got together to plan an event that would make drinking wine more fun and less formal. They figured if they could convince folks to have a glass of wine with dinner at home they'd both make more money. They also agreed that the event should benefit their local community and that's how Fleurs was created. The event has continued to flourish and now the 2nd generation of Vail Miller, Jr and Mif Frank are at the helm of Dayton's Premier Wine and Gourmet Food Festival. On Sunday, May 20th from 1- 4pm … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wine

Founding Oenophile

April 13, 2012 by Brian Petro

T. Jefferson: Patriot, statesman, wine lover

Today, April 13th, is Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. Jefferson was the third president of the United States, best known for doubling the size of the country by taking some land off the hands of Napoleon III in the Louisiana Purchase. He also sent Lewis and Clark to explore it. He is also known for writing one of the defining documents in American history, the Declaration of Independence. He did a little of everything for the United States, as a minister and diplomat to France, innovator, architect, and creator of the first lottery. He was the first Secretary of State and the second Vice … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wine

Your Chance to Join A Vine to Wine Tour

April 2, 2012 by Lisa Grigsby

Springboro's Bella Vino is putting together a road trip on Saturday, April 21st to visit Huber Winery & Orchard n Southern Indiana. As Indiana's largest wine-grape producer, Huber produces nearly 400,000 pounds of grapes per year. You'll tour the vineyards to see Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Seyval Blanc, and more varieties growing on the over 65 acres of family farm. You'll head to the cellars to get a glimpse of how the fruit is turned into wine, and learn about the harvesting, production and aging. And of course their will be tasting! Here's the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wine Tagged With: Bella Vino, Huber's Orchard, Winery & Vineyards