Stop Number One: Grand River Cellars

The first leg of our tour through the Ohio Vines and Wines trail began Thursday, August 22nd.  We had the intention of purchasing at least one bottle from every winery we visited, and we ended up being extremely successful.  Our first day was our longest day, as we hit nine wineries.

Needless to say, I was exhausted and went to bed around 8:30 that night.

Our first stop was Grand River Cellars, formerly known as the Grand River Wine Company, in Madison, OH.   Grand River Cellars is a participant in the Ohio Wines VIP program.

In addition to wine, they have a delicious (and reasonably priced!) menu for anyone looking for a more restaurant-style experience.  Grand River has a small gift shop, indoor seating, a beautiful tasting bar (that I wish I snagged a picture of), a gorgeous patio with fountains and a stage for live entertainment, and they even have a nice screened in area for an outdoor-ish experience for anyone who doesn't truly like to eat outdoors (like me).  Anyone who chooses to sit outside gets a bit of free comic relief on the patio!

Photo courtesy of our friend, Mike.

We didn't eat here on our trip but we were very tempted to do so; everything looked really good and there wasn't a dish listed that I wouldn't try.  That in itself is an impressive feat since I have a "selective palate," AKA, I'm picky as heck when it comes to food.

Grand River Cellars offers a souvenir wine glass with a tasting tray which is a very nice touch, and unfortunately, it's not something often seen anymore.  Another stand-out aspect of this winery is that two of their wines, Austin's Red and Austin's White, are sold for a charitable cause.  $1 from each sale of these wines is donated to the Northeast Ohio Autism Group.

As for the wine itself, we split the dry tasting tray and the overall impression we had was that the wines weren't bad, but they weren't anything we were going crazy over, either.  The Bear isn't traditionally a Merlot drinker, but the Merlot Reserve struck his fancy.  It was the first wine we tried, and it was smoky with a little bit of pepper, more like a Zinfandel than a traditional Merlot.  The other reds we had tried- the Merlot, Grand Red, Austin's Red, and the Red Zinfandel- left us both a little underwhelmed.  In their defense, the Merlot Reserve was a hard act to follow.

Being more of a white wine drinker, I was really excited to move on to that part of the tray.  The Pinot Grigio grabbed my attention immediately because it is one of my go-to favorite grapes.  It was good, had pretty decent body, but I would have considered it semi-dry instead of dry.  This is an "after a long day at work" wine- the kind of wine that is good enough to relax with, but not so over the top good that it should be saved for the perfect dinner or a special occasion.  Austin's White is a Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Vidal Blanc blend, and the Vidal Blanc is fairly present in the taste which made it a little too sweet for me.  Austin's White is a good wine to give someone if they're trying to transition from sweet wine to dry.  The Riesling was really, really sweet to me, and with 2.5% residual sugar, I can understand why.  It wasn't my favorite, and it isn't bad by any means, it just isn't for me.

Per some online recommendations, I added on a tasting of the White Fox which was reviewed so highly, it sounded like it was going to be the best wine on the planet.  For some people, that may be the case, but for me it was a typical Niagara- sweetness that can be smelled a mile away and leaves that sticky-sugary taste that is reminiscent of the after effects of a Jolly Rancher.

This wine should be served with a pamphlet on how to test your blood sugar.

The Chardonnay stole the show, hands down.  I wasn't particularly excited about it when I saw it was unoaked, but for a stainless steel Chard, it was good.  Really good.  So good in fact, that we decided this was going to be the bottle we would take home.  It was described as having a green apple and pear nose and a citrus finish.  I didn't quite get the pear as much as the apple, and the apple was a little more present in the finish than any citrus notes, but it was delicious nonetheless.  With the green apple being so pronounced, this is a great fall wine; just in time for apple picking season!  It would pair well with foods as the dryness and crispness of the wine wouldn't overpower the main course, but it can easily be enjoyed on its own as well.

The 2010 Chardonnay we purchased alongside our souvenir tasting glass. 

One final thing that the Bear and I thought was really neat about this winery was the sign by the road, seen upon exiting, that shows the names of and distances to other local wineries.  Many other wineries have signs just like this, but this in the best condition and is the most up to date one we've seen so far.

We had our work cut out for us!

Overall, our experience at Grand River Cellars was a good one.  If we lived closer, I could see it being a place we would go more often.  The prices per bottle were a little higher than I expected for some of the wines but nothing was outrageously overpriced; all are available for purchase online and can be shipped anywhere in Ohio.  Grand River generally offers more sweet wines but the Chardonnay and the Merlot Reserve are excellent options for those who like their wines on the dry side.  The Bear and I ended up returning for dinner here the following week while visiting a few Vines and Wines wineries we couldn't hit on our vacation.  We both really enjoyed our meals, so be sure to check back for a full review after we've wrapped up the posts about our trip!

Thank you for reading!  Please remember to drink responsibly and have a safe and happy holiday weekend!  Cheers, all!

Birthday Wine Trip - A Preview

My birthday was last week and to celebrate, my Bear and I took a trip to the northeast part of Ohio for a two night stay at Buccia Vineyard, planned to visit wineries along the Ohio Vines and Wines trail, and ventured into the Pennsylvania wine country, just east of Erie.  What a FUN time we had!  We met some great people, drank some good (and some not-so-good) wine, and most importantly, spent a lot of relaxing quality time together.

A trip to this extent was a first for both of us so it not only gave us the opportunity to try new things together but also the ability to strengthen our relationship through strengthening our bond.  And, while it may not have been able to be wrapped in a beautiful purple package like the rest of my presents, the further deepening of the connection we share was far and away the greatest birthday gift I received.  I could not be more grateful.

Sorry Mom, I really do like the totally awesome, amazing vacuum cleaner you got me, but even it cannot top this.  You're the best mom in the world though, so I am sure you understand.

We started on Thursday, August 22nd, returned home on Saturday, August 24th, and ended up hitting 18 different wineries in three days.  I want to give each winery the attention it deserves, so more detailed posts will be coming this week.  As a preview though, here is a list of the wineries we visited as well as links to their websites.

1. Grand River Cellars - Madison, OH
2. Chalet Debonné Vineyards - Madison, OH
3. Virant Family Winery - Geneva, OH
4. M Cellars - Geneva, OH
5. South River Vineyard - Geneva, OH
6. Deer's Leap Winery - Geneva, OH
7. The Old Mill Winery - Geneva, OH
8. Old Firehouse Winery - Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH
9. Buccia Vineyard - Conneaut, OH
10. Mazza Vineyards - North East, PA
11. South Shore Wine Company - North East, PA
12. Courtyard Wineries - North East, PA
13. Presque Isle Wine Cellars - North East, PA
14. Markko Vineyard - Conneaut, OH
15. Biscotti's Family Winery - Conneaut, OH
16. The Lakehouse Inn & Winery - Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH
17. The Winery at Spring Hill - Geneva, OH
18. Harpersfield Vineyard - Geneva, OH

It looks like a lot, but in most cases, these wineries are an extremely short drive from one to the next.  We split the tasting trays instead of getting our own so neither of us consumed an overwhelming amount.  This was mainly for safety purposes but we also wanted to make sure we could still taste the wines. 

During the trip's initial planning stages, there were even more wineries on our list.  Due to some having limited hours of operation, we decided that these would make the final cut and the rest would be covered by another trip at a later date.  That "later date" came sooner than I had expected and that's where we will be spending rest of this afternoon!

As always, please remember to consume alcohol in any form responsibly.  Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!  Cheers, all!

Elf Introduction

Years ago, my best friend from college and I decided we would be fancy and try wine.  Being college students and wine novices, we had unflinchingly rigid selection criteria:

1. Is it wine?

2. Is it cheap?

3. Is it easy to drink?

If the answer to those questions was 'yes', we found a winner.  

Bonus points were awarded if it came in a pretty or unique bottle.

We have plenty of stories of our good and bad wine experiences and actually, our tastes grew somewhat.  We both started off with the sweet wines.  Then, she started to drink "dry reds," which I sadly had to shy away from since they triggered my migraine headaches, and I started to drink "dry whites."  I use the term dry loosely because very few of the wines we drank were legitimately dry wines.  We didn't care though, we were 21 year old musicians drinking wine when none of our friends cared about wine, so we were about as cool as could be.

Looking back, a more accurate description of the development of our wine tastes would be that we started by drinking glue-your-mouth-shut sweet wine and graduated to wines with the residual sugars of hard candy.

Then, in 2010, I started my very first big girl job and settled in with my work team, which consisted of people of all ages, education and experience levels, and personal backgrounds.  We all seemed to have two things in common though: looking out for each other and having a good time together.  Our team functioned more like a family than a workgroup and I am one of the fortunate few people out there who love the people I work with.  

We began to frequent a local bar or winery on Friday nights.  Since then, our Friday night meetings turned into wine-infused boat trips along the shores of Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River, which evolved into gatherings at each other's homes in which we celebrated the end of the week with, you guessed it, wine.  We often had new wines to try but quickly developed a short list of stand-by favorites.

We celebrate responsibly, of course.

I was also fortunate enough to convert one of those friendships into romance with my best friend, my soulmate, the love of my life, who also happens to be my very own personal sommelier.  He was significantly more experienced in the world of wine- especially Ohio wine- than I was and took on the challenge of expanding my palate.  We started by visiting wineries he liked that were new to me and grew from there.  Soon enough, something I once dabbled in not only became a hobby but it became our hobby.  Now, we enable and encourage each other to try wines and wineries that are new to both of us and we have so much fun sharing what has matured into our passion.

He is my Bear, my protector, my teacher, and my inspiration.  He is the driving force behind my writing, as he is the one who opened my eyes to a whole new world of wine from which I haven't looked back. 

I have learned so much about wine through our many adventures and stumbled upon so many excellent local wineries.  Never did I think that as a twenty-something, I would be talking about a wine's body, be able to identify it's notes, or creating an educated, informed opinion about a vintage.  We have gone so many places together and done so many interesting things, I wanted needed to start a blog to keep track of it all.  

After all, I can type a lot faster and more legibly than I can write.

So, why The Wine Elf?  The previously mentioned group of super fun work friends is the same group of people responsible for my blog's title.  I would bring cookies regularly for those near and dear to me, and one told me I was his favorite Keebler elf and asked me if I live in a tree.  Life is more fun if you play along, so I said "absolutely I do."

From that point on, I was referred to as: The Keebler Elf, Ms. Keebler, Keebie, and ultimately became just "The Elf."  I love it.  I'm sure I will sneak in a cookie post or two from time to time.  

I can't wait to begin to document the many adventures of The Bear and The Elf.  We recently returned from a winery trip to the northeast part of Ohio and I look forward to sharing our experience shortly!

As a reminder, please enjoy the grapes (and any other beverages) responsibly.  Cheers, all!