July 2011

Kinkead Ridge featured in the upscale glossy Columbus magazine, Capital Style. Click the link and go to pages 148 and 149 to read the story.
http://www.capital-style.com/live/content/issue/stories/2011/07/pdf.html

I have a lot of nice friends from the wholesale end of the business that I run into on a regular basis. But the Beer and Wine Wholesalers in general are not friendly to small wineries. Read this article about their eye-watering contributions: "$82 million dollars on state and federal campaign contribution and federal lobbying over just the past three election cycles from 2006 through 2010". It's all about protecting their profit turf.
 http://www.wineindustryinsight.com/RSS//index.php/hop/latest/alcohol-wholesalers-contribute-over-82-million-toward-political-influence-san-francisco-chronicle-press-release/53977

The last bottle of Petit Verdot leaves the winery with Chris from Columbus. I think his eyes are closed just anticipating opening this bottle! There was a mix-up on his order last September, and he finally was able to drive down to get it. Only two bottles of Petit Verdot were autographed by Ron, and this is one of them.

Nancy cooked with local foodie Rita Heikenfeld on her "Love in the Kitchen" cable TV show, pairing wines with Rita's great recipes... see http://cincinnati.com/blogs/cookingwithrita/

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon wins GOLD MEDAL at Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. Over 3200 wines were judged from all over the world. Only two Ohio wineries won a gold medal for estate vinifera wine.

Bottling, end of day, 2011, Gretchen (middle), her sister Emilee (left), and Anna (right). Gretchen and Emilee's brother Logan has also become a principal winery and vineyard worker.

Anna corking Viognier/Roussanne. Anna's now experienced on the bottle filler, the capsule machine, the labeller and the corker. She is a great young lady! We're happy she's working here for us.

Recent review of the 2008 Syrah from http://www.dogswine.blogspot.com

"Last week we opened the 2008 Syrah with a slow roasted rack of lamb from the grill, one of the few days it has been possible to grill here in the last month with all the rain. The featured wine of the night was supposed to be a 1999 Chateau Ste. Michelle Meritage from Washington State. Very good wine with rich fruit, some wood, a little bit of earth, and very nice with the lamb. The Kinkead Syrah was opened primarily to check on its progress after I liked the 2005 version so well.

By now I guess I should stop being surprised about the Kinkead wines, but the KR quite simply blew the Ste. Michelle wine out of the water. Lots of dark fruit with some blackberries and blueberries on the nose and a small hint of the raw meat smell that I like so well in northern Rhone wines. The taste was full with those same fruits but there was more acid in this wine to cut through the richness of the lamb. There was some good mouth feel of oak and nice finish to the wine. My only complaint was just a touch of heat at the very end, but that was a minor price to pay for a very good wine.

The best part may be that there are more bottles of this resting in the cellar and I will get to revisit this wine for several more years. If it matures the way the 2005 version did there are some seriously good bottles waiting down the road.

15.2% alcohol, 194 cases produced and $18.99. "

Another fantastic review of the 2008 Cabernet Franc:

"hey nancy, just wanted to say hello and pass on a note that I got from a friend of mine. he's out in northern california and he has a little circle of wine geek friends that do these dinner parties. i guess that they all individually take notes and score wines then compare them collectively. So it was your cab franc, a nickel and nickel cab and then a hutchinson cab that garnered a 95+ robert parker score. needless to say your cab franc won the tasting and was 3 points average higher than both of the other two wines."

A computer message we can relate to!

Kinkead Ridge 2008 Cabernet Franc reviewed by theother46.com. Currently a front runner for 2011 Wine of the Year... http://theother46.com/2011/02/14/kinkead-ridge-2008-cabernet-franc/

"A small number of wines and wineries have developed an almost cult-like following east of the west coast. Paumanok Vineyards Chenin Blanc, Barboursville Vineyards Octagon and rockstar-turned-winemaker, Maynard James Keenan portfolio of wines have all been certified platinum by wine writers and critics alike. After tasting the Kinkead Ridge 2008 Cabernet Franc, I?m convinced the list just got a little longer.

Two years ago I began reading and hearing lots of wine chatter about Kinkead Ridge Estate Winery, a small producer in Ripley, Ohio. Renowned for their Cabernet Franc, Kinkead Ridge also grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Viognier, Riesling, Roussanne and Sauvignon Blanc on their 5-acre estate vineyard.

Excited to learn more about Kinkead Ridge and especially their wines, Owner and Managing Partner Nancy Bentley kindly sent me 3 wines to sample, led by their Jefferson Cup Winner 2008 Cabernet Franc.

Dark fruit dominates the nose with a hint of red cherry, tobacco and spice. Blackberries, cherries, herbs and green peppers explode on the palate. A medium-bodied wine with balanced acidity and tannin. An outstanding effort, especially at $18 retail.

A front runner for my 2011 wine of the year, the Kinkead Ridge 2008 Cabernet Franc delivers on all fronts. Cheers!

--Brian Kirby

Kinkead Ridge 2008 Cabernet Franc and 2010 Viognier/Roussanne to be featured in internationally published volume "1000 Great Wines" by a publishing house in Britain in October. Details to follow.

Click here to request a copy of our retail outlets. There are five wine stores in Ohio that can ship within Ohio or out-of-state.

Click here for a one page summary of the 2011 upcoming releases.

Click here for a one page summary of the 2010 releases, or visit the Wines link from the home page and scroll to the bottom of the page.

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

 

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