Ohio Wines at Retail : Statehouse Museum Shop is Fail

In a previous entry, I lauded the Ohio Statehouse Museum Shop for having a pretty good selection of Ohio wines. I take that back now. I was told that they were due for a major restock in July which has clearly not happened. Except for a reasonable amount of the latest Kinkead Ridge releases, there is nothing new on the shelves and the shelves are pretty barren.

Since I visited, the Ohio Quality Wine program has anointed over a dozen wines, none of which can be found on the shelves. I even found the sad sight of a bottle of Pinot Noir labeled ‘American.’ Big fail.

This is just pathetic. I recognize that the Gift Shop at the Statehouse is never going to be a prime mover of Ohio wine, but there is no excuse for this dismal display. If budgets are tight (the excuse I’ve heard), it is better to just stop selling wine rather than tarnish the image of Ohio wines with an anemic selection as well as the debatable storage conditions for wines that linger.

This venue is a chance for Ohio wine to put its best foot forward and possibly capture mind share from the myriad of people who pass through. Honestly, they should be pouring and pimping. At minimum though, this should be a showcase and a memorable (often first) encounter with Ohio wines. The Museum Shop at the Statehouse gets a major FAIL.

Ohio Quality Wine Seal : Good Idea with some really bad execution

In a (mostly) good faith effort to stand the ground for Ohio estate-grown wines, the Ohio Grape Industries and OSU’s Agricultural Research and Development Center run a program called Ohio Quality Wines. (Good faith in contrast to the Sham of the Ohio Wine Competition.) Twice a year, a tasting panel convenes and evaluates the wines submitted for this program. Only wines with at least 90% Ohio grapes are eligible. While this process is marred by the fact the objective roll call of top producers is absent from this list (submission is voluntary and these producers don’t find it worth their time), it is worth noting the most recent batch of wines awarded this Ohio Quality Wine Seal. I have tasted a couple of these and my notes are below the list. Some are not released yet. I may have to do a full tasting of these soon …

I have one specific problem with their methodology though – if they want to help Ohio consumer’s, stop awarding the seal to wines w/o vintage labelling!!! The reason for this strong admonition – and I find this a big problem – is to be found at the end of the tasting notes.

Ferrante Winery & Ristorante

2008 Gewurztraminer Grand River Valley
2008 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine Grand River Valley
2008 Signature Series Riesling Grand River Valley
2008 Signature Series Cabernet Franc Grand River Valley
2008 Vidal Blanc Grand River Valley

Maize Valley Winery

NV LaCrescent Ohio
NV Traminette Ohio

Raven's Glenn Winery

2008 White October Ohio
2008 Scarlet Raven Ohio

Terra Cotta Vineyards

NV Country Ridge Ohio
NV Chambourcin Ohio

Valley Vineyards

2008 Syrah Ohio River Valley
2008 Ice Wine Ohio River Valley
2008 Cabernet Franc Ohio River Valley

My notes :

2008 Ferrante Vidal Blanc - USA, Ohio, Grand River Valley (9/2/2009)  Light floral nose. Nice overall with good acids and a blowsy feeling of summer grasses. Simple wine, but delivers.

2008 Raven’s Glenn White October – USA, Ohio (7/10/2009) (Chardonel ) Past vintages of this have been compelling, but this was flat and held little interest. Disappointing.

2008 Maize Valley Traminette – USA, Ohio (7/10/2009) Really nice. Captured the Traminette wild florals and maintained a good finish. Upper tier of Tram.

N.V. Terra Cotta Vineyards Chambourcin - USA, Ohio (6/20/2009) Chai-like spice on the nose. Dark color. Nice fresh juicy acid fruits - red currants, but treatment elements really come across. Soft on the finish with mocha overpowering some nice currant and licorice-tinged fruits. I suspect a different bottling than what I had in Feb. Not good - room to improve if it can correct itself over time.

February’s short note: Nice fruit, a good smoothness to the textures. Nice.

 

Here is the big problem and why there should be no recognition for non-vintage labeled wines. How is a consumer to have any idea what wine they are getting? It could be any batch and even if the winery is not highly variable (many are and some are duplicitous about it), who knows how long this wine has sat on a retailer’s shelf or if the horrible distributors in Ohio are sending out older product w/o telling the store? If the OQW seal is to help consumers, confusion must be eliminated. There is just too much variability and lack of control in the system for the Quality Seal to mean anything in this context.

Article on Shamrock Vineyards

Nice article on Shamrock Vineyards in the Marion Star.

Haven’t been up there in a long time, but it is always an interesting visit.

RIP Peter Ferrante Sr

I am sad to report that Peter Ferrante Sr of the eponymous winery has passed away. Ferrante is the largest family-owned winery in Ohio and it was his drive and passion that made it so. His family carries on his work, but he will be missed.

Winery Patriach Dies

Grand River Valley Visit - Thanks

I was inexcusably remiss in not thanking Jim at Ferrante and Doreen at St. Joseph for spending time with us and sharing their wines and insights.

Thanks to Doreen for opening up the tasting room and sharing your wines. It was a pleasure to meet you finally and learn more in depth about St. Joseph.

Thanks Jim for traipsing around the vineyards and taking us ‘backstage.’  Always fun to spend time with you and learn from your depth of experience in the non-vinous aspect of the business.

I didn’t catch the name of the person at Harperfield’s tasting room, but she was also extremely helpful and gracious -  that pizza got us through to dinner! Thanks to you as well.