Wine deals @ Giant Eagle thru 9/5

Lindeman's or Jacobs Creek $8.99 after mail in rebate
Oak Creek $3.29
Chateau St. Michelle Riesling $8.99
Apothic Red $10.99
Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Chardonnay or Yellow Tail Chardonnay or Shiraz $12.99
Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve or Franciscan Napa Chardonnay $14.99

Hands down, my choice is Chateau St. Michelle...always. The best Riesling on the shelves.

Cheers!
Robin

Vintage Canton - September 20, 4:30-9:30pm

The Canton Development Partnership, a department of the Canton Regional Chamber, will host its annual Vintage Canton event on Thursday, Sept. 20, from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. along Central Plaza North in downtown Canton.

Vintage Canton is a sophisticated downtown gathering, offering distinctive center city charm alongside live music, vibrant art exhibits and, of course, quality local wine and wine from around the world!

The event gives guests the chance to relax and unwind, while enjoying wine from local wineries, delicacies from downtown and greater Canton eateries and memorable live music.

Wineries, Distributors, Microbrews & Restaurants

This year, Vintage Canton will continue to bring you the very best wines from area wineries and abroad and will offer several quality microbrews in the Beer Garden. Guests will also be able to enjoy small tasting plates for a nominal charge from downtown restaurants and Stark County favorites.

Visit www.VintageCanton.org for a full list of participating wineries, distributors, microbrew selections and restaurants.

Entertainment
The whole evening will be set to a musical backdrop of the rhythms of the Ryan Humbert Band: All Strung Out, from 5 to 7 p.m., and the Jeff Poulos Blues Revue closing out the night from 7:15 to 9:30 p.m.

Ticket Pricing | $25 presale tickets!
$25 for individual presale (by Sept. 19), and $35 at the door.
Wine-free spectator tickets are available for $10.

Special Group Pricing | Groups of 20
Have a large group coming? Get your tickets for $20 each when you purchase in groups of 20 (by Sept. 19).

Ticket prices include eight wine tastings or microbrew samples, a variety of breads and cheeses (from Brewster Dairy & Biery Cheese), a collectable souvenir wine glass, and a chance to win a piece of fine jewelry from Gasser Fine Jewelers. Tickets can be purchased online, or at any of seven Fishers Foods locations.

Purchase tickets online with the form below. Tickets are also available at the Canton Regional Chamber offices (222 Market Ave. N in downtown Canton) and at all Fishers Foods locations.

NOTE: IF PURCHASING YOUR TICKETS ONLINE, PAPER TICKETS WILL NOT BE MAILED TO YOU. PLEASE BRING YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL WITH YOU AND CHECK-IN AT WILL CALL THE EVENING OF THE EVENT.

Info courtesy of






Canton Chamber Website

Wine deals @ Discount Drug Mart thru 9/4

Funky lLama- Cab Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Malbec- $6.99

Beaulieu Vineyards Coastal Estates- Cab Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot- $7.99

My pick would be the Funkly lLama Cab Sauvignon! Why not, the name makes me smile :-)

Cheers!
Robin

Wine deals @ CVS thru 9/1

Clos Du Bois $11.99
Toasted Head $11.99
Barefoot 1.5ml $11.99
Bella Sera $7.99
Blackstone $7.99
Livingston Cellars $7.99
Foxmoor 3/$11

Chardonnay fans should pick up the Clos Du Bois which has been promoted quite a bit lately.
Toasted Head is well reviewed with loads of apple and citrus, however I've seen it promoted at $9.99 so not a great deal.

Cheers!
Robin

Wine deals @ Rite Aid thru 9/1

Apothic Red $10.99
Robert Mondavi Private Selection $10.99
Andre' Champagne $6.99
Redwood Creek Wine $6.99

My pick of the above would be either the Apothic Red or Mondavi.
Cheers!
Robin

$10.99 wine deals @ Walgreens thru 9/1

The following are the wines on sale at Walgreens this week.

1.5 liter Sutter Home Moscato or White Zinfandel-$10.99

Apothic Red Wine-$10.99

Chocovine Whipped or Vinesmoothie Strawberry -$10.99

My pick would definitely be the Apothic Red. Not sure about the whipped or Vinesmoothie.... Have you tried that before? If so, let us know what it's like!

Cheers!
Robin

$39 Summer Party Pack w/ 1¢ Shipping

Had this great deal emailed to me from WineInsiders.com! What a deal! Time to start stocking up for the holidays!

Go here for the Wine Insiders $39 summer party 6 pack!


Info from Wine Insiders below!
Cheers!
Robin

$39 Summer Party Pack w/ 1¢ Shipping
This special collection of 6 different fine wines from California, France and Spain includes:

NV House Party Moscato
Fragrant, fruity aromas and flavors of peach and ripe apricot, with hints of citrus and a refreshing sweetness that leads to a bright, crisp finish.
2010 Tied Knot Riesling
Balanced, delicate, soft and approachable yet refreshingly crisp with both aromas and flavors of lemon, pink grapefruit and peach.
NV Finca del Viso Airen
Crisp yet soft, fruity (with hints of green apple and apricot), and aromatic (white flowers and herb), this is a dry Spanish white wine made from Airen, grapes native to the country.
2010 Cellier des Tourelles Red
A sumptuous, French red blend of Carignan grapes (for character) and Grenache Noir (for body and rich, fruity aromas and flavors).
2010 Sanderson Ranch Pinot Noir
A California delight, soft and round, featuring aromas of ripe berry, cherry and violet with pronounced flavors of cherry-berry, tobacco and herb.
2009 Sierra Trails Old Vine Zinfandel
A complex wine offers aromas of ripe berry, dried plum, and red currants, with hints of tobacco, black pepper, spice and sweet oak
Choose to receive all six wines (3 red, 3 white), all red (2 ea. of 3) or all white (2 ea. of 3).

SKU: B2NMH, B2NRH, B2NWH

Hot Air Balloon Festival @ Mastropietro Winery Sunday 8/26

Mastropietro is probably my most visited local winery. I love the beautiful setting they have outside and the cozy atmosphere inside. Oh...and the wine is YUMMY! I hope to write more on this diamond in the rough soon. But until then I just had to share a super fun annual event they are having this weekend!

Courtesy of their website, please visit it for more info and details about the winery itself!

http://mastropietrowinery.com/

Sunday August 26th
Fourth Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival

The Winery will be open from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
The Berlin Township Fire Department Volunteers will assist in parking cars.

Please note that there will be a $5.00 per person entrance fee for this event (children under 13 free of charge). This is the only event that the Winery charges an admission fee. The fee is used to help defray the various costs of the many entertainments and bringing in the balloonists.

Rachel's Restaurant & Catering will be preparing food on premise from 1:30 to 7:30 PM - you order directly from their cooking area and they will prepare your fresh meal and deliver it to you.

The John Reese Quartet will be playing jazz from 4:30 to 8:00 PM.

This is a kid-friendly day. There will be two clowns performing magic tricks, fashioning balloon animals and entertaining the kids with their antics from 1:30 to 3:30 and then again from 4:00 to 6:00 (gotta give them a break you know!). There will also be Face Painting by local students up on the Gazebo during that same time frame. An attended Bounce Around will be set up near the front pavilion from 1:30 to 6:30 PM (Note: kids must remove shoes and wear socks to go inside the Bounce Around). The Berlin Township Fire Station will have kid-friendly snacks and drinks available for purchase throughout the afternoon near the gravel drive.

Six hot air balloons are scheduled to arrive around 5:30/6:00-ish depending on the weather. Rick will set up his Balloon Gondola in advance so you can see and touch what the balloonists actually fly in and, if you want to take a photo or two, Rick is not opposed to that. Balloon take off is totally regulated by FAA guidelines and the weather. The winery has no say in whether the balloons actually take off, nor when they take off. In past years, the balloons have inflated and have taken off somewhere between 6:30 and 8:00 PM.

Interested in a ride? Weather permitting, a balloon ride is $170.00 per person (this is discounted from the normal $200 to $225 fee). Children under 10 cannot ride, and children 11+ must be accompanied by a parent. Payment is by check or cash only. If planning to fly, it is suggested that you wear cotton clothing, tennis shoes and bring a light jacket just in case it gets chilly. Pilots reserve the right to deny access to their aircraft to anyone who is not acceptably fit or capable of a flight. If you want to reserve a flight, please email Rick at rakoh77@yahoo.com

Wine deals @ Marc's thru August 28

This week at Marc's there are only two wines featured on promo.

Turning Leaf @ $6.99

Yellow Tail 1.5 liter @ $12.99

My pick would be the Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio. This is always a no fail "go to" value wine that can be counted on in a pinch!

Cheers!

Robin

How to chill wine in 6 minutes

We have a great plug in wine chiller that chills the wine in 7 minutes. It circulates the water and cools it quickly. In the summer I do like my white wines chilled just a touch more than what it reaches. I found this article interesting from the Huffington Post:

How to chill wine in 6 minutes

Cheers!

Robin

Wine deals @ Marcs thru August 21st

Pepperwood Grove Wine $5.99
Blackstone Wines $7.99
Bella Sera Wines $7.99
Matthew Fox Wine $3.29

My pick of the above is the Bella Sera Pinot Grigio- said to be crisp, refreshing, and a great compliment to pastas, herbed chicken and fish!

Summer's nearing an end, eat and drink on your deck or patio while you still can bask in the sun!

No long reviews today! Busy week...

Decisions, decisions

Found this great decision tree that should help you when buying your next bottle of wine. If only there were a decision tree for life...
Courtesy of  Winefolly.com
Cheers!
Robin

Wine Tasting 101.5 Part 2: To cork or not to cork?

There has been quite a bit of discussion in the last few years regarding the ever growing use of screw top caps on wine bottles.

Are screw top wines inferior? Do they lack class? I\'ve done some research to help us understand the whole story.

There are 3 dominant types of wine closure methods on the market: Natural cork, Synthetic cork, and Screw cap.

Natural corks have been around for a very long time. The pros to a natural cork is that it lets the wine breathe so that it can properly age. It has the romance we know and love with the "uncorking" experience that is enjoyed at a fine restaurant. Cons are that wine can end up damaged or "corked". The chemical called TCA used to sanitize the cork can compromise and ruin the wine. 5-10% of wines with cork closures on the shelf are "corked".

Synthetic corks are made out of plastic and while they still give you the uncorking experience, they are not ideal. Cons are they are not great for long term cellaring, they actually let more air in than corks or screw tops and that could harm the wine. These are most common in lower cost wines. If you plan to drink it quickly, don\'t sweat it.

Screw caps are actually the best seal. There have been studies done to ensure the wine ages okay with the screw top and they were successful. There are plenty of good wines on the market with a screw top cap. Many wineries are transitioning every year. New Zealand has led the way in this trend, pay attention to the New Zealand wines on the shelves.

So to wrap this up, if you plan to drink a wine in the near future, don\'t worry about the closure. Base your wine buys by what\'s inside the bottle, not what\'s on top. However, if you are planning to cellar it long term, I would lean toward natural cork.

Cheers!
Robin

Wine Gift Bags Winner!!

Congrats to aleighoop for winning the 2 fabric wine gift bags! Send me a private message at Wine and Dimes on facebook or email me at robintittel@yahoo.com by noon tomorrow with your mailing address!

20th Annual Wine & Food Festive-Seven Springs Mountain Resort

  Ok…not Ohio, but close enough for a day trip right?
My husband just received this email from Seven Springs Mountain Resort and thought I should share with all of you!
………………………………..
Who's Ready for the 20th Annual Wine & Food Festival?
August 25-26, 2012
Taste Pennsylvania's finest wines at Seven Springs Mountain Resort! Don't know the difference between cabernet and merlot? No need to worry. The Seven Springs Wine & Food Festival offers a tantalizing experience for anyone who loves exceptional wines. LEARN MORE...
Lodging Available Friday, August 24!
Saturday night of the festival is booked, but there are rooms available for Friday! Lodging starts at $201 per person, based on double occupancy, and includes breakfast. Reservations are filling up fast. Make yours today by calling (866) 437-1300. …………………………………… Cheers! Robin

Apothic Red Wine @ Giant Eagle $10.99 SAVE $11!

Available thru 8/15

Who knew a red wine could taste and smell like butterscotch? Very interesting...


"Apothic 2010 Red

The brambly spice of Zinfandel, dark fruit flavors of Syrah, the bold notes of Cabernet Sauvignon and the smooth elegance of Merlot unite to create this captivating red blend."

"Apothic Red reveals intense fruit aromas and flavors of rhubarb and black cherry, complemented by hints of mocha, chocolate, brown spice and vanilla. The plush, velvety mouthfeel and the smooth finish round out this intriguing, full-bodied red blend."

Info provided by: http://caldones.com/wine/21/
http://www.wineweekly.com/wine-reviews/red-blend-wine-review-apothic-red/
http://www.apothic.com/

Giveaway! Two beautiful handmade wine bags!

Ok, time to work on building a following on my blog!

I have two beautiful handmade wine bags up for grabs. (wine bottle not included!) These bags are made out of high end home dec fabrics.

Here are the rules:
1: follow my blog. Either click "follow" on the right side of this blog page or "like" Wine and Dimes page on Facebook.
2: comment on this blog post telling me your absolute favorite wine!

That's it! I will randomly choose a winner next Saturday, August 11 around NOON. I'll message the winner via FB to get mailing address.

These bags really dress up a wine bottle for gift giving!

Spread the word!!!! Don't miss your chance to win!!!!

Starborough Sauvignon Blanc $10.99 @ Giant Eagle

Available thru Wednesday, August 8.

New Zealand seems to be the source of quite a few recently promoted Sauvignon Blancs. From what I have read the Marlborough district has a strong reputation for the grape. Tasting notes from multiple sites left my mouth watering...except for the one that said it finished with a crisp taste of cabbage. :-/ I'm not so sure about that one. But regardless there are enough good reviews out there of this one that I know it would be a good pickup next time I'm in the supermarket.

Starborough®

"2011 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

The Marlborough district of New Zealand’s South Island has set the world standard for crisp Sauvignon Blanc wines. Marlborough is on the east coast of the island, with a ridge of mountains to the west, limiting rainfall and making it one of the sunniest areas in the country. The landscape is pierced by deep, fjord-like bays, called “sounds,” which enhance the maritime influence and extend the growing season for wine grapes. The long, cool growing season helps the wines of this region to develop rich layers of flavor with a distinctive, refreshing character.

About the Wine:

Our 2011 Starborough Sauvignon Blanc has layers of citrus and tropical fruit with hints of fresh green characters, which make the wine a true expression of the Marlborough region. Flavors of passion fruit, guava and kiwi layered over a citrus framework culminate in a crisp, approachable palate.
Viticulture Notes:

In the 2011 growing season, warmer than average temperatures in November and December produced larger bunches and bigger berries in Marlborough. Dry conditions and cooler weather into late February created an excellent harvest, allowing the Sauvignon Blanc grapes to retain their natural acidity and build concentrated flavors."

Info found at: http://www.starboroughwine.com/

Cheers!
Robin

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad presents: "Grape-Escape" Wine-Tasting Excursion

August 17, 2012
7-9 pm - Departing from Boston Mills

4th Annual Napa Valley Wine Train

We have been on the CVSR train for the bunny express around Easter. Such a fun time!

I have heard this is a great time as well!

Sit back and relax as you discover 5 different wines, all while traveling through Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This excursion is 2 hours in length and round trip. You must be 21 or older to ride. No one under 21 will be admitted.

While on board, you will sample 5 different wines, each served with a chef-prepared hors d' ouevres. Everyone receives a commemorative CVSR tasting glass.

 For additional info or to purchase tickets: http://www.cvsr.com/default.aspx