News Releases

Save the Date - 2012 Ohio Grape & Wine Conference, February 20-21, 2012, Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, Columbus, OH. For more information about the 2012 Ohio Grape & Wine Conference click here

The Cucina at Gervasi Vineyard is delighted to announce our Winter 2012 classes.

Highlights include four days of authentic Italian cuisine with visiting chef Fabio Bongianni from Rome, Italy; wine classes exploring the wines of Italy and France; and a smorgasbord of cooking classes from Mad for Mushrooms to Cooking with Wine, Brazilian cuisine to Chinese dim sum, classic French bread to stylish appetizers, and sushi to soups. Our Enjoying Wines series continues with Pairing Wine and Food (Class 3) and an Introduction to White Wines (Class 4). We’re also hosting A Romantic Culinary Weekend for Valentines, and breast cancer survivor Chef Tamara Mitchell will be teaching a class on nourishing yourself or someone you love who’s undergoing cancer treatment.

Winter is a great season to join us for a class at the Cucina! Class descriptions and menus, registration, and information on our instructors can be found at the Cucina section of our web site.

Fabio Bongianni, our guest chef from Italy, will teach classes at the Cucina from Thursday, January 19 through Sunday, January 22. Fabio left a career in law to pursue his true passion: cooking. He now runs a successful restaurant, That’s Amore, near the Trevi fountain in Rome, Italy, the city of his birth. Fabio also teaches cooking at several locations including his restaurant, his home near the Spanish steps in Rome, his country home in Mazzano Romano, and a 17th century castle in southern Tuscany. After leaving the courts, Fabio worked in several restaurants in Rome, and then pursed his culinary dream further by attending the Ritz Escoffier cooking school in Paris. When he graduated, he returned to Rome and opened a popular American-style steakhouse. In 2004 he created That’s Amore, and his cooking schools came next.

Fabio cooks classical Roman dishes and Neapolitan pizza at That’s Amore, which has an ambiance reminiscent of Italian restaurants of the 1960’s. He describes his restaurant as a place where “the pleasure of food is mixed with a sense of intimacy and romance.” Fabio designs his cooking classes in Italy as a day-long experience that begins by shopping for ingredients in local markets. He includes Italian art, history, culture, and cookery in his lessons and seeks to stimulate students’ creativity in addition to teaching them about Italian cuisine. His goal, he says, is to make his guests feel not like tourists, but like friends.

Read more about the 2011 harvest at

Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County recognized the Best of the County Tuesday evening during its annual awards banquet at Spire Institute.

Arnie Esterer, Lifetime Achievement Award. Co-founder of Markko Vineyard in Conneaut, Esterer was recognized for his commitment to bringing a world-class wine industry to the region. Esterer expounded on wine as food and cautioned against allowing its tourism aspects to overshadow the agricultural, traditional and nutritional foundations.

“Wine has been here 150 years. It’s in our blood now,” he said.

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Read more about it below to make your own decision.

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (May 31, 2011) – To celebrate Ohio’s wines, known as some of the best in the country, and their significant impact on Ohio’s economy, Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich declared June “Ohio Wine Month”.

Ohio’s 148 wineries tend to 1,600 acres of grapes that produce more than 1 million gallons of wine each year. Wineries, located all over the state, offer wine tastings, educational day trips, and tours to educate about the art of wine making and the top quality of Ohio wines.

For a limited time, consumers can also find Ohio wines at their favorite restaurants across the state. Select restaurants in the Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus areas will feature Ohio Quality Wines by the glass or bottle from June through August. For more details about these events, or for more information about Ohio’s award winning wines, visit www.tasteohiowines.com.

Over the last 10 years, Ohio’s wine industry has grown significantly. According to a 2008 Economic Impact report, Ohio’s grape and wine industry generates more than $580 million in economic activity that supports local communities while producing a superior agricultural product. The Ohio grape and wine industry also employs more than 4,000 people, providing a payroll of $124.2 million.

The Ohio Grape Industries Committee, chaired by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, provides marketing and promotion efforts to generate and expand new markets for grapes and grape products and research to improve the quality of grapes and profitability of grape growing as an agribusiness.

Jointly Presented by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University Extension, OSU South Centers, Eldchrist Winery, and Union County Chamber of Commerce.

When: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, May 10th , 2011

Where: Union County Community Services Building, Main Conference Room, 940 London Avenue, Marysville, OH 43040

For more information about the event, including the registration form, please contact the OGIC office at (614) 728-6438 or ceckstein@agri.ohio.gov

Eight wines from three Ohio wineries received the prestigious Ohio Quality Wine award designation.

The Ohio Quality Wine award designation, created in 2007 by the Ohio Grape Industries Committee, is assigned to wines made from at least 90 percent Ohio-grown vinifera and hybrid grapes. These wines must also achieve at least 15 of 20 points on a sensory evaluation and pass a chemical analysis conducted by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster before receiving the quality seal.

The latest wineries to receive this designation include Breitenbach Wine Cellars (Dover), Burnet Ridge Winery (Cincinnati), and Ferrante Winery (Geneva).

By focusing on wines made from Ohio grapes, the Ohio Quality Wine program spurs the expansion and renovation of Ohio’s vineyards to meet the needs of Ohio winemakers. The program provides five judgings per year to include all possible wine releases. Chemical analysis sets this quality program apart from others by identifying flaws that can be missed when only sensory testing is used. There are currently 174 wines that have earned this top status.

The Ohio Grape Industries Committee is housed at the Ohio Department of Agriculture and provides wineries a means to market their top-quality wines against well-known California and European wines. To learn more about the program or for a complete list of Ohio Quality Wines, visit www.tasteohiowines.com.

Ohio’s grape and wine production is an integral component of Ohio’s agriculture industry. It contributes nearly a half billion dollars to Ohio’s economy and accounts for more than 4,100 full-time jobs.

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Media Contact: Christy Eckstein, Ohio Grape Industries, 614-728-6438

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (March 10, 2011) – Six Ohio wineries will showcase their award-winning wines alongside some of the best in the world at the 21st Cincinnati International Wine Festival, March 11-12, at the Duke Energy Convention Center.

More than 600 wines from 100 wineries all around the world will be represented at this event, one of the largest annual wine festivals in the country. Ohio’s participating wineries include: Burnet Ridge (North College Hill); Firelands Winery (Sandusky); Henke Winery (Cincinnati); Meier’s Wine Cellars (Silverton); Valley Vineyards (Morrow); and Vinoklet Winery (Cincinnati).

Ohio has a strong tradition in grape and wine production, which started along the Ohio River near Cincinnati in the 1850s. Ohio is credited with starting this country’s domestic wine production.

Today, Ohio’s grape and wine production is an integral component of Ohio’s agriculture industry. It contributes nearly a half billion dollars to Ohio’s economy and accounts for more than 4,100 full-time jobs.

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Media Contact: Andy Ware, Communications Director, 614-752-9817

Writer:
Candace Pollock
pollock.58@cfaes.osu.edu
(614) 292-3799, @CommTechMedia on Twitter

Source:
Maurus Brown, OSU South Centers at Piketon
brown.989@osu.edu
(740) 289-2071

LONDON, Ohio - Ohio growers interested in launching a wine grape business or expanding an existing vineyard can learn more about the new Vineyard Expansion Assistance Program at Ohio State University's Farm Science Review.

Maurus Brown, an OSU Extension small fruit specialist, and Christy Eckstein with the Ohio Grape Industries Committee, will present a session on the program at 3 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Center for Small Farms, located on Beef Street in the exhibitor area. Farm Science Review runs from Sept. 21-23 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio.

The show is sponsored by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, OSU Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

Brown said that the program, which was launched this year, replaces the Ohio Vine Grant Program. The new program attracted 35 applicants, 19 of which were approved $2,000 each for their vineyards.

"The Vineyard Expansion Assistance Program is designed to encourage the establishment of new wine grape vineyards in Ohio, as well as expand existing vineyards, specifically for the production of vinifera and French-American hybrids," said Brown.

The incentive program was created by the Ohio Grape Industries Committee and funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant program. It's intended to meet the goal of increasing grape acreage in Ohio by 10 percent over the next five years.

Growers interested in participating in the program may apply for up to $3,000 per acre with a maximum of three acres or $9,000. The funding will cover only the cost of the winegrape vines planted.

The Vineyard Expansion Assistance Program presentation is one of 19 sessions being offered at the Farm Science Review Center for Small Farms. Other topics include government programs for beginning farmers, local foods, using social media, food safety practices, alternative energy sources, getting started in aquaculture, agritourism, using cover crops and the fundamentals of direct marketing.

For a complete schedule, log on to http://fsr.osu.edu/schedule.html.

Farm Science Review pre-show tickets are now on sale for $5 at all OSU Extension county offices. Tickets will also be available at local agribusinesses. Tickets are $8 at the gate. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 21-22 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 23.

For more information, log on to http://fsr.osu.edu. For the latest news and updates, follow Farm Science Review on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/OhioStateFSR), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/FarmScienceReview), and Ning (http://fsrosu.ning.com).