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Vinoklet Winery

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Summer is here, and what better way to spend summer afternoons or nights than at a winery drinking local wine?! Wine made right at the winery! Not to mention, June is also Ohio Wine Month. This is certainly a win, win! If you haven’t began celebrating, you can start now! It’s never too early or late for a good glass of wine. Pursuit of Delights has partnered with Ohio Wines for the second year in a row, to visit one of their official wineries. This means that the wine is made in Ohio as well as the grapes are grown in Ohio. This year Tiff Squared decided to visit Vinoklet Winery located in Hamilton County. We welcomed our summer with the perfect pours of crisp white and red wines, made from fresh grapes grown right on their property, on the perfect breezy afternoon. The flowers were blossomed and vibrant in color and the waterfalls were rolling. HEEELLLOOOO SUMMMMEEERRR!!

Vinoklet Winery is the only working winery in Hamilton County Ohio. It is located in Colerain Township in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is home to 12 award-winning wines and is proud to represent the Greater Cincinnati area in local and regional wine competitions. Vinoklet Winery has been established since 1986. It all started when the founder, Kreso Mikulic, planted its first vines. In its 34 years of business, it has expanded to now over 12,000 vines across 30+ acres of rolling hills and ponds. At 86 years old, Mr. Mukulic still gets up and works at the winery every day.

What Tiff Squared found interesting is they plant their own vines, harvest their own grapes by hand in 5-gallon buckets, hall them down to the winery, and produces wine. Ohhh, did we mention the size is quite huge. You enter through the restaurant and the vineyards and winery are out back. It is gorgeous. It also over looks a huge pond. Its location and scenery is perfect for weddings or other celebratory events. They have a nice selection of dry and sweet wines to choose from. If you are unsure of what to get, we recommend starting with a tasting. That is what we did. The tasting we did consisted of 12 different wines, white and red, starting with dry and progressing to sweet. We always have fun at tastings because Tiff D. likes more of a dry wine whereas Tiff B. likes sweeter wines. We always share a good laugh as the tasting starts and finishes. You will receive an entire flight of award-winning wines consisting of 12, 1 -oz cups & a souvenir glass for $12.15 plus tax. Don’t let the 1-oz fool you. Lol! Tiff D.’s favorite was the Tears of Joy, a dry wine made similar to a Chardonnay. Crisp and full of flavor, yet soft to the palate. Tiff B.’s favorite was the Strawberry wine, a sweet wine popping with the taste and aroma of fresh strawberries.

Now we can’t come to a winery and not talk about the food! Let’s take a moment to explore their food options. This winery totally gave me country club vibes with a beautiful view. Their food is American and has a variety of appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, and desserts. They even offer what they call Grilled to Perfection offered only on Fridays & Saturdays. Grill to Perfection is where guests can come in and select certain menu items and grill their food themselves with a Grill Master; all while enjoying the ambiance of the unique dining room and vineyard while staff caters to their needs. How cool is that?! They also offer different dinner specials on different days of the week. We began with a cheese and charcuterie board. This is always a good choice paired with wine. You can’t go wrong with this. For entrees, we did the Baby Back Ribs (Thursday special) and the Grilled Norwegian Salmon. They were served with Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, and a Dinner Roll. Both meals were really good and cooked perfect.

This was a super cute winery and we were happy to visit! We were pleasantly pleased with their different wines and how beautiful their property is. Although there is only one weekend left in June, we hope that you will visit one of the 300 wineries to celebrate Ohio Wine month. We highly recommend Vinoklet Winery for its charm, great wines, and beautiful views. It could certainly make the perfect date night or night out with the girls. Let the good times roll and give summer the perfect greeting. Cheers to a wonderful summer and Happy Wine Month!

You can find more details of Vinoklet Winery and a full wine list here.

Dreaming Of The Amalfi Coast

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You know when you see something that looks so stunning that it’s almost too good to be true? That is how I felt about the Amalfi Coast. Italy has been on my list of places to visit for a long time so when a great opportunity presented itself, I booked my trip on the spot. Most travelers go directly to the major cities like Rome, Pisa, Florence, etc. (which I absolutely plan to visit one day), but my eye was always on the coast. There was just something magical about it. Even more than what pictures can showcase. Many think of this area as just relaxing and romantic, but there were so many great activities and things to do. The coast is also known to be pretty expensive, but there are also ways to save money while traveling and exploring the area. Read on to read tips on the best ways to make the most of your experience and save a little while you’re at it!

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June Is Ohio Wine Month!!

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Did you all know June is Ohio Wine Month?!! Well, ladies and gents, it sure is! If this was news to you too, no worries! You’re just in time to start celebrating for the second half of the month! Pursuit of Delights partnered with Ohio Wines to visit one of their official wineries- which means the wine is made in Ohio and grapes grown in Ohio.  It was so hard to choose just one, as there are over 300! In the end, we kept it local and visited the top-rated wine shop in Cincinnati… Henke Winery. How we’d never been there before is still a surprise to us, but we are so glad we finally did!

Henky Winery is an urban winery located in the West Side of Cincinnati. They have been established since 1996. When we entered, it felt as if we walked into one of our family member’s home (who happened to be serving delicious wine ). They’ve grown to become one of the top urban wineries and have won a multitude of medals such as one of their most recent- Top 10 Urban Wineries by Wine Enthusiasts! How impressive! The size is also quite surprising. It is much larger than it appears to be with multiple rooms. Accommodating many guests would be possible even though it may not look it from the outside.

What we love about them is all their wines are made in their own cellar. I assumed they would have a small selection, but there are multiple dry, sweet, and sparkling red and white options to choose from. If you’re unsure of what to get, start with a tasting! You will receive five selected wines for $10 and get to keep the glass! Whoop! My favorite white was the Chardonnay which won a double gold in the Ohio wine competition. For red, my favorite was the Norton, which is made from an American grape. Thomas Jefferson said this was probably one of the best American grapes to make wine from. These grapes are grown in Winchester, which is about 75 miles away. Henke certainly would’ve made Thomas Jefferson proud with their Norton! As if your selection was not hard enough, they also have 3 more coming back soon: The Sparkling Wine, Rose´, and Cranberry Apple (I personally cannot WAIT to try this one!)

I want to also take a moment to talk about the food options offered. Their food is American/eclectic with a variety of appetizers, salads, soups, entrees, and desserts. We began with the cheese and charcuterie board, which you really can’t go wrong with. It’s a great way to snack while continuing with your tasting. For entrees, we ordered the Atlantic Cod Filet (which came with a side and salad) and the Linguini Carbonara. They were both fantastic and cooked perfectly. The carbonara could have easily been two meals for anyone. I would also recommend adding a bread basket considering you may be drinking a decent amount of wine!

This was such a cute winery to visit! I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing wine and rich food. You can see their full wine selection and food menu by visiting their website. In preparation for the weekend, we hope you take the time to visit one of the Ohio wineries in celebration of Ohio Wine month! We highly recommend Henke Winery, as it’s charming, has great wine, and the owner Joe is extremely personable and certainly knows his wine! Their metals decorate every room so as soon as you walk in the door, you’ll know you’re in for a great treat!

If you want to explore additional locations, you can find a full list of the certified Ohio Wineries here. Maybe we’ll even see you at one! :)

 

Cheers and Happy Wine Month!