Last week I joined my dad for a series of tastings in the Cincinnati, Ohio area.  I went to school at Miami University so it was a fun excuse for me to go back and visit campus while also shadowing him in his tasting routine.

Our first tasting was held at Main Street Gourmet located in Oxford, Ohio in the heart of Miami’s “Uptown”.  Many years ago while visiting me at school, Dad quickly found his way to the best (and perhaps only?) wine store in town and befriended the owner Chris.  Since then any visit has required a stop at Main Street Gourmet, so it was especially nice to kick off the weekend with a tasting with some of their most valued clients.

World’s largest wine opener???

The tasting ended after 10pm and I was ready for a nice dinner out.  To my dismay (how quickly I forget as a NY-er) all kitchens in the town of Oxford close by 10pm at the latest, and to make matters worse, it was Green Beer Day, a Miami institution, so bars and restaurants had decided to close even earlier to avoid the mayhem.  The day was saved when I learned that Bagel and Deli now offers gluten free bagels!!!  You have no idea how excited I was, I went in like a kid in a candy store, indecisive on which bagel to order, which prompted the bagel maker to ask me if it was my first time there, (hardly)!  I decided on a “donkey punch” took it back to my hotel room and devoured it, happy as can be!

The next day we went in to Cincinnati to another favorite wine store, Piazza Discepoli in Glendale for another tasting.  Just as successful, we had a great turnout, with amazing food pairings.

All in all a very fun and successful weekend.  Can I go back to college??