Ohio winemakers’ earliest efforts to produce dry reds from grape varieties better suited for sweet wines sent even the most open-minded wine enthusiast sprinting to the spit bucket.
Some of the wines tasted like a not-so-hypothetical blend of green pepper juice and iodine.

But those days are history. In every corner of the Buckeye State, Ohio wineries are today making excellent homegrown dry red wines that stand up proudly to their counterparts made in California, France and Italy. And the best is yet to come.

Todd Steiner, enology program manager at Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and the state’s leading expert on wine grapes, says several factors are contributing to the surge in quality of Ohio’s homegrown dry red wines.

“Experience is really helping us out,” Steiner says, both in the vineyards where grapes are grown and in the cellars where the wine is made. Winery owners are planting more vineyards with red vinifera grapevines native to Europe such as cabernet franc, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon. And the latest agricultural research is helping to guide wineries to the best sites, the best soils and the best microclimates for those vinifera  grape varieties, which have shown in vineyards around the globe that they can make fabulous dry red wines.

Long, warm growing seasons such as those Ohio has enjoyed in some recent years also have helped, since the combination of warmth, extended “hang time” for grapes and dry conditions during the fall harvest allow grapes to ripen to the magical point that they make rich, fruity, sumptuous dry wines.

“Whether you call it global warming or not, the environment we’ve had in Ohio is a little more conducive than it used to be for growing wine grapes,” Steiner says.

Ohio winemakers are getting plenty of good advice to help them obtain the maximum potential out of the high-quality red-wine grapes growing in their vineyards.

“There’s a lot of good new research being done in Ohio and across the U.S. that has helped our winemaking process considerably,” Steiner says. “The research is showing us the optimal times to harvest, how to handle the grapes after they’re picked and how to handle fermentations.”

Those lessons learned are also boosting the quality of red wines made from hybrid grapes such as chambourcin and Norton that are crosses between native North American grape varieties and European vinifera. In the northern half of the state, pinot noir, cabernet franc and chambourcin are reaching new heights of quality, while in the south, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, Norton, cabernet franc and chambourcin are all showing great promise, Steiner says.

Joe Schuchter has had a front-row seat to Ohio’s red-wine renaissance: He serves as president of the Ohio Wine Producers Association’s governing board and is part of the third generation of his family to operate Valley Vineyards in Warren County northeast of Cincinnati. His winery’s 2010 Cabernet Franc won the “Director’s Award” last year from the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Grape Industries Committee, earning the designation of “best red wine in Ohio.” (Don’t bother calling and trying to order a bottle — Valley Vineyards sold the last case to the Palace Restaurant in the Cincinnatian Hotel, Schuchter says.)

“A lot of the vinifera grapevines that we planted in the late 1980s and early ’90s are finally reaching maturity, and I think that’s the case at some other Ohio wineries as well,” Schuchter says, explaining the widespread improvement of Ohio-grown reds. “Also, the winery owners are allowing their winemakers to experiment more and to spend the money on new oak barrels, and that helps boost quality.”

Dry reds from the 2010 vintage — which enjoyed a long, warm growing season — are still available at many Ohio wineries (Valley Vineyards released a 2010 syrah shortly after its cabernet franc sold out), and these wines will offer proof of Ohio’s red-winemaking savvy to even the most skeptical oenophile. Steiner and Valley Vineyards winemaker Greg Pollman say the 2011 vintage, with its cooler growing season and rain-soaked autumn, was more challenging, but many Ohio winemakers overcame those obstacles to produce impressive reds.

We’ll just have to look for other sources for our green pepper and iodine.


RECIPE

Note: This recipe from Cheryl Bater of London, Ohio, is a “Best of Show” winner in the Ohio State Fair’s “Cooking with Ohio Wines” contest. It called for Firelands Cabernet Sauvignon; we’ve adapted it to include other Ohio dry reds. For more recipes, visit the Ohio Grape Industries website, tasteohiowines.com/recipes.aspx.

Seared Ribeye Steaks with Cabernet Sauce Reduction
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
2 boneless prime ribeye steaks
1 tablespoon mixed peppercorns
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon olive oil

Sauce:
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup Ohio cabernet franc or
cabernet sauvignon

3/4 cup low-salt beef broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter,
cut into small pieces

Garnish:
3 tablespoons Roquefort cheese
3 tablespoons toasted walnuts,
coarsely chopped
1 tablespoons chives, minced
black currant clusters (optional)
edible flowers (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Remove steaks from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place walnuts in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside and cool.

Combine peppercorns, cumin seed, mustard seed and salt in spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle. Grind spices thoroughly. Coat steaks lightly with olive oil, rubbing onto all sides of meat. Rub spice mixture onto steaks, coating meat evenly.

Heat iron skillet over high heat for 3 minutes. Add steaks to dry, hot pan. Reduce heat to medium-high and sear steaks on one side for 4 minutes. Flip steaks over and continue cooking second side for 3 minutes for medium-rare or 4 to 5 minutes for medium doneness. Transfer steaks to plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Reduce heat to medium. In same pan steaks were cooked in, saute shallots and tomato paste for 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Gradually stir in wine, low-salt beef broth and balsamic vinegar. Cook to reduce liquid by one third. Strain sauce through small strainer. Add butter, small amounts at a time, and whisk into sauce. Add additional kosher salt if desired to taste.

To Serve: Divide sauce evenly between plates. Place steaks on top of sauce. Crumble Roquefort cheese over steaks. Top steaks with toasted walnuts and chives.