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Make time for wine! June is Ohio Wine Month. Here’s what you need to know to celebrate

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Make time for wine! June is Ohio Wine Month. Here’s what you need to know to celebrate


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Do you need an excuse to visit a winery? Not really. But the Ohio Department of Tourism has one ready, just in case.

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June is Ohio Wine Month, and the state tourism department compiled a list of things to do in 2024 for Ohio Wine Month (more on that below).

Here’s what to know about Ohio Wine Month and how to celebrate it.

Buckeye State boasting: The highest-rated wine in the country is from Ohio

What is Ohio Wine Month?

Gov. John Kasich established Ohio Wine Month in 2012 to celebrate Ohio wines and winemakers, according to Drink Up Columbus.

“Ohio’s bustling wine and grape industries provide more than just great products,” said Tracy Intihar, Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Interim Director, according to the Ohio Grape Industries Committee. “They create thousands of jobs and bring in billions of dollars to the state, in addition to providing local tasting rooms, beautiful vineyards, and top-notch food options to make memories with friends and family at Ohio’s wineries.”

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Ohio’s wine industry brought in $6.6 billion in economic activity, created 40,399 jobs and generated $1.9 billion in wages, according to a study conducted by John Dunham & Associates and funded by the OGIC. In 2022, the data set used for this study, Ohio winemakers produced about 1.2 million gallons of wine in a 12-month period and ranked seventh in the country for wine economic output.

What to do during Ohio Wine Month

Ohio tourism’s list of 24 things to do for Ohio Wine Month has suggestions big and small, from traveling the state’s seven wine trails to supporting your local winery, as well as setting up a wine and cheese night at home. Here’s a look at some things to do:

Visit Ohio’s five recognized regions for growing wine grapes

The term “appellation” on a wine label denotes the geographic origin of the grapes used to produce it, according to the Ohio Grape Industries Committee. To use the term on a label, 85% of that wine must be produced from grapes grown in that area.

In the United States, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau regulates viticulture (the study of grape cultivation for wine making) appellations. And Ohio has five of them, according to the committee. They include:

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  • Lake Erie: The Lake Erie AVA is an American Viticultural Area that includes 2,236,800 acres of land on the south shore of Lake Erie in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.
  • Isle St. George: The Isle St. George AVA is located on North Bass Island in Lake Erie. Over half of the island is planted for grapevines.
  • Grand River Valley: The Grand River Valley AVA includes portions of the Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula counties of northeastern Ohio. 
  • Ohio River Valley: Wine has been produced in this AVA since 1823. It is the second-largest wine appellation of origin in the United States with 16,640,000 acres in portions of the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. It is second only to the Upper Mississippi Valley.
  • Loramie Creek: The Loramie Creek AVA is bordered by Loramie and Tuttle Creeks as well as state Route 47 in Shelby County. 

Phil Your Glass: Five wines from Northeast Ohio that you need to try

Explore Ohio’s seven wine trails

The Ohio Wine Producers Association lists seven wine trails, each covering a certain region of the state. They are:

  • Appalachian Wine Trail: According to the wine producers group, the region’s deep unglaciated soils create “very favorable microclimates to ripen grapes,” which are then made into distinctive wines in the tradition of the artists who made the pottery, glasswork, basketry and furniture “for which the foothills of eastern Ohio continue to be known.”
  • Canal Country Wine Trail: Dotted throughout the region opened to settlement by the Ohio and Erie Canal are some of the state’s “most charming” wineries, according to the wine producers. “Remnants of the Canal are preserved in an area rich in history, beautiful scenery, unique cultures, natural resources and leisure activity options.”
  • Capital City Wine Trail: With each winery located a short drive from Columbus, the wine producers association says it is possible to visit two or three in a day and explore the unique communities that surround them.
  • Ohio River Valley Wine Trail: This trail celebrates Ohio wines’ rise to prominence, not once but twice. In the 1800s, Nicholas Longworth planted vines imported from Europe on hundreds of acres overlooking the Ohio River, and discovered a native variety that produced an excellent sparkling wine. By the mid-1800s, his wines were celebrated across the country and Europe, but vine disease and the Civil War ended his run. In the 1970s, the region made a comeback with the support of research from Ohio State University.
  • Lake Erie Shores & Islands Wine Trail: Throughout this ‘cool climate’ growing district, historic vineyards and wine families who have farmed them for generations are complemented by new plantings of Rieslings and chardonnays established by entrepreneurs. Numerous soil types, deposited by years of glacial movements, provide fertile ground for great viticulture, new and old.
  • Vines & Wines Wine Trail: Along the south shore of Lake Erie, through the valley created by the Grand River, this tiny parcel of land in Northeast Ohio is home to well over half of the wine grape acreage in the state. It boasts more wineries per square mile than in any other region.
  • V.I.N.O. Wine Trail: The “Vintners in Northwest Ohio” represents an eclectic group of family wineries. They are just a short drive from Toledo and neighboring communities in Michigan and Indiana.

Yappy Hour: Crack open a cold one with your pooch at these 21 dog-friendly bars, wineries around Akron

Visit a wine festival

The Vintage Ohio Wine Festival in Kirtland on Aug. 2 and 3 bills itself as the “premier food and wine event of the year.” It offers a wide selection of Ohio wines, as well as entertainment, artisans and shopping.

But it is far from the only festival happening around the state. Others include the Island Wine Festival in June and the V.I.N.O Wine Festival in October. For a full list, visit the Ohio Wine Producers Association events page.

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Sample a new Ohio wine, or attend a tasting at a new winery

Expand your horizons by sampling a new wine, or your favorite style from a new winery in Ohio.

For past Ohio Wine Months, Ohio Magazine has offered a selection of new wines to try, including 7 Ohio wineries to visit in 2023 and 6 Ohio wines to try in 2022.

Try an award-winning wine

The Ohio Grape Industries Committee has a long list of Ohio wineries that took home medals from the 2024 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, which it calls “the most prestigious in North America.” More than 50 judges, representing various North American wine regions, evaluated over 5,500 wines from nearly 1,000 wineries for the competition.

The 2023 Ohio Wine Competition, held in May, was the largest one yet with 432 entries, the group says. Hanover Winery’s Marquette won Overall Best of Show and Best of Ohio. For the full list of winners, click here.

Find an Ohio winery near you

The state has 320 wineries and 21 grape juice, jam, and jelly producers, according to the Ohio tourism association. If you’re looking for one near you, the Ohio Grape Industries Committee offers a search engine by address or ZIP code.

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How Ohio State’s Defense Could Look Different in 2025 with Matt Patricia As Coordinator, Eight New Starters

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How Ohio State’s Defense Could Look Different in 2025 with Matt Patricia As Coordinator, Eight New Starters


Ohio State’s 2025 defense could look significantly different than the No. 1-ranked defense that led the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2024.

That would have been the case even if Jim Knowles had stayed at Ohio State for a fourth season as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator. Eight of the 11 starters from Ohio State’s 2024 defense were seniors who are now preparing to play in the NFL: defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, defensive tackles Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams, linebacker Cody Simon, cornerback Denzel Burke, nickelback Jordan Hancock and safety Lathan Ransom.

Even before Knowles left Ohio State for Penn State, there was talk that the Buckeyes’ defensive scheme could be adjusted in 2025. With the impending departure of the entire starting defensive line from last season, there had been subtle hints that the Buckeyes could mix up their defensive fronts more after using a four-down front almost exclusively for the past two seasons. Different alignments in the secondary were certainly possible, too, especially with the departure of the versatile Hancock, who played both cornerback and safety for the Buckeyes in 2024.

More drastic defensive changes could be on the table now that Ohio State has hired Matt Patricia as its new defensive coordinator.

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What exactly Ohio State’s defense will look like with Patricia at the helm is difficult to pinpoint. Patricia’s defenses with the New England Patriots, where he held his only previous full-time defensive coordinator job, were known for their variety and multiplicity, often looking different from one week to the next based on opponent matchups. Those defenses were also heavily influenced by Bill Belichick, who worked closely with the defense throughout his tenure as Patriots head coach.

Changing the scheme throughout the season would likely be a less successful strategy at the collegiate level, as coaches don’t get as much time to meet with their players and install game plans in college football as they do during the NFL season. Given Patricia’s history of using multiple fronts, though, it would come as a surprise if Ohio State’s defense relies solely on four-man fronts in 2025.

Ultimately, Patricia’s job will be to work with Ryan Day and the rest of Ohio State’s assistant coaches to build a defensive scheme that fits the team’s top defensive players, which he says has always been his philosophy as a coordinator.

“We would always morph the defense based on the talent we had,” Patricia said in a recent interview on Julian Edelman’s Games with Names podcast, referencing his time as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator. “Personnel was always the biggest thing: Who do we got? It was always us first, like, who do we have? Who are the best 11 guys we can put on the field to help us win this week, and who do they got?”

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As Patricia begins his Ohio State tenure, one of his most important tasks will be determining who the Buckeyes’ best 11 defensive players are. He should already know who Ohio State’s best defender is, and everything the Buckeyes do defensively in 2025 should be built around maximizing the talents of superstar safety Caleb Downs. Ohio State often used Downs as a safety/linebacker hybrid in the middle of its defense last season, particularly in the second half of the year, and Patricia has a history of doing the same when Patrick Chung was the Patriots’ strong safety.

It’s a safe bet that Sonny Styles and Davison Igbinosun will also be starters after starting for Ohio State’s No. 1-ranked defense this past season, but whether they’ll be used the same way they were in 2024 is uncertain. Styles has the versatility to do a lot of different things for the Buckeyes’ defense, having started his career as a safety before moving to linebacker while he has a downhill skill set that could theoretically make him effective coming off the edge in certain situations. While Igbinosun has played exclusively at outside cornerback in his first two years at Ohio State, there’s a school of thought that he could be used in different ways in the secondary too, especially with Jermaine Mathews Jr., Devin Sanchez and Aaron Scott Jr. all being strong candidates to push for more playing time at cornerback.

One of the biggest personnel question marks for Ohio State’s defense is who will step up along the defensive line, which could play a big part in determining which defensive fronts the Buckeyes use primarily. 

While Ohio State eschewed the hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end Jack position that Jim Knowles initially brought to OSU over the past two years, a big reason for that was because all of Sawyer, Tuimoloau, Williams and Hamilton were best suited to play in a four-man front. This year’s projected top group of defensive linemen includes several players who could be well-suited to play in three-man fronts; Eddrick Houston, Logan George and Caden Curry would all be candidates to play the 5-technique defensive end spot, while Kayden McDonald has the body type to be a true nose tackle.

Kenyatta Jackson Jr. should see plenty of playing time as a traditional defensive end, but one of the biggest wild cards in this year’s defensive equation is C.J. Hicks, who’s expected to play primarily on the edge as a senior after being a backup linebacker for the past three years. A pass-rushing outside linebacker role has the potential to unlock his five-star talent, and whether he can establish himself as one of Ohio State’s top pass-rushers could determine how much the Buckeyes use a standup edge defender this season.

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Possible Defensive Front Lineups
Pos 4-2-5 Pos 3-3-5
DE KENYATTA JACKSON JR. DE CADEN CURRY/KENYATTA JACKSON JR.
DT EDDRICK HOUSTON NT KAYDEN MCDONALD
NT KAYDEN MCDONALD DE EDDRICK HOUSTON/LOGAN GEORGE
DE CADEN CURRY/LOGAN GEORGE OLB C.J. HICKS

While Patricia’s defenses could include both 4-3 and 3-4 looks in the traditional sense, with Arvell Reese and Payton Pierce projecting as top candidates to play alongside Styles at linebacker, Ohio State’s primary defense will likely still feature five defensive backs in the lineup. And Ohio State will likely continue to use many of the same coverage concepts that made its pass defense the best in the country for the past two years, with Tim Walton and Matt Guerrieri both expected to have a major role in coordinating the back end of the defense with their respective promotions to co-defensive coordinator and passing game coordinator.

That said, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a little more personnel variation in the secondary in 2025. The Buckeyes relied mostly on their starting five in 2024 except for Mathews rotating in with Burke and Igbinosun, but Hancock’s ability to play multiple positions helped enable that. While Lorenzo Styles Jr. is a potential candidate to play the dual role that Hancock did, Ohio State could also use three true safeties more often with Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain being candidates to play big roles alongside Downs. If Sanchez proves to be what he’s expected to be as a freshman, Ohio State would also have good reason to put him on the field with Igbinosun and Mathews for three-cornerback looks, as there’s a good chance all three of them will rank among OSU’s best 11 defenders.

Possible Secondary Lineups
Pos Hybrid Nickel Pos Three-CB Pos Three-Safety
CB DAVISON IGBINOSUN CB DAVISON IGBINOSUN CB DAVISON IGBINOSUN
CB JERMAINE MATHEWS JR. CB DEVIN SANCHEZ CB JERMAINE MATHEWS JR.
NB LORENZO STYLES JR. CB JERMAINE MATHEWS JR. S MALIK HARTFORD
FS CALEB DOWNS FS CALEB DOWNS S CALEB DOWNS
SS JAYLEN MCCLAIN/MALIK HARTFORD SS JAYLEN MCCLAIN/MALIK HARTFORD S JAYLEN MCCLAIN

Neither Patricia nor anyone else at Ohio State should be looking to completely reinvent the Buckeyes’ defense after a season in which they had the best defense in the country. But adjustments were always going to be necessary for a defense that’s losing eight starters from last season who will all likely be selected in the 2025 NFL draft. How well Patricia can marry up the defensive concepts he’ll bring to Columbus with the returning talent Ohio State has on defense will determine whether Ohio State has another elite defense in 2025.



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UW @ Ohio State Game Thread

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UW @ Ohio State Game Thread


Washington (12-11, 3-9 Big Ten) looks to win its second straight as it battles Ohio State (14-10, 6-7 Big Ten) on the road.

This is your spot to comment and follow along with your fellow Husky fans. A note that we will be extremely loose with the definition of trolling and any offenders will be banned. Also, any comments directed at other posters will be deleted and the offenders may be placed on pre-moderate mode.

*****

Go Dawgs!

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After armed neo-Nazis get police protection, some Black residents in Ohio express disbelief

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After armed neo-Nazis get police protection, some Black residents in Ohio express disbelief


Some Black leaders and residents in greater Cincinnati expressed dismay after armed, masked neo-Nazis were allowed to gather on a freeway bridge without arrest.

Some have called for a quick investigation of the response by Evendale police and Hamilton County sheriff’s deputies after the demonstration Friday afternoon on the Interstate 75 overpass between the Village of Evendale and Lincoln Heights, the latter a historically Black community.

The biggest question for critics of the response is why none of the neo-Nazi demonstrators was arrested after the group was confronted by community members, firearms on display on both sides.

The Rev. Julian Armand Cook of Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church said in an interview that the demonstration of hatred, which included swastika-adorned flags, was shocking.

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“To see it show up at the gateway to this historic community, the first, the oldest Black self-governed city north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it is very clear what message it is sending,” he said. “So it was — I was angry. I was hurt. I was shocked.”

Evendale police said in a statement Tuesday that officers were bound to protect the First Amendment rights of demonstrators and that, even though the demonstration was carried out without a permit, it was legal. The police department said ticketing demonstrators for smaller matters such as transporting people in the back of a box truck — which they boarded as they left — without belted seats was overlooked in the name of preventing violence.

The department did not address the nature of the demonstration, which some Black residents described as existentially threatening.

Lincoln Heights resident Eric Ruffin said at Tuesday night’s village meeting that one of the demonstrators called him a racial epithet.

“Do you want a community you don’t feel safe in?” he asked.

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The police department said officers were put in an incendiary situation that was resolved without injuries or loss of life.

“One of the groups was heavily armed with multiple firearms and tensions among opposing groups were escalating,” it said. “As such the overriding priority was to continue efforts to isolate groups, limit new participants and further deescalate the situation.”

To reach that goal, the department said, officers allowed a U-Haul box truck to safely get through counterdemonstrators, and an officer gave a ride to a neo-Nazi demonstrator who was told it was unsafe to return to a vehicle because counterdemonstrators were in the pathway.

In a separate statement, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said de-escalating the situation on the bridge so no one was hurt was a top priority for responding deputies.

“Lincoln Heights residents are understandably upset,” she said. “We continue to work with the community, and emphasize that there is no place for hate in Hamilton County.”

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The Village of Evendale has held two town hall meetings about the matter in two days, and the neo-Nazi demonstration was a topic of discussion for Hamilton County’s Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday.

A prayer circle forms after a group displaying swastika flags was seen demonstrating on an Interstate 75 overpass in Evendale, Ohio, on Friday afternoon.Liz Dufour / The Enquirer/USA Today Network

“We had questions about why there was no arrests made when there were clear violations of the law,” Cook said.

State Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, said he would support legislation to ensure authorities have tools they can use to arrest such demonstrators in the future.

“I can guarantee you we will get some action so that if this happens again, law enforcement will have the authority to take action,” he said at a community meeting Monday, according to NBC affiliate WLWT of Cincinnati.

County Commissioner Alicia Reece, speaking at the commission meeting, supported calls for an investigation into the law enforcement response, saying demonstrators were made too comfortable.

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Residents, she argued, fended for themselves.

“They had to go in they own house, get they own guns, go out there and risk they own life,” Reece said at the meeting, captured on video she posted to Facebook. “And they felt the only thing that happened was a defense, in their mind, of the Nazis.”

Cook praised a community with a noted history of self-governance for taking care in the face of hatred.

“What must be kept at the forefront of this story is the way this community stepped in to de-escalate this situation themselves, and they did it in a way that preserved their dignity and their integrity,” he said.



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