The first Wild About Wine of 2008 was rescheduled to Monday night. The weather was much more cooperative despite some periods of light rain. Eight Australian wines were open for tasting. Not a lot of animals attended. A few birds, a snake, and a bearded dragon were all I saw. I was hoping for a koala to go with the Australian theme. The manatees were a big hit with the crowd, especially when the staff gave them a watermelon to play "football" with. Later they were munching on a big bunch of lettuce.

A lot of the zoo staff attended, including celebrities like Thane Maynard and Terri Roth (she's the one who helps make Sumatran rhino babies).

The 4-D Theater was open for free screenings of Planet Earth. I liked the Planet Earth film. I generally like Discovery Channel-type films with great wildlife photography. The 3-D aspect of Planet Earth was not really what I had expected. We had to wear ill-fitting glasses and, while the film had a little more depth, it wasn't 3-D in the sense that you felt you could reach out and touch any of the creatures on the screen. The "4" of the 4-D experience is accompanying physical sensations. Naturally Planet Earth focused on the ocean so the audience was subjected to light sprays of water, rumbling seats, a water snake attack (not as bad as it sounds) and bubbles. Overall, I was underwhelmed. But, as the film is only 15 or 20 minutes, I would still recommend going to the 4-D theater, at least once. And, with all the extras, kids will love it.

Why does the zoo have this series of wine and beer tastings? Obviously the zoo is very popular with families with young children. But you generally don't see a lot of 20 and 30 somethings there without kids. Maybe I am just a big kid but I get so excited about going to the zoo for one of these special events. I love the animal interaction and the social atmosphere. The crowd Monday night was rather diverse in age. It did seem like most people were upwards of 30. Of course, I'm just guessing based on what I saw. There were people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s there.

The August wine tasting will be held at the brand new Giraffe Ridge exhibit. It's the most popular one so far. I found out last night that over 200 tickets have been sold and the zoo staff is concerned about hitting capacity. So if you are interested, you'd better get your tickets soon.

Don't you hate it when bloggers don't keep their blogs up to date? I do. I hate when I have to let mine lag because my computer is misbehaving! Bad computer! The screen keeps going out. For no apparent reason. So frustrating. It's not a software or system problem so I have to take it somewhere to be fixed. Aaaugh.

The cold, snowy weather has not slowed things down around here. Last Tuesday I went to the launch party for the new website Soapbox Cincinnati. The party was at the Mercantile Library which is one of downtown Cincinnati's great little secrets. I had only been there once before for a lecture. If you like to lounge in a traditional-looking library surrounded by books, you might want to check out the Mercantile.

You'll also want to subscribe to Soapbox. It's a new weekly on-line magazine about what's new and exciting in Cincinnati. There is a lot of material for them to cover. http://www.soapboxmedia.com/default.aspx

Last weekend, I saw Red Light Winter at the Know Theatre. It was pretty good, although a bit slow in parts. The sex and nudity was only a small part of the play and was not graphic or gratuitous. Still, Taylor said it was the most action she had gotten in a year. Which really does not reflect well on the dating scene in Cincinnati.

I'm looking forward to Wild About Wine on Feb. 21. I've been writing about the zoo a lot, but I really like the animals there. I do feel sorry for some of them in their confined spaces, but I think our zoo does a good job of educating visitors about the wild. And I think it's a great setting for a wine tasting. Wine tastings are everywhere these days and so overdone, but I don't know of any others that incorporate animals. Yay!

ZOO ALERT!

The Cincinnati zoo has set the dates for Wild About Wine and Zoo Brews. The first one is February 21 at Manatee Springs. I'm guessing they'll give the manatees a watermelon so they can play football. The next one is April 16 in the new Harold C. Schott Education Center, which, I believe is a LEED-certified building. I've heard that a cheetah will be attending on April 16! I'm so excited. The next day, April 17, I have to go back to the zoo for a Barrows Conservation Lecture with Boyd Matson whose last job, as host of National Geographic Explorer, I wanted so much.
On June 19, Wild About Wine will be held in the Children's Zoo. Last year, they had Pallas kittens in the nursery and attendees were allowed to go into Lorikeet Landing and feed the birds.
The next one is on August 21 and has an Africa theme. Yay! It will be at the new Giraffe Ridge exhibit which looks like it will be pretty cool.
Finally Zoo Brews, the beer tasting, is on October 16.

Go to my Flickr page for pictures from last year's wine and beer at the zoo. There's me with the python, Michelle with lorikeets on her head, and Taylor holding a scorpion. In her hand.

Have another sip.

On Thursday night I went to a wine tasting at Allyn's Café in Columbia Tusculum. Apparently they hold these about once a month. I didn't know. But I'm glad I do now. We sampled six wines - two whites and four reds - all from Spain. Allyn's also provided plenty of delicious food to go with the wine. Why do I love Swedish meatballs so much when they are on a buffet? I never eat them otherwise. I rarely even eat meatballs with my spaghetti. I loved their hummus too. And the Caesar salad and the tortellini. I found some good wine, too. I even bought three bottles. When you buy at the tasting you get a 10% discount, even if you don't buy a case. Smart sales tactic. They sold a lot of wine last night.

I overheard one woman remark that it's hard to find a good wine tasting in Cincinnati. Really? The paper lists six or seven every weekend it seems and it doesn't even get all of them. There are a lot during the week as well. I realize they vary greatly on the quality and quantity of wine and food served. But why not check them all out until you find the good ones? My favorites are the Casual Friday tastings at Chateau Pomijie and now the monthly tastings at Allyn's. Both offer a good mix of wine and food and conversation. I also love the wine or beer tasting events at the zoo. The food isn't always plentiful, but there are animals! If you're looking for more, check the blog My Wine Education at www.wine-girl.net. She lists a lot of Cincinnati wine events and resources.

There was a sparkling wine tasting to benefit Toys for Tots at Created Illusions, a new art gallery in Hyde Park on Observatory Avenue. It was a very nice night. Admission was $5 or a toy. What a deal. And we could mingle amongst the paintings and photographs. I was also introduced to a drink called the "Black Velvet." It apparently was very popular in Cincinnati in the '50s or '60s. It's made by blending Guiness beer and sparkling wine. Not bad, but not great. Maybe more of an acquired taste.