Wine and Spirits Travel

It had been a few years since I spent any time in Columbus, Ohio. I had come each November to cover a tennis tournament every year, but never got to spend much time downtown. Since then, I had heard the city had welcomed a new food and drink scene and I was anxious to check it out. After I left Rockmill Brewery , I went straight to the Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown to check in. I was met there by Scott Peacock, Public Relations Manager for Experience Columbus .  Scott took me to M at Miranova , one of Cameron Mitchell’s restaurants, which is known for its drinks as much as its food. We started the evening at the bar trying out some of those famous cocktails made by Cris Dehlavi , a mixologist extraordinaire who has brought her award winning skills to this restaurant for nearly a decade. Scott and I were joined by another local celebrity, Angela An. The local morning news anchor has an interest in food and drinks that brought her and her husband to develop Food Hop , a s

In the fall, I had a great trip to the Inn at Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills, Ohio.  During that trip I met Matthew Barbee of Rockmill Brewery . He came to the inn’s restaurant to have dinner with my friend Lisa and me, and to introduce us to his beer. Lisa loved it, but I didn’t drink any. The fact is, I hadn’t had any beer in about 30 years. I had wiped the beverage from my vocabulary after a bad experience. While Matt understood about the fact that I wouldn’t drink beer, I began to question my position. Honestly, I had never thought much about it before. After all, it’s not like there aren’t thousands of types of wines and spirits  for me to drink. But as I listened to him describe his beer, everything that goes into the small batches and how he pairs it with food and cheese, I thought that maybe I should reconsider. This may seem like a trivial revelation to most, but it wasn’t to me. I had been the only breathing sole at the Great American Beer Festival who had not t