kennedy vineyard

“Beers & Steers” at Kennedy Vineyard

May 17, 2018 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

Located at: 3911 OH-722, New Madison, OH 45346

Do you love beer? How about a good burger? Are you a wine lover? Like live music? We have it all here for you.

Kennedy Vineyard and Big Rack Brewery in New Madison, Ohio are excited for an announcement.

They are teaming up with Food Adventures, DaytonDining and DaytonMostMetro.com to hold a special one night event called “BEERS and STEERS.” It is a day an evening party filled with good food, craft beer, local wine and live music.

“Beers and Steers” will take place SATURDAY JUNE 30th. The winery opens at 1pm, live music starts at 2pm, and dinner is served at 4pm. Live music will continue into the evening and the vineyard will close at 10pm .

“Beers and Steers” will have Live Music all day

Tickets are $20 per person and includes admission, dinner, live music, and a drink ticket for wine or beer. Additional drinks may be bought as a cash bar. TICKETS MAY ONLY BE BOUGHT ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE.

Come relax and enjoy and incredible day at the vineyard. rain or shine (the party can be moved to the barn in case of bad weather).

Vineyard owners John and Louisa Kennedy will be serving their famous, thick local beef burgers and sides. Dessert is also part of the deal. There are patio seats, but feel free to bring your own lawn chairs if you like.

HERE’S THE SKINNY on KENNEDY VINEYARD:

— Known for the past few years as a winery with a cult following, the vineyard recently expanded. In summer 2017, the family opened up Darke County’s first brewery “Big Rack Brewery” on the same grounds as the vineyard.

John Kennedy serving up homemade food

— Three generations live on the homestead, from grandma to the grandaughter. All contribute to the working farm. You may see some chickens and crops if you keep your eyes peeled. Parts of the farm have been turned into the winery. The tasting room is the old corn crib. You may even get a welcome from the family’s young daughter, who is very sweet.

— John and Louisa Kennedy are the owners of the winery. They have poured a lot of dedication and hard work into making the place a comfortable and delicious experience. It is a welcoming spot and place that every Daytonian should visit.

Darke County’s first brewery

— Thirteen years ago, John’s mom started planting the grapes. John, who grew up in the home, took over production and in 2014, the tasting room was opened.

—The Winery address is 3911 State Route 722, New Madison, Ohio. It is just a few miles off of an exit on I-70 West not far from Greenville/Arcanum.

—Kennedy Vineyard’s philosophy is to make the wines in small batches. This keeps the wines young, and helps preserve the fruity flavors. Many of the bottle’s labels are artwork from friends, family and customers. Some are drawn from photos taken at the winery by friends or family.

HERE’S THE SKINNY ON “BEERS and STEERS”:

—WHEN: SATURDAY JUNE 30th,
Winery opens 1pm – Beer and Wine Available
Live Music 2pm – 9pm
Dinner served 4pm
Winery Closes 10pm

Wine and Beer Bash on the grounds with live music

—WHERE: KENNEDY VINEYARD and BIG RACK BREWERY
3911 OH-722, New Madison, Ohio 45346

—WHAT: “Beers and Steers” A cookout with live music, food and drink! You get a drink ticket for a beer or glass of wine, a dinner of a thick, local beef burger with sides and dessert. There will also be live music 2pm – 9pm. A Relaxing day at the vineyard – BRING A LAWNCHAIR if you want as patio seating is limited. Cash bar for additional drinks open from 1pm – 10pm

—COST: $20 per person – TICKETS CAN ONLY BE BOUGHT ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE

See you for this beer, wine and food bash, with local eats and live music.

Local Winery to Host Hog Roast June 3rd

May 29, 2017 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

Get your tickets for June 3rd’s Wine and Swine Hog Roast with Live Music

Each attendee gets their own bottle of wine… (over 21 only)

Does that get your attention for this event at Kennedy Vineyard in New Madison Ohio, near Arcanum?

Well, what else? A Hog Roast with all the fixins and Live music featuring local talent. From Acoustics to bands, this day promises to be a special Food Adventure.

Directions are easy just get to 70 west out towards Greenville – hit US-127 North to OH-722 W and you are there. THATS IT !

Beautiful outdoor and indoor seating, Wine Tasting Room and more

Tickets are on sale online for just $25 and include an itinerary from 2pm – 10pm.

You may want to bring a folding chair, as there is limited seating. Attendees can mingle on the patio, inside the tasting room, around the Vineyard and in the concert barn.

KENNEDY VINEYARD is a locally owned, family run business featuring wines using Niagara and Concord grapes grown on site. They have a Riesling that is a little champagne like and delicious as well. Feel free to browse the menu below and check out the various wine choices. Most are sweet with a fruitty finish, again due to the Ohio grapes.

White, Blush, and Red wines available

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKET FOR SATURDAY JUNE 3rd’s EVENT

Why waste 4 hours driving to Put in Bay when you can have a local party with a group of friends right here at the Vineyard??

This is a perfect chance to get a car full of friends and make the short jaunt to the winery and spend a day full of fun. Good food, vino and music. The price is a great deal.

HERE IS THE ROUGH SCHEDULE (Subject to change – not set in stone)

*** SATURDAY JUNE 3rd ***

2pm WINERY OPENS – Guests arriving between 2pm-5pm get to choose their own bottle of wine

3pm – 5pm – LIVE ACOUSTIC MUSIC

4pm – 6pm – DINNER IS SERVED – Hog Roast , Pulled Pork, Potato Casserole, Cole Slaw, Baked Beans

7pm – 9pm – LIVE BAND

Wine slushies also available for purchase

10pm – WINERY CLOSES

NOTE: Winery bar will also be open from 2pm-10pm if you want to buy additonal wine, wine slushies, etc…

Join us for a laid back, relaxing day of food, music and wine. This is a great, one time only event you do not want to miss. Drink some Ohio wine, visit with friends and enjoy some local musicians. Browse the gallery below and see what to expect on the the grounds of Kennedy Vineyard.

Also – take a moment to “like” Food Adventures on Facebook by clicking here. It is the best way to stay on top of the best local eats and drinks.

Owners Louisa and John Kennedy are hosting the wine dinner

The comfortable tasting room

Tasting Room

part of the Farm

Lots of good views and comfortable seats

Fruitty wines white and red

Wonderful wines

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW !

Join us at WINE AND SWINE ! JUNE 3rd

Darke County Announces First Brewery!

January 9, 2017 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

Darke County’s first Brewery is set to open this summer

Big Rack Brewery is coming to Darke County this summer. Dayton Most Metro and Food Adventures have the first inside scoop of what to expect. It will be located in New Madison at the current Kennedy Vineyards Homestead and Tasting room. You may recall our full story on the winery last week (click here). Owners John and Louisa Kennedy are seeking licensing and are hopeful that the brewery will operational by June.

HERE’S THE SKINNY on BIG RACK BREWERY:

—BIG RACK BREWERY will be located at 3911 St. Rt. 722 in New Madison, Ohio in the same site as the winery tasting room

The Bar area of the Tasting Room

for Kennedy Vineyards. The site is a fully operational farm and a family homestead. It is also a vineyard, and you can see the rows of grapes as you pull into the parking lot.

—The brewery will feature 4 in-house brewed, craft beers on tap. They will have one mainstay beer, an OATMEAL STOUT (yet to be named).

—The other 3 beers will be 1 Seasonal Brew, and 2 other taps that will be revolving with either new beers or returning favorites.

— The Brewery will sell growlers and pints and will continue to sell bottles of wines, glasses of wine, and wine flights.

Owners John and Louisa Kennedy

—There is plenty of seating in the tasting room and at the bar. This building was the old corn crib for the farm. There is also a beautiful view from the patio seating overlooking the farm and vineyard.

—The Food Adventures Crew has been to the homestead a handful of times, and the family is very genuine and friendly. They make you feel right at home.

—The news is so fresh that they have not even finalized their website yet. Stay tuned for the launch of www.bigrackbrewery.com

A perfect chance for you to visit and experience the Brewery and Winery is an incredible dinner event coming this summer.

They will be hosting a Hog Roast Food Adventure Dinner on Saturday June 3rd set with acoustic music early and a band in the evening.

The event is called “WINE and SWINE.”

*** SATURDAY JUNE 3rd “WINE and SWINE” HOG ROAST at KENNEDY VINEYARD and BIG RACK BREWERY ***

TICKETS (ONLY AVAILABLE ONLINE AT THIS LINK) are $25 per person, and includes:

—One bottle of wine per person

Kennedy Vineyard in New Madison, Ohio

—Pulled Pork Hog Roast Dinner with homemade sides of Cheesey Potatoes, Cole Slaw and Baked Beans.

—Acoustic Music before and during dinner, Rock n roll Band after dinner in the barn til 9pm.

This will be a casual event, rain or shine, we will have tents and you can decide when you want to arrive, based on festivities from 2-10pm.

TIMELINE OF THE “WINE and SWINE” EVENT on SATURDAY JUNE 3rd, 2017

(come whenever you like, dinner starts 4pm)

2pm – Vineyard opens (cash bar available all day for extra purchases)
2pm – 4pm Mingle on the vineyard grounds, explore the tasting room
3pm – 5pm Acoustic Music
4pm – 6pm Hog Roast Dinner is served, all you care to eat
7-9pm – Rock Band in the barn
6pm – 10pm CASH BAR

This promises to be a blast, so please GET YOUR TICKETS NOW !

TICKETS ARE PRE-PAY ONLY – click here to buy yours (Only 200 tickets will be sold)

Comfort and Fun

The Food Adventures Crew can’t wait to try the new brews and we are very happy for the Kennedy family. We have seen the hard work they have put into the business over the past few years, and they have developed quite a following. We wish them continued success on this additional venture and suggest you visit them before and after the brewery is open. You will love this spot.

Speaking of love…. do you love the Miami Valley food scene? Then join FOOD ADVENTURES on Facebook by clicking HERE. We are not food critics, we are 3 passionate foodies that love to eat We love to share our favorite local spots and more. No rules, just good food.

Please feel free to browse the photos below of the Kennedy Homestead and future site of the brewery.

Tasting Room from the outside

John tends to customers in the tasting room

Early patio days – much more furniture now and same great view

Louisa educating us on their winery

Dinner bell

Wandering the vineyard

Updated tasting room

3 generations of family

Grandma Kennedy makes sure Ragu isnt double parked or she will pistol whip him with a yellow squash

We have a bigfoot sighting

The winery will be adding a BREWERY !

Kennedy Vineyard- expanding from wine to beer too !

It is great to see this locally owned business evolving

More patio seating

Chickens on the adjacent farm

From grapes, to hops and barley – they will have it all.

Outside the tasting room

Peaceful scene of the fields adjacent to the Vineyard – where baby Kal El landed in his spaceship from Krypton in Superman 1

Plenty of patio seating

Located near Greenville and Arcanum

Casual, at home feel

View of the tasting room and barn from the road

Ohio’s Biggest Fair Ends Saturday in Darke County

August 26, 2016 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

Huge Pieces of Fried Dough or as we call it “Pizza Frite”

The Great Darke County Fair ends a week long array of festivities this Saturday, so there is still time to get your fair groove up near the Greenville / Arcanum area. It is about a 40 minute trip to the Darke County fairgrounds, but oh is it worth the drive.

Rides and and more rides, food and more food, and of course livestock to make your experience farm filled fun.

We have literally been having Food Adventures at this fair since the early 1970’s. The Big Ragu has memories of his grandfather John Miller, who was born in Arcanum, taking the whole family from Centerville to Greenville. So you could say we have 40+ years of expertise on this subject.

Cheese Curds from a Wisconsin Vendor

First of all, a NON-FOOD TIP

Hit the Horse Races Friday night 5:30pm – 9pm. The environment is a throwback like you wont experience at other racetracks.
Hit the Demolition Derby on Saturday 6:30pm. It’s like a Wal-Mart parking lot out there and maybe someone will give somebody the “Malachi Crunch” like in Happy Days.

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

— Address of the Great Darke County Fair is 800 Sweitzer St, Greenville, OH 45331

So many food vendors, so little room in our stomachs

— OPEN 7pm – MIDNIGHT both Friday and Saturday – enough time to get your grit on… but the FAIR ENDS SATURDAY!

— Admission is $7.00, people watching is free

So here we go with our often imitated never duplicated trademark… “Must Eats.”

Here is the result of decades of studies…..

MUST EATS at THE GREAT DARKE COUNTY FAIR:

— THE FOOTLONG HOT DOG & ROOT BEER from the THE DOG N SUDS TRAILER: The pride of Champagne, Illinois, you NEVER get to eat this stuff. You may see their root beer plastic

Lots of rides

bottles in stores, but “aint nothing like the real thing baby.”

— THE CHEESE CURDS from MIKE’S CHEESE SHACK: These cheeseheads are from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and every year they kill it at the fair. And every year we load up and chow down.

— THE “LOADED RIBBON FRIES” or “TORNADO POTATOES”: Ribbon cut potato chips, deep fried and topped with cheese, chives and bacon. We love this stuff. Eat them and devour them one string at a time. People will stare as you lower the pinwheels of potatoes into your mouth. That’s just jealousy.

Pulled Pork from Hog Wild

— THE TROLLEY BURGER WITH CANDIED BACON from KC CONCESSION’S TROLLEY CART: We eat it all, we know our stuff. This burger is perfect for a browsing Food Adventure. It is not too big and the candied bacon is definitely a nice attraction. Chew on friends….

— DEEP FRIED ALLIGATOR MEAT ON A STICK from CRACKERBILLIES: Exotic, yet familiar, these nuggets on a stick had a great taste. All the way from Cape Coral, Florida to your mouth! We went back for seconds.

— BEEF BRISKET from GRUMPY’S BBQ: Cooked low and slow by Grumpy himself, this old farmer not only has a badass disposition but his brisket is just a s bad. Actually , Grumpy is a pretty nice guy, we got him to smile … once….

Ohio’s Largest County Fair

— THE HOT BROWN from FARMER BROWN’S FOOD STAND: The restaurant that is a legend in Arcanum, is a hot spot at the fair with their food stand. Farmer Brown’s serves up not a Hot Carl.. but the Hot Brown – which is a shaved top round sandwich, with provolone, lettuce, special sauce and mushrooms. If that isnt enough they slap it on a grilled buttered bun. You might call it a Hot Brown, we love to refer to it as an “Arcanum Cheesesteak.”

— PULLED PORK SANDWICH from HOG WILD SMOKE HOUSE: Homemade sauce in huge squirt jars meant we loaded it up for a finger lickin, lip smackin helluva good ‘sammich’ (when its so good you can’t talk). We went hog wild for sure. These

— DEEP FRIED PECAN PIE from the PIE ON THE FLY: This is frickin’ sinful. The pies are “Wicks Pies” from Winchester, Indiana. It makes the deep

Deep Fried Pecan Pie

fried snickers look like child’s play. This is a piece of frickin pie deep fried in batter. The pecan pie is the one to get, and it is AMAZING. We actually had to sit down afterwards to take in the whole experience. INSANE yet so logical….

— FRIED DOUGH from FISKE CONCESSIONS: One of the deep fried candy bar booths has a treat we have enjoyed as kids. It is called “pizza frite” or fried dough. But this is the biggest slab of dough we have ever seen. Our moms and grandmas never made it that large. It is fried dough, with powdered sugar and it is the tick tick tick .. bomb! This vendor is from Brookville, Florida.

Ribbon Fries or Potato Tornados

Honorable Mention: The Deep Fried Mushrooms from Chuck’s Foods and the Deep Fried Twinkies from Fiske Concessions.

TWO MORE FOOD ADVENTURE TIPS:
— Use this chance to hit MAID-RITE HAMBURGERS down the street, on the way home… a loose meat sandwich that has a secret recipe that will keep you guessing and eating. We will grab a sack and love the snack.
— Stop at KENNEDY VINEYARDS on the way home in New Madison. Wine off the vine and we love the sweet, to the blush to the dry. 15 Minutes from the fair, you will fall in love with this place.