The Miami Valley wine scene has been hopping of late, but let’s start with an eye toward the future — and the south: The 20th annual Cincinnati International Wine Festival will be held March 11-13, with the grand tastings March 12-13 at Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St. in downtown Cincinnati.

The Cincy WineFest kicks off with 11 “Winery Dinners” at Cincinnati-area restaurants Thursday night, March 11. Winery representatives will team up with area restaurants’ finest chefs to create a multicourse dining and wine tasting experience.

A list of restaurants and the wineries they’re paired with are available on the festival’s Web site, www.winefestival.com. Cost of these dinners range from $125-$150.

The event’s first Grand Tasting is scheduled from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 12, when more than 600 wines from 130 wineries will be available for sampling.

The grand tastings also include live music, food and a silent auction. The cost is $70 in advance, $75 at the door, or $105 for a Special Tasting ticket ($110 at the door) for access to a special tasting room with high-end wines.

Saturday, March 13, brings a Charity Auction and Luncheon at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hall of Mirrors — and two grand tastings at the convention center.

The auction begins at 9:30 a.m. with a Champagne reception, followed by the live auction at 11 a.m., and the luncheon immediately following. The cost is $125.

The afternoon Grand Tasting will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., with a cost of $60 in advance, $65 at the door ($95/$100 to add on the Special Tasting ticket); and the night Grand Tasting will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m., $70/$75 and $105/$110.

Proceeds for all of the events benefit multiple charities in the Cincy area.

For more information and a complete description of each of the events, visit www.winefestival.com or call (513) 723-9463.

• Dr. Dirk Richter, owner of the German wine estate of Weingut Max Ferd Richter, poured and talked a bit about his wines at a well-attended wine dinner Monday night at Jay’s Restaurant.

Chris Cavender — owner of Cuvee Wine Bar and former chef at the former TomKatz in Springboro and TW’s Restaurant in Miamisburg — was the guest chef for the event, which drew about 45 people.

Richter’s Rieslings displayed that beautiful tightrope-balance between fruit and refreshing acidity that are the hallmark of the world’s best rieslings. They’re delicious to drink now, and I suspect will age beautifully because they’re so balanced.

Highlights included the 2008 Richter Estate Riesling ($14.99), the Riesling Sekt Brut sparkling wine ($31.99) and the 2007 Richther Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenhur Spatlese ($29.99), from a vineyard planted by Dirk’s great great grandfather (if I counted the number of “grands” correctly) after the Napoleonic Wars.

How’s that for a sense of history?

• Here’s a tidbit I didn’t know until days AFTER Dan Philips, the CEO and owner of The Grateful Palate, poured several wines from his impressive lineup of Australian wines at Arrow Wine & Spirits a couple of weeks ago: Dan is the nephew of Jesse Philips, the Dayton businessman and philanthropist who died in 1994 at age 80. Among the uncle’s many legacies is the University of Dayton’s Jesse Philips Humanities Center, to which Mr. Philips donated $5 million.

I got to know Jesse Philips just a bit when he was on the Ohio Board of Regents and UD’s board of trustees, and I can tell you this: his nephew has his uncle’s keen wit and wicked sense of humor.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@Dayton DailyNews.com.