Revel OTR, Cincinnati

Anthony Maieron’s grandfather grew grapes in Italy, selling most of the juice to winemakers while holding back enough fruit to make some wine for himself. Maieron watched his own father carry on the tradition, making sangiovese wine with a group of friends in their garage.

“They’d make wine, drink wine, tell jokes. No one was checking the time. They’d be there until the wee hours of the morning,” he says. Soon, Maieron and his friends were making wine, too, until his wife urged them to take their hobby beyond the basement.

Maieron and coworker-turned-partner John Coleman opened Revel OTR with their wives, Jodi and Amy, in 2016. Their first creation was the company’s flagship wine — a sangiovese, a tribute to Maieron’s father.

Revel OTR is housed in a restored 1885 brick rowhouse along Cincinnati’s streetcar line in the city’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Patrons are encouraged to connect over conversation, live music and some subtle wine education.



“Think about the vibe when you are drinking in your kitchen with your friends, playing your music, cooking, having a great time,” Maieron says. 

Coleman describes the experience as “coming into one of our homes” and emphasizes that it is a safe place for everyone to be themselves. Their goal is approachability — in both the wines and the ambiance.

The winery produces about 10 varieties with fruit from throughout the United States as well as Chile. A 2022 cabernet franc featured grapes grown in Ashtabula County. The popular 2019 carménère featured Chilean-grown grapes.

“We build complex wines. When we bring in our grapes, we let those grapes talk to us and tell us what kind of wines they want to be,” says Alex Sena, the company’s chief winemaker.

The winery has already released its first Provence-style syrah and a Montepulciano will follow. Sena says the Black Sheep Red Blend is a great first choice. Its mellow, drinkable nature appeals to most everyone. An Alsatian-style pinot gris and a sauvignon blanc/pinot gris blend hit the right notes for white-wine drinkers. 

111 E. 12th St., Cincinnati 45202, 513/ 579-9463, revelotr.com