A Better Day....

The next day was beautiful and, after a hearty bacon and egg breakfast, we were headed towards my favorite Finger Lakes winery, Wagner Vineyards.  This is also the home of the Wagner Valley Brewery, so lots to taste here.  Wagner has a special place in our lives because this is where David asked me to marry him in July of 2013.  Right by the pond with the swans.

The swans had cygnets this year and the daddy was very protective. David bent over to pick a piece of grass for him and the swan reached up over the fence and smacked David in the head with his beak! Poor David....starting off a wine and beer tasting with a headache!
   The wine at Wagner is exceptional.  Their red table wine is named Alta B and it was the first red wine I found that was very drinkable without being too dry or too sweet.  They now have an Alta B blush and an Alta B white, both of which are also very good.  At $6.99 per bottle these are a real bargain!  The Sunset Red is also a favorite.  Wagner makes Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir as well, but they are a bit dry for us.  The list of white wines includes 4 Rieslings, 3 Chardonnays, 2 Gewurztraminers, 2 Niagaras, Melody, and several others.  We weren't fans of the Chardonnays, but enjoyed most of the others.  After tasting the wines we headed into the brewery and tasted some of the beer.  I had found last year that most of the beer was too heavy for my taste, so I only had the root beer, which is very good.  David and my cousin sampled a few of the beers while I headed to the gift shop to pick out a case of wine.  Wagner has a great website and easy online ordering at www.wagnervineyards.com.

The next stop was right up the road at a new winery that had been recommended to us.  It's called Idol Ridge and has a fantastic view of the lake.  They didn't have an extensive list of wines, so it was a fairly quick tasting.  We found that the Dry Riesling and the Timber Lodge Red were our favorites. We enjoyed looking around their gift shop before leaving with a bottle of each.

After this stop we had to leave wine tasting behind and head east to Afton, NY, where I grew up.  My mother was waiting for us to have dinner with her and spend a few days there visiting family.  She has the most wonderful covered porch to sit on during a hot, sultry summer day, so David and I enjoy visiting her and  relaxing there.  While we were there my brother and sister-in-law hosted a family reunion and we were able to catch up with aunts, uncles, cousins, and some family friends.  Several of us piled into the back of my cousin's pick up truck and headed into the woods where I used to hike to look for the lady slipper flowers.  Unfortunately we were too late to see them, but we enjoyed the hike and found a red newt and a spring peeper.

Red Newt

Spring peeper (full grown)

Some of my wonderful family

The Day of Over-Indulgence

After spending a comfortable night with my cousins in their fifth wheel trailer, the four of us were off to visit some favorite wineries on the shores of Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes of upstate New York.  If you've never tried New York wine, you don't know what you're missing!  To my taste buds it is Ambrosia, nectar of the Gods.

My first mistake of the day was not eating a hearty breakfast.  A bowl of cereal is not enough to begin a day of wine tasting.  Lesson learned!  The first winery we headed for was my cousin's favorite, Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards.  Since my cousin is a club member here we were all treated to a free tasting with very generous pours (at 10:00 in the morning).  Hazlitt has quite a selection of wines and most were quite palatable.  They are known for Red Cat, which is a sweet red made from the Red Catawba grape.  It was a little sweet for us, but we put a couple of bottles in our cart.  They also have White Stag, Niagara or White Cat, Gewutrzaminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Reisling (3 different ones), Cabernet Franc, Merlot, several fruit wines, and many more. We also liked the sparkling Gruvee. They are all excellent!  One of the best things was finding out that we could buy little plastic, screw-cap bottles of several of the wines.  These are just right for throwing in the cooler for a kayak trip or a picnic, and they can be refilled from the big bottle for another trip.  The atmosphere in this tasting room is light, happy, and relaxing with blues playing and a light breeze sifting in the open doors.  Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards is definitely one we'll go back to.

Next we stopped at The Hector Wine Company, one that we remembered from our last trip, and introduced my cousins to a winery they hadn't tried before.  We were greeted at the door by a very large, white, curly-haired dog named Luna, who escorted us into the big, open tasting room.  At a little after 10:30 AM, we were the only people there and the girl who poured our tastings took her time.  We had a leisurely tasting while we chatted about the area, the wines, and Luna, who stayed close by to take advantage of any hand that reached to pat her head.  Soul White is our favorite at Hector.  It's a semi-dry white that seems to go with anything.  We found another white called Lake Rat that we also liked. Then there's a Soul Red, Reisling, Pinot Blanc,  Essence, and a few more.  Again, they are all good and will please many different palates.

The next stop took us back to the sixties with tie-dyed, psychedelic T shirts and a hippie tasting room complete with incense and sixties rock and roll. Again we were met by the winery dog at the door, this one appeared to be a hound mix and was just as friendly and laid back as Luna.  The tasting room is also the gift shop and is rather crowded with merchandise, but still has a good feel to it.  I think the lady who poured our tastings was one of the original hippies and she was lots of fun.  The tastings were definitely not skimpy and were usually a full wine glass unless you stopped them mid-way.  Keep in mind that we've already had two generous tastings on very little breakfast.  This is about the time I started realizing I was headed for trouble.  Did that stop me?  Of course not!  I wanted to experience all the great wine I was finding! We really liked the Seyval Blanc, but I believe it was Uncle Homer's Red that did me in.  It's a very sweet red, and on top of all the previous wine it was a little too much!

Our next stop had to be lunch, so we headed for the Ginny Lee Cafe at Wagner Vineyards.  As soon as we were seated I excused myself and headed for the restroom.  Well, the rest is history and I won't bore you
with the details.  Our wine tasting day was cut short and I had a 3 hour
nap.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the fifth wheel with my cousins and they made a wonderful dinner for us - water to drink, please!  It really was a beautiful day with just a little bump in the road. By they way, even if you don't want to visit wineries, the Finger Lakes are amazing just for the scenery and water falls.  

Day 2 of Our Journey - 5 Wineries and a Distillery

Time flies when I'm busy and I realized I hadn't written anything since July!  I want to get our journey down in black and white mostly for my reference, but also for anyone who might want to read about some of these great wineries we went to.

The second day of our trip began as we drove away from our bed and breakfast after eating some wonderful blueberry pancakes and a fresh fruit and yogurt parfait.  Most wineries don't open until late morning, so we made our way to North East, Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery near Lake Erie.  Mazza Vineyards (www.mazzawines.com) was our first stop of the day.

 This well decorated and welcoming tasting room was upstairs in a beautiful stucco building.  The people working there were very helpful and full of information.  Samples were 4 for $2 or 6 for $3.  David and I each picked out 4 to try and share.  The Country Red, a medium sweet red, was our favorite without a doubt.  Country Blush, medium dry & fruity; Niagara, sweet & fruity white; and Reflections, semi-dry white, were the others that we enjoyed the most.  We found the Bare Bones Red too dry for our taste and did not like the Vidal Blanc at all.  I learned on this trip that it's not the wine, but the Vidal Blanc grape that I don't like because every place I tried a Vidal Blanc I didn't care for it.  Mazza had several varieties of fruit wines of which we tried the cherry and raspberry, but they were just average.  We bought a bottle each of Niagara, Country Red and Country Blush.

Then we were off to the Penn Shore Winery and Vineyards for our second stop in North East, PA.  The owner of the winery was our tasting pourer and he was quite informative about his vineyard and the wineries in the area.  They all seem to be quite helpful to each other.  We only tried a few wines at Penn Shore and bought two that we thought were very good.  Normally a Pink Catawba is too sweet for us, but we liked this one and we usually find a Burgundy too dry, but found this one quite enjoyable.

Our third stop in North East was at the sister winery of Mazza, the South Shore Wine Company.  This was by far our favorite building.  The tasting room is an actual wine cellar built underground (as a cellar should be) of stone in 1864.  It was a historical delight to walk down into this cellar and feel the coolness of the stone around us. I was so taken with our surroundings that I didn't make good tasting notes, so all I can tell you is that we came home with 2 bottles of Hops and Honey, which is a honey wine with added hops, and a bottle of Unwooded Chardonnay.  Normally a Chardonnay is too oakey and too dry, but this one was unoaked and had a nice light flavor.

Our next stop was just over the New York border in Westfield, NY, at the Five & 20 Spirits, which is a distillery owned by the Mazza Vineyards people.  The people at the winery had told us about Five & 20, so we decided to try it for something different.  It was still before noon and we hadn't eaten lunch, so we didn't try much, but bought a bottle of Limoncello to enjoy later.

We grabbed a quick lunch in Westfield and headed to one of our favorites from our trip last year - Johnson Estate Winery (www.johnsonwinery.com), which is also in Westfield, NY, near Lake Erie.  We had fond memories of several of the wines here and we weren't disappointed.  Our favorites were still there along with some new discoveries.  The Ives, a semi-sweet red, was a new favorite along with the Liebestropfchen, a sweet and fruity white wine from the Delaware grape.  A couple of other favorites are the Finger Lakes' Riesling and the Chataqua Rouge.  The Riesling is slightly sweet and the Rouge is a
semi-sweet blush made from the Delaware and Ives grapes.

Our last winery for the day was the Noble Winery (www.noblewinery.com), also in Westfield, NY.  We had tried to find this winery last year, but never did.  This year we tried a little harder and were successful.  Most of the wines here were either too dry or too sweet for our tastes, but we did find a couple that we liked enough to buy.  The Elvira is a semi-dry fruity white with lots of flavor and the Pastavino is a sweet red with a clean finish.  Both were very enjoyable.  The tasting room is very nicely done and has big windows with great views.  If we had more time that day we might have enjoyed a glass along with the views, but we had to move on and head to the Finger Lakes where my cousin and his wife were expecting us for dinner.

8 days, 2000 miles, 15 wineries

About a month ago David and I took an 8 day trip that covered 2000 miles and we stopped at 15 wineries!  We had a wonderful time just being with each other that long, we saw some beautiful country, and we tried some very good and some not so good wine.

First, a little background....David and I have only been married for 9 months and that 8 day trip was the longest continuous period of time we've spent together since our honeymoon!  We have a slightly unconventional marriage, not by choice, but because of circumstances.  We're a few years from retirement, so we both have lives that were started long before we met.  David has a great career as an over the road driver, so he lives in his truck 5 days out of every 10.  I work in the mortgage industry, therefore, I stay in one place for the most part.  When we met we also each had a house....in different parts of Tennessee.  For some family reasons David has to be in his part of the state a few days each month.  Sometimes I can be there too if it's a week-end, and sometimes we spend the week-ends in my part of the state.  Now you understand why it was such a treat for us to be together for 8 days straight.

The Kentucky winery I mentioned in the second post was the first winery we stopped at on our trip.  From there we drove into Ohio and stopped at The Winery at Wolf Creek (http://www.wineryatwolfcreek.com/).  This one is not far off the main road, but it's set in a wooded area that is beautiful and peaceful.  We found our way into the tasting room which is quite spacious with lots of windows to enjoy the views.  We were there on a Tuesday afternoon, so they weren't busy and we had a pleasant conversation with the lady who poured our samples.  This winery has lots to offer with several events and live music a few times each month.  The wines ran from very dry to very sweet with several varieties of red and white.  We actually found a dry white called Blind Faith that we liked well enough to buy a bottle. The blush, Sweet Revenge, was another favorite, and the third one we purchased was a Vignoles.  For once the Reisling wasn't a favorite and the Sweet Lies was a little too sweet for us.  All the wines were good quality, the place was beautiful, and the hostess charming.  If you're in the Norton, OH, area The Winery at Wolf Creek should be on your list.

We left the Akron area and headed north to Geneva and The Old Mill Winery (http://www.theoldmillwinery.com/).  We were hungry and had read some good reviews about the food here, so we headed in for a tasting and dinner.  When we walked in we thought we were in a bar....this didn't look anything like a winery!  It was dimly lit with not much light from outside making it's way in, there were tables and chairs scattered about the floor and there was a large bar with all kinds of liquor and beer behind it.  We slowly walked up to the bar and asked if they had a wine tasting.  We were given a sheet of paper with little circles and wine names on it along with a list that described each of the wines.  It was a beautiful evening so we opted for a table on the patio and began to peruse the tasting sheet.  We could get 12 tastes for $6.00, so we picked out 12 to share and the waitress brought them back in little plastic cups (communion size) filled to the brim, sitting on our tasting sheet so we would know which one was which.  We ordered the highly recommended wine burger along with salads drizzled with wine dressings.  While we waited for the food we worked our way through the samples.  Nothing was terribly impressive - food or wine.  The wine burger didn't have any wine flavor and the texture of the meat was soggy, however, the salads were fresh and the wine dressings were interesting.  The only wine we liked well enough to buy a bottle was the Geneva Blanc, which was a fruity, semi-sweet white made from the Niagara grape.

Since we were in Geneva, we decided to try one more winery (there are several to choose from) before heading to our bed and breakfast.
 We chose the Old Firehouse Winery which sits right on the shore of Lake Erie.  There was a musician playing guitar and singing in the gazebo, the sun was setting over the water, and it was a very interesting place to relax.  Again we were presented with a paper with circles and wine names on it and told to pick what we wanted from the list. There was a tasting charge - I believe it was about the same as the Old Mill.  We chose the wines we thought would be interesting and while we waited I explored a little and took some pictures.  There's a Ferris wheel made in 1956 right by the patio.  It wasn't running that night, but it is a working Ferris wheel and runs nightly for most of the summer. This was a fun, unique place with a fantastic view of the lake, but, sadly, the wines were just average or below.  We couldn't even find one we liked well enough to buy a bottle.

Our Room

We were wined out by now, so we headed to The Covered Bridge Bed and Breakfast (http://www.coveredbridgebnb.com/) in Conneaut, OH. We had stayed at this B & B last year and found it to be quite charming.  It's a house in a rural area that the owners have made into a B & B now that their children have grown up and left home.  Bob and Candy are delightful and they're very considerate and welcoming.  We stayed in the Covered Bridge room which is attached to the house by a covered walk-way, so is more private than the rooms in the house.  In the morning Candy cooked a wonderful breakfast and we were off again.  Stay tuned for the next day's adventures!

Kayaking the Buffalo

Let's talk about kayaking today!  I'm not tired of wine, but maybe it's time for a new subject.

Last Wednesday David and I went on a 10 mile trip down (or up since it flows north) the Buffalo River out of Linden, TN.  We own our kayaks and didn't have a second car to spot at the take out, so we had to find someone to portage us to the put in spot.  That was more difficult than it sounds!  You would think that with all the outfitters on this river there would be plenty of them willing to tote a couple of kayaks one way, especially on a week-day....not so!

I won't list the names of the uncooperative outfitters here because they may be really nice people who just didn't feel like being helpful at that point in time, but I doubt it.  By the way, did I mention that I called a week in advance for this?  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't looking for a freebie, I was willing to pay a reasonable amount (key word is reasonable).  The first place wanted to charge just as much as it would cost to rent one of their kayaks - $40 each!  The second place was a little better at $25 each, but come one, it's only one way and both kayaks will fit in one slot on their trailer!  I finally found Flatwoods Canoe Base and they were willing and happy to take us for $15 per boat!  This outfitter appears to be a one-man operation run by a very nice young man who is from the area and married to a school teacher - very sweet couple.  It's a no frills business with an old panel van fitted with benches inside and screens that flap on the windows - perfect for what it's used for!

We arrived at Flatwoods about 10:30 am and were on the river by 11:30, having ridden with a few others to the 4 mile trip put in before getting to our spot.  We put in at Bell Bridge and were quickly floating away.  It was a beautiful day with blue sky and a few white puffy clouds.  The river was quiet with only about 50 people on it, compared to hundreds on the week-ends.

  The Buffalo is very clean and you can see lots of fish swimming along.  I know there are snakes, but we didn't see any (what a relief)!  The bugs stayed away with only a few dragon flies accompanying us.  At one point a very large dragon fly landed on David's hat for a free ride.

 There were a few strainers (trees and limbs overhanging the water that will smack you in the head if you're not careful), and some deadfall (trees and limbs submerged in the water waiting for unwary folks), but if you watch where you're going you can easily avoid them.  The outfitter told us he had heard there was a tree down all the way across the river at one point and we would have to get out and take the kayaks around it, however, we never found this.  Obviously some good person (or a few) moved it out of the way.  There was just enough "fun" water to make it interesting, but no real rapids.

We took our time paddling a little, floating a little, stopping for lunch, drinking a little wine, and just enjoying a quiet day on the river with each other.  We don't get to do this very often, so it was a rare treat!  The 10 miles slipped by and, before we knew it, we were at the take out point where we had left our car.  The float took about 5 hours and was an easy paddle.

If you want a relaxing river trip I highly recommend the Buffalo and the nice folks at Flatwoods Canoe Base.  If you go in the summer, try to go on a week-day when it isn't crowded and crazy.

Happy Paddling!

A Kentucky winery

There are some wineries in Kentucky, however, we had not visited any up until about a month ago.  David and I were traveling through Kentucky and decided we would stop at one since we had some time.  It was a Tuesday and not all wineries are open on week-days, but we found one in Florence, KY, called Serendipity Winery.  That sounded interesting and whimsical, so let's give it a try!

The Serendipity Winery is located in a strip mall!!  We found that rather amusing and almost didn't go in, but we had gone this far, so why not see what they had to offer?  Obviously there was no vineyard to look at and certainly no pastoral views of any kind. I don't believe wine tastings are popular here because the tasting bar would only hold 4 people and there is nothing fancy about it!  The tasting takes place in a back room of the Tri-State Beer & Wine Crafting store which you can find on-line here: www.tristatewinecrafting.com.  The store sells all kinds of equipment and supplies for beer and wine making.

The gentleman who owns this business is originally from Wisconsin and was a delight to talk with.  He had 17 different wines and his tasting is six 1 oz samples for $5.00.  David and I each bought a tasting and sampled 12 different wines.  The tasting pours were quite generous, so there was enough for each of us to get a taste of all 12.  We did not try any of the 4 reds available because he told us they would be very dry.  While we tasted the owner had to wait on a few customers, but this did not bother us because we didn't feel rushed and could really consider what we were tasting.  When he wasn't waiting on customers he was telling us his story about why he moved from Wisconsin to Kentucky and how he came to be in this business.  He buys juice from all over the world to make his wine and he has crafted some very interesting varieties.  We were especially fond of the Pomegranate Zin, the Peach Apricot Chardonnay, the Black Cherry Pinot Noir, and the Pineapple Pear Pinot Grigio.  There are another 6 fruit type wines as well.  These are available in regular size bottles or you can put together a 4 pack of your choice of smaller bottles for about $18.  We purchased 4 small bottles of our favorites and a bottle of the Riesling, which was quite good.

After almost skipping this one, we were glad we stopped.  The wine and  conversation were surprisingly good.  It was lunch time and, after our generous tasting, we were hungry.  Luckily the location lent itself to having several restaurants for neighbors!  We'll be trying some other Kentucky wineries in the future, but after this one we headed into Ohio, and that's a blog for another day.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Yes, the time has come to start a new blog!  This one has been rolling around in my head for several months and I need to get it out.  For my own enjoyment I'll write about the things I like the most and maybe my thoughts will give someone else an idea or inspiration.

Let's start with wine, since it's first and last on the list.  My husband, David, and I have a fondness for wine and we enjoy trying new wines, visiting wineries, or just enjoying a glass at home with a movie.  We are not dependent on wine....it's just a fun thing we can do together.

We live in Tennessee and, let's face it, Tennessee is not known for their fantastic wine!  However, there are a few little gems tucked away that are worth looking for.  There are two wineries between Nashville and Knoxville off of I-40 that I would recommend.  You should keep in mind that if you like dry wine or very sweet wine, then this blog may not be for you.  David and I are very middle-of-the-road wine drinkers.  We like semi-dry to somewhat sweet, but we don't care for either extreme.

The first winery in Tennessee that is worth the stop is Del Monaco Winery & Vineyards in Baxter, TN.  Their website is www.delmonacowinery.com.  They grow the majority of their own grapes and have very extensive vineyards that are viewable from the second floor balcony of the tasting building.  The restored old blue truck displayed at the front of the building is worth taking a look at too.  Tastings and tours are free.

Del Monaco has a nice assortment of all types of wine from very dry to very sweet, reds and whites.   Our favorites are the Gewurztraminer (pronounced "girls are meaner"), which is an off dry white and the Whistle Stop, which is an off dry red. We also like the Riesling and Southern Rose, which are a little sweeter. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are very dry, as are the Vivance and Espiritu de Oro.  Tennessee Tech is located in Cookville, TN, just a short distance away and part of the proceeds from sales of the Espiritu de Oro and the sweet Dulce Nectar Morado are donated to the university.  There is also a typical Tennessee Muscadine, a Sweet Whisper Peach, and a Blackberry, which are all very sweet.  The Jammin Blackberry is a port style wine made from 100% blackberries and is very smooth.

Del Monaco has some interesting tours that are worth mentioning and looking into.  Reservations are required for the tours and they fill up quickly. The first one is the Wine, Stein, and Shine Tour.  This starts with a full tour of the winery and a complete wine tasting.  Then a bus takes everyone to the Calf Killer Brewery in Sparta, TN, where two brothers brew some very interesting beer.  Their brewery and tasting area is built of recycled materials and their power point exhibit is done with photos on a tri-fold presentation board!  The brothers are very generous with the beer tastings and what doesn't fit into the customers' glasses is guzzled by them.  Calf Killer is a very laid back place and lots of fun. 

 From there the bus stops for lunch and then it's on to the Short Mountain Distillery where a true Tennessee native tells a great story about growing up, making moonshine, and running from the law. A tour of the modern moonshine process is provided and then a tasting of the 3 different types of moonshine.  There's plenty of time to enjoy a walk around the property, relax, and possibly catch some live music.

The second tour offered by Del Monaco is a wine train that leaves from Nashville via the Tennessee Central Railway and takes you right to the winery in Baxter.  Along the way there is a wine tasting, food is available for purchase, and there are activities on the train.  The train itself appears to be a gem with railcars from the 1950s.  We haven't taken this train yet, but have reservations for the August run.  It's a whole day trip and we're looking forward to spending the day with 14 close friends.

I mentioned that there is another good winery between Nashville and Knoxville....that would be Stonehaus in Crossville, TN, right off  I-40.  This was the first Tennessee winery I tried that actually had decent, drinkable wine.  Again, they have a range from very dry to very sweet.  Our favorites are in the middle - the Homestead White and the Fairfield Red.  The Davenport Red, Helena Blush, and Lantana White are also good choices.  Stonehaus offers 4 sparkling wines, free tastings, and an extensive gift shop.   Their web site is stonehauswinery.com.

Enough for today, but lots more to come....my head is full!