Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Salude
Continuing with my northern wine tour, these were the other wineries we visited on vacation. This day was better than the first day, in my opinion. Overall, the wines were better and the wineries had more character.
This winery was pretty cool. It was in an old schoolhouse. There were huge windows all along either side of the building, and the interior was absolutely charming. They had a lot of cool antiques as well. The wine was pretty good; I liked the School House Red.
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Moving on to the next place.
Outside, the grounds were beautiful.
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The interior was also nice, and the bartender friendly. Perhaps a little too friendly toward my lady.
This winery also had brandy samplers. This pear brandy was their specialty. There was a pear in each bottle. At first I assumed it was some kind of trick or optical illusion, but upon closer inspection it appeared to be a real pear.
I wondered how they accomplished this and asked the bartender for more information. He showed us pictures of how they do it, they grow the pear in the bottle. How clever is that.
The final winery was a sleek, modern building set high atop a hill.
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It had the most amazing view of the lake.
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The wall behind the bar was all glass, so you could enjoy the view as you sampled the wine. I really liked the bright wall colors and all the natural sunlight.
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On a side note, let me fill you in on how I was treated at these wineries. Naturally, Mr. Penguin was feeling a bit tipsy from all his wine tastings. The man and woman were concerned about me behaving myself in the different wineries so they would try to stuff me away.
I didn’t protest too much because once inside the winery, I snuck out to sample the wine. Mr. Penguin is very tricksy like that.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Wine Connoisseur
Here is another post about the wineries we visited. All of the wineries below were visited in one day. These wineries introduced Mr. Penguin into the fancy world of wine tasting and, I must admit, I fit right in.
This was the first winery on our list for that day and the first winery Mr. Penguin has visited in his short lifetime.
It was a good winery to start with because they had a viewing room where you could watch them make and bottle the wine. Too bad no one was working the day we visited.
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The guy pouring our samples was extremely friendly and very informative. The wine, however, was just ok, nothing to get excited about.
Ready to move on, we drove to the second winery, which was just a short distance away from the first.
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This place had real potential to be amazing. Outside the grounds were gorgeous and very lavish.
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I mean, just look at this table and chairs. Can’t you just picture Mr. Penguin hosting an afternoon wine party here? Such a beautiful view.
Inside was equally gorgeous, the tasting room was dark and intimate. My favorite part were the chandeliers.
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Unfortunately, I found the pourers to be rude and condescending. Again, the wine was just average. Had the workers been more friendly I would have enjoyed myself more and stayed longer. But their attitude just ruined this place for me.
I was glad to leave here and move on.
Next on the list was my lady's pick. She enjoys hard cider and suggested we check this place out.
It was a small, quaint building, with a fun tandem bicycle outside.
Of course I had to hop on and pose for pictures before heading inside.
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This was, so far, the best tasting experience because of the bartender. The bartender here was amazing. Incredibly pleasant and welcoming, such a nice change from the previous winery. Mr. Penguin recommends stopping by if you’re ever in the area, it’s definitely worth checking out. Just look how cozy and inviting it is. Mr. Penguin enjoyed himself immensely here.
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After leaving the cider place we went to the winery with the farm, that I previously blogged about. See this post for that tasting experience.
Our last stop was the best. The stand out of the day, head-and-shoulders above the rest. From the amiable bartenders to the fantastic wine, we really had a lovely visit at this winery.
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They had sparkling wines. For $5 you get 2 samples and some cheese and crackers. There is a wonderful outdoor patio that we sat at to enjoy our wine. We ended up buying a couple cases (yes, cases) of sparkling wine before leaving.
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I also encountered a strange kind of being here--two creatures, known as “whoo girls”. They are loud, crazy, fun-loving beings. I have heard of these mysterious whoo girls, but this was my first meeting with them in person. Must have been the bubbles from sparkling wine going straight to their heads that made them act this way. I was surprised to see such commoners at a swanky place like this. Someone needs to do a better job at keeping the riff raff out.
After this day of tastings, Mr. Penguin considers himself a wine aficionado. Being an elegant penguin,I fit right in the chic, glamorous world of fine wine lovers.
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