Wine Tasting Makes a Long Drive Easier

This title makes me sound like I drink and drive.  I don't - that's dangerous people!  It was just a little wine tasting!  As I mentioned before, Gimpy's brother got married this weekend down in Virginia Beach, which is quite the drive from home for us!  We were making pretty good time, when I saw a sign that said Chatham Vineyards, 3.2 miles with a left facing arrow.  I clearly had to stop, because you know Gimpy and I love to wine taste!

We tried all of their wines and had a lovely chat with the woman who works there.  She was funny, because she tried to talk a good game on the whites, but you could tell she loves her red wine!  We did too, and purchased our tasting glasses and some of their Vitner's Blend, before getting back on the road!  

As we drove further down the road, we saw another vineyard, but missed the turn off.  Apparently there are 140 wineries in the state of Virginia, so we figured we might see another one!  Sadly, we did not, until we got to Maryland. 

Gimpy was sleeping, I was driving, and we were supposed to be finding a place to stop for lunch when I saw it - a simple road sign that was just a bunch of grapes and an arrow.  I had to think fast, so I quickly jumped in the left lane and slowed for the turn.  Gimpy woke up in a daze, and I simply said "Vineyard, 5 miles this way."  It was on.  We drove down some windy twisty roads and came upon Bordeleau Vineyard.  It was stunning!  A beautiful brick house nestled among vines, and right along the lake.  Their tasting room was exquisite, and we were fortunate enough to meet Tom, the owner and winemaker! 

We tasted, we tasted some more, and we fell in love.  No, not with each other (silly), but with their 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and their 2009 Cab Franc.  Tom ensured that we'd be back after the wedding we have in June because these two wines that we needed - were not yet bottled.  We'll be back Tom, and we'll be buying several of each!  

We came back with a bottle of their Wicomico Red for my sister and a bottle of cabernet for us.  All in all, a great little detour that I'd totally recommend! 

Let's Take Bets on When I Black Out Tonight

I am officially over today.  The sales team I work with is being completely horrible, and just making me crazy.  I feel like I have no support at work, and I'm bummed because I think I have to miss two super fun vacations this year - Kentucky Derby AND Nantucket because I have to save money.

The only thing really getting me through today is the Lafite Wine Mixer tonight.  Once a month the Saltwater Grille does all you can drink wine from a region for $25 plus tax (let's call it $30), plus snacks.  Problem is, all the snacks for tonight have meats that I can't eat with them, so from 6:30 - 9 I will be drinking bottomless red wine. 

Should we take bets as to what time I black out?

Wine Tasting Class!

There is a fabulous wine bar down the street from me, and I've approached them to do a private wine tasting class for my friends.  We're working on scheduling the date right now, but we're leaning toward the first weekend in March.

The class is an hour long, and we'll taste 6 different wine varieties - I've requested that they not serve chardonnay.  We'll do riesling, pinot noir, pinot grigio, cabernet, sauvignon blanc, and merlot.  It should be a really educational class, and we'll follow it with wine and cheese at a friend's place, and then downtown.  It'll also be a nice precursor for the wine bus part 2 this Spring!

We'll learn about different wine regions, pairings, and how the regions affect the taste of the grapes.  I'm very excited for it because they are letting us do the class while the restaurant is closed and it will be limited to 25 of our friends!  

Their wine is amazing, and they have cute bartenders, so I'm hoping my friends will have a great time.  

How to Start a Wine Tour...

Some of you may remember me telling you that I was taking a group of people wine tasting this Fall, and last weekend was the big Saturday! 

This was one of my most challenging events to organize, but one that paid off big time.  I created a facebook event asking people in the subject line to read all of the details before responding.  No brainer, right?  Not so much.  So I had my 24 people committed, most paid in the timely manner that I asked, and then a few who I got so mad at (3 weeks delinquent with their money) so I sold away their spots. 

• Step 1 - Determine pricing, and availability of the minibus.  I used Bus Bank, and would highly recommend them!  I found out it would be $775 for the bus, 8 hours, unlimited stops, and seat 24.  They are nationwide!
• Step 2 - Find 23 people who will commit and pay upfront by a deadline
• Step 3 - Book the bus, collect the money
• Step 4 - Notify the wineries!  We went to 5, and I mapped out ahead of time how long it would take to drive between each locations, and got an idea of how long it would take to have 24 people taste and pay for their wares.  I then called each winery to let them know approximately when we would be there.
• Step 5 - I traveled with my friend Michelle to Christmas Tree Shops to buy 24 white shirt boxes and a few bunches of tissue paper
• Step 6 - Have amazing friends, and a boyfriend who is basically perfect...

So the night before wine tasting, I went out and bought 15 bottles of Andre, and my amazing friends Betsey and Chelsea made a ton of sandwiches. 

The next morning everyone met at our local high school at 9:45, and we boarded the bus to take off at 10am!  I was making pitchers of mimosas - 3 bottles of champagne, and a splash of oj.  Gimpy loaded the bus first with stuff, and then with people.  Seriously, I have an awesome boyfriend.  Later that day when I was beyond the point where I could any more, he took over my role of shephearding people onto the bus and keeping us on track. 

When everyone was on the bus, I explained how things would work.  Everyone had a box and some tissue paper, as every winery we went to would be providing them with a tasting glass that they would then take home with them.  They should write their names on the boxes, and keep track of their glasses so that everything made it home.  I then poured everyone their first mimosa of the day, and we did a toast!

We were on our way!  We finished up 18 bottles of andre (Michelle brought a few) before we hit the second vineyard, and began to instruct people to buy a few bottles to share with the bus.  It was an amazing day!  The CT Wine Trail does these neat passports where all 23 wineries have a page that they will stamp and date for you.  I collected all of them and passed them out at the end of the trip.  I had some reservations because of how much work it was, but it was totally worth it in the end!

See?  Wine to Share...



Lessons learned for next time:

1. There's tax on the bus.... Find out how much, and add that into the cost...

2. Don't stress so much about filling the seats, we had a waiting list for this trip, and it will definately fill

3. Add in $5 per person for the bus drivers' tip, and $10 for the beverages.  I lost a ton of money on the champagne and mimosa materials



Next Spring... we're going to hit the Eastern half!

An Afternoon Down the Connecticut Wine Trail

For the past two years that I've lived back home in CT, my friends and I have been talking about renting a minibus and going for a tour of the Connecticut Wine Trail.  Shockingly, there are 23 vineyards in our little state, and they have a convenient way that you can plan your trip from one to the next.

So after waiting for two years for one of my friends to do something, I finally sat down with B at the beginning of August and we mapped out our schedules for the rest of the year.  We had a free weekend in October, so I made some calls, found a mini-coach that seats 24, have 22 solid committments so far, and we are going wine tasting! 

The plan is to hit five vineyards, and then come back to my place for a wine and cheese party.  I'm super excited because my newly married cousin and her husband, and my sister and her husband are all coming down!  Now if only my girls V and M could fly in from Chicago and Alaska... but there's always next year!