2018 Weekend 9

So we stayed local this weekend because my son was going to be in town briefly and I wanted to see him and his lovely girlfriend.

We went to Mountain Brook Vineyards. It had warmed up nicely so we sat out on the porch that overlooks part of the vineyard and the mountains are in the distance. It is so lovely there. We enjoyed a bottle of their Rose. We met some very lovely people and enjoyed our time there and got to tell Rucha (one of their horses) Happy 21st Birthday!

We left there and headed to City Scape Winery for a Girl Scout Cookie paring. Man was that fun and good! Josh & Deb always do such a great job with the events they plan. All of the cookies went excellently well with the wines they pared them with. We walked to the back of the property to say hello to Pinot and the goats. We had a nice chat with Josh's parents, Jane & Karl, as well.

Jane pruning the vines Saturday

We left there and headed to find some dinner. After dinner we went to Dorman High School to watch the finals of the WGI Indoor Percussion Regional so I could see Andrew and Nicole for a little bit as Andrew works for Civitas Independent Percussion. 

Congratulations to these guys as they took home the first place trophy in the Independent Percussion Open Class Division. After the awards ceremony we all 4 headed to New Groove Artisan Brew so I could have just a little more mama time.  I enjoyed the blueberry cider that they have from Windy Hill Orchard and Cider Mill. Sadly I had to say goodbye/goodnight to my son and his girlfriend and head home.

Sunday after church and lunch we headed to Baker Buffalo Creek Vineyard. It was another beautiful day and we enjoyed the sunshine as we shared a bottle of their very lovely Riesling. Sadly we did not get to see Charles and Anne this trip as they were busy working a spring show in Charlotte. We did however meet some fun couples and enjoyed chatting with them.

2018 Weekends 2 & 3

We got sort of a late start Saturday (1/13) due to some errands we had to take care of before we could go. We met some dear friends, Pam & Will, at Misty Creek Vineyard in Mocksville, NC. We were greeted by Bear and Merl (Barry said someone else named him for them, it's Merl as in Merlot) when we arrived, as well as the owner, Barry, his lovely wife and his mother. Since it had been a while since we had been there and Pam & Will had not been there, Dennis & I did the tasting with them. They have several lovely wines. Our favorite is still the 2008 Chambourcin. The 4 of us split a bottle of the Syrah and also the Traminette. We brought a bottle of the Misty Rose, Syrah and the Chambourcin home. We enjoyed a hour or so hanging out in front of the fire with Pam & Will and also have nice conversations with Barry. We left there and headed to dinner at Port City Club in Cornelius. Man was the food good! We look forward to going back in the spring so we can enjoy the outside seating by the lake.

Merl

Will & Bear

Sunday (1/14) we went to Lake James Cellars. For Dennis & I this place is the best of both worlds! It's a winery but is also and antique store. So you can do a tasting, figure out what your favorite wine was and then browse in the antique store with your glass of wine. We brought a bottle of the Fonta Flora Cranberry Blush home. 

After leaving Lake James, we headed to Wood Mill Winery. This winery is primarily muscadine, but they also have some fruit wines. They have semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet variations of the majority of their wines. This winery is a beautiful location for events. They have a lovely outside space (which we did not get to enjoy as it was WAY to COLD!) and their inside space is also great and has terrific views. We brought a couple of bottle home from here as well. We got a chance to speak with the owner/wine maker Larry. The young lady who handled our tasting was also very sweet and quite knowledgeable. 

This past Saturday (1/20) we met some fellow bloggers and friends at Cats Paw Winery in Rock Hill. Dennis and I have been here a few times before and it's always such fun. You have a complimentary never ending bowl of popcorn to enjoy with your tasting and afterwards as well as bottled water. For Bob & Jennifer (Wine Carolinas) it was their first trip. We had a nice visit with them as we sipped wine and chatted. Dennis and I shared a bottle of the Strawberry Sensation and brought a bottle of the Purr-Fectly Peach and his latest port home. We said good-bye to our friends and debated about what to do next. We ended up going further into Rock Hill and having dinner at The White Horse Restaurant. This has been one of my favorite restaurants since my time living in Rock Hill. As we were sitting down, I heard someone call my name.... it was so friends who still live there! It was so great to see Rebecca & Darryl. After dinner we headed on home as it was getting late. 

Sunday after church and lunch we decided to ride up to Parker-Binns Vineyard. As always Dee waited on us and was her terrific self! Karen and Roberto are on a much deserved vacation! The vineyard was in the excellent care of Kelly, their daughter, Dee and the wine maker Justin. They are currently out of the Rose that Dennis & I usually share so we had a bottle of the Petit Manseng and met some really great couples. The weather was perfect as well. While sitting outside enjoying pizza, wine and live music, we also got to meet their winemaker - Justin Taylor. Justin told us that they are soon to be bottling some wine. Some that will be new to us and some that are old favorites (yes some Rose is coming!). We learned that Justin studied at Surry and previously worked at Burnshirt Vineyards (also a favorite!). 

We finished our wine and decided to make one more stop at Russian Chapel Hills Winery to see Andre. It was close to closing time but we were able to enjoy a glass each of his Malbec on the covered porch. The view was spectacular! 

 

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Winery Escapade Weekend #50

Well this weekend due to a family event we decided to keep it local. All the wineries we visited we have written a blog about in the past. With that being said, here's what we did this weekend. 

After the family Christmas get together at my Aunt's house, we headed over to City Scape Winery. We each had a glass, I had the Green Apple Gewürztraminer and Dennis had Müller Two-Goats. We also brought a bottle of the Winemaker's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon home. 

We then headed to Mountain Brook Vineyards for a little Christmas Caroling. We enjoyed a bottle of the Rambunctious Rosé while singing carols with Brin & Mir. For this vocalist who isn’t getting a lot of performance time these days, this was a lot of fun. Also, while we were there, Ruah was grazing in the vines. We also saw some deer beside the driveway but due to it being overcast, the deer were blending into the woods to much for me to get a good picture. 

From there we stopped to grab something for dinner and then we headed to Old Rock Quarry Winery. As always, the wine and the company was wonderful. Had a nice visit with Debbie, Lindy and Linda. We brought a bottle of the Snap Apple Sassy and a bottle of the Strawberry Kisses home with us.

Sunday morning we went to church and then we finally took some time to do a little bit of Christmas decorating. Better late than never, right? After doing that we decided it was time to go to Biltmore for a little bit as we bought season passes and hadn’t used them yet. While on the way we decided that it had been way to long since we had been to Burntshirt Vineyards, so we made a little detour. We each had a glass of their Apple Wine and brought a bottle home. 

We then made our way to Biltmore Winery and decided to do a tasting again. MaryAnn was our server and she was very knowledgeable as well as very friendly. We met a sweet cute couple who were also doing a tasting at the same time. She apparently likes wine more than he does, but he was a good sport and was trying to learn more about it. We brought both the Christmas White and the Christmas Red, (signed by the label artist – he was there signing bottles – happy coincidence for us!)  home with us as well as a bottle of the 2016 Limited Release Chenin Blanc. After the tasting we went over to the wine bar and shared a charcuterie and cheese board as well as a bottle of Zinfandel Blanc de Noir. 

We drove around the property for a little bit & then headed to see the lights at the Christmas House in Inman, SC. When it comes to Christmas light displays, I swear we are like 2 little kids. We drove through 3 times!

Sadly after that is was time to go home & prepare for this work week. Until next weekend we wish you all a Merry Christmas and as always, good wine!

Weekend Escapade - Week 41

Saturday we started with a quick stop at CityScape Winery in Pelzer, S.C.  We had an alternative motive for the visit, more to come later. We enjoyed a glass of Müller Two-Goats (Müller Thurgau), and chatted with Deb. Pinot the Pig was dressed in his superhero costume and grazing out by the vineyard. We think the world of Josh and Deb and appreciate all the hard work they put into making this small rural South Carolina Winery such a smashing success. 

We then headed towards Newberry as Enoree River Vineyards was hosting their annual Harvest Festival. Along with Enoree River Vineyards, three other South Carolina wineries set up tents and offered wine for tasting and purchase. The first tent showcased our good friends from Old Rock Quarry Winery. The line at their tent was long all day. They mentioned at one point that were really concerned about running out of wine.

Second and third tents showcased wine from host Enoree River Vineyards. We love Richard and Laura and for anyone in the Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, Newberry, or Clinton area it is just a quick drive. The winery offers good wine and a beautiful relaxing place to unwind. Their Sunday pack the porch events are always a fun time.

Proverbs 31 Winery set up in the fourth tent. We have never visited this small boutique Winery, only open by appointment. We enjoyed chatting with them and found they are using local South Carolina grown fruit to produce their craft wines. The Watermelon and the Thanksgiving were especially interesting.

Finally, on the end was Mercer House Estate Winery. First, there's the Bloody Mary wine. Yes, that's not a typo. Guess what, it's actually pretty dang good. They also offer a coffee wine, well that one wasn't too our liking. Nevertheless, every wine offered is fun and unique. The highlight of their offering was the Sagaree 2015 which is billed as the first and oldest wine of America. Located right outside of Lexington, South Carolina, Mercer House is well worth a visit.

Two bands were featured on stage. Opening was the Time Pirates and Alex Davis with his band Passing Worth finished out the day. The weather was good, actually getting a bit warm as the sun shined down bright on the festivities. Several vendors were on-site offering crafts and farm goods. The festival was a big success and seems everyone had a great time. The ladies below were celebrating a birthday and all had matching shirts. I love the people we meet at wineries. Once the festival wound down, we drove to Greenwood and enjoyed wings and beer with an old friend.

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Sunday we knew Alex Davis was playing solo at Owls Eye Vineyards so we made the quick drive over to enjoy a bottle and listen.  It is always fun to listen to Alex and we certainly enjoy sitting on the patio at Owl's Eye and enjoying a bottle of their Celebration. Just oh by the way, Owls Eye is running a special during October, 50% off every case of wine.

Another weekend escapade comes to close. Expecting the North Carolina mountain fall foliage to be at peak viewing next weekend, we'll held up into the mountains and find some wineries along the way. Happy Weekend Wining!

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