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.

Last weekends of 2017

So with Christmas and New Years we decided to combine the blog for those 2 weeks. So... here we go.

After doing a tiny bit of last minute shopping on Saturday the 23rd, we decided to head to Waldensian Heritage Wines. Very quaint tasting room and they had some regulars enjoying wine and football. Since it had been quite a while since we had been there, we decided to do a tasting again. We ended up bringing 3 bottles home as they were having a really nice sale.

We then headed to Shadow Line Vineyard . Marvin & Geba are such lovely people. We also met a very sweet couple who are neighbors to the vineyard and had such a nice time chatting with them. This was the second time we went to Shadow Line and both times it was rainy. We are going to pick a very pleasant, sunny day the next time we do so we can enjoy the patio area they have. If I am not mistaken, we came home with 3 bottles from them. Yep restocked the wine racks!

Sunday being Christmas Eve, we went to church, had family lunch, I wrapped gifts and then we headed to Russian Chapel Hills. Andre was doing a special tasting with oysters that Dennis did. I  am not an oyster fan so I just had a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc. 

Last Saturday we went to a new winery in Laurens, Abiding Vines Vineyard. Owner David Barnes is so personable. Come to find out he works with someone that I grew up with. Small world! This is a young vineyard/winery and he is currently producing all muscadine but is wanting to make some other fruit wines in the future. He had a two varietals of muscadine that we had not had before the Creek and the Regale. We brought a bottle of the Regale home with us. 

We then went by City Scape to get another bottle of the Winemaker's Cab Sav since I had given the one we had as a retirement gift. As always the winery was hopping and we enjoyed a glass each and a cheese board and got to see Pinot for a few. He was dressed all snuggly in a sweater. We made a quick stop at Happy Cow Creamery as Dennis wanted some of his milk and we also picked up some cheese, natural peanut butter and a spaghetti sauce that I thought looked interesting. 

We then drove up to Victoria Valley. Such a beautiful place! The owner and winemaker Les Jane's daughter Brittany did our tasting and we had a lovely chat with some locals/regulars. We brought a bottle of the Table Rock Rose home with us. 

Sunday after church and lunch, we drove up to Parker Binns for a little bit before heading to Greenville for our traditional New Year's Eve dinner & comedy. BTW, if you've never tried Uber, you must! It's fantastic! Since it was so cold, we were pleasantly surprised to see how busy they were. Sadly they were out of our favorite which is the Rose, but we enjoyed the Lulu Red for a nice change. As we were leaving sweet Dee was there, enjoying a glass on her day off on the OTHER side of wine bar! 

So after all the festivities on Sunday night, we got read

y, check out of our hotel and headed south to GA. Thinking the weather would be better that way. Dennis wanted to go to The Dillard House in Dillard, GA. On the way, we ran into some snow, but it wasn't too bad but it did concern us for a little bit. About 15 minutes later we were out of it and got to enjoy a MASSIVE lunch.

We had planned to go to a winery that we had not been to before, but they were closed for the day, so we headed to Habersham Winery and Vineyard. Did a tasting facilitated by the very lovely and sweet Sydne. We decided to shared a bottle of the Gewurztraminer and met two super fun couples. Sadly we had to tell them good bye and head home. All in all I would say the holiday weekends were a great success and much fun!

2018 Weekend 1

Saturday we head out to Morgan Ridge Vineyards in Gold Hill, NC. I had wanted to go back there for quite sometime and Dennis made it happen this weekend. We first stopped in Historic Downtown Gold Hill and met some really interesting and fun people. We shopped in the antique store and found a Merlot key hook that we had to have. Then we headed over to the general store. We found some black bean and corn salsa for Dennis. He had found some in another little town that he really liked but the ones in our local grocery store were not as good. He tried it when we got home and said it was amazing!
We then headed on over to the winery. Just as a side note, in the historic area, there is a tasting room for Morgan Ridge. I think the next time we are in that area we will visit there.

Maggie did our tasting and was so sweet and knowledgeable. We did the premium tasting that was $10 each & we got to taste 10 wines each. They have 13 wines to choose from so between the 2 of us, we were able to taste them all. We had several favorites, but picked the Joile Blanc and the Applelicious to bring home. We also got to meet Kim the manager. Everyone there was so nice. We decided that we needed a little snack and asked for recommendations from the staff. They all said the brisket nachos. Let me tell you they did not disappoint! Our server for the nachos was Tara. We met some super sweet people there and had a great time mingling with everyone. We also found the cutest sign that we just had to buy to take to Josh & Deb at City Scape. It said Peace Love and Pinot. It was a must for them!

We decided to head over to another winery that we had been to before, Old Stone Winery. The tasting room is another that has the old diner feel to it. Shannon did our tasting and she was much fun! All their wines are muscadine, even the pomegranate and peach have muscadine in them. They had a white muscadine grape that we were not familiar with. It's called Sweet Jenny. Even though Jenny isn't spelled the way i do, of course I'm interested in this grape. They have 13 wines, 7 dry and 6 sweet.

Sunday after church and lunch, we headed over to City Scape to take the sign to Josh & Deb. Sadly Deb was not there as she has been under the weather. However, Josh was there and just loved the sign! We shared a bottle of the Mueller Two Goats, visited with some of the other patrons and then headed to Greenville to the Spice and Tea Exchange. I needed some more Tuscan spice blend and we also brought home some southwestern spice and cilantro.

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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