Lovely Day

I had such a lovely day on Friday. Bubba and I were on our way down south to visit older sis and fam and we decided to make some stops along the way. Every time we drive down there I'm always wanting to hit a few wineries but Bubba never wants to do it. He just wants to get to the destination and not take 9 years to get there. So much to my surprise, it was his idea to meander our way down and hit some of the wine spots. And...for those of you who know him, you know that Bubba doesn't do what Bubba doesn't want to do when Bubba doens't want to do it. So this was pretty exciting to me to be doing the trip the way I wanted. It was a beautiful day for a drive in the convertible, so we set off on the road. And, the rules allow for vacation drinking - so even though I was only going 3 hours away - any road trip to me is considered vacation :-).

So...stop # 1 was Barboursville Vineyards & Winery. I visited this one once before after miscarriage #2 with my mom and my sisters and we had a great time amidst a horrible time in my life. So it holds bittersweet memories for me, but I was glad to go back in a time when I was feeling pretty good about life. We did a tasting - they have the most wines available for tasting of any winery I've ever been to, so for $4 you get your money's worth for sure. We had a lovely lunch at the Palladio restaurant there and spent time talking in the way and on subject matters you only hit when you have a wine buzz. The food is fufu and unpronouncable but so yummy.

On to stop #2 at Kluge Winery. Beautiful windy roads led to this one. It made me want country living for like a second before I remembered how much I love being by all the stuff we have around us. This winery now tops my list of favs. It is tucked back and nestled in the woods with great outdoor seating areas...and you can even have your tasting brought outside to your table in a wine flight. It was another tasting for us both and a cheese plate to help wash it down. A perfect afternoon, a perfect setting, my perfect man with me. The tasting was pricey - $10 - but the wines were quite decent and the setting and experience was worth it. I forgot to buy my souveneir glass, so I'm going to have to make another visit to this one sometime soon. Who wants to come with?

We managed to stretch a 3 hour trip into a 7 hour trip, but it was well worth it and it was the best day I've had in a very long time. No stress, no worries, just me, Bubba, some wine and good conversation.

Bonus stop #3 happened on Saturday on the way home. Prince Michel Winery is right on the road, and since Bubba's butt was going numb from driving, he was easily persuaded to pull in for a quick tasting. This winery is beautiful, has great seating areas inside and out and free self guided tours and tastings every day. Unfortunately their wines are just so-so, but it would still be a great place to hang out for an afternoon.

My wine recommendations are:
-Cabernet Franc - Barboursville - I love the dry peppery taste of this. AFter the tasting, I had a glass with lunch and it was excellent. Virginia really has some great Cab Francs and if you're a fan I recommend.
-Kru - Kluge - this a white apertif wine that is super sweet and is made with chardonnay grapes, and small amount of chardonnay brandy and then aged in jack daniels barrels. Oh yeah...this is a good one.
I came home with bottles of these (and one for Sunny & Mrs. Mischief as well).

I guess I need to either wait for cramps or another amendment to the rules to crack into them, but they are there waiting for me when I'm ready.