Our first stop was Westfall Winery. We were going there for the First Barrel Tasting of the Summer season. I was so excited I had never tried wine before it was ready to bottle. We sat down outside and enjoyed a pinic. My sister and her boyfriend had made great sandwiches for everyone and had also packed pineapple slices, pickles and chips. It was a great way to fill the belly before the wine feast began.
We then paid our 5 dollars and got a great glass and moved to the Barrel Room. I have to mentioned that this Winery also breeds horses. When we pulled up the horses were outside to greet us. I think one really wanted our attention!
Anyway, back to the wine. So we go inside and this tasting is for reds. Now I am not a huge fan of red, tends to give me a headache, so I was a little leary but I did fine a couple that I would have a glass of with dinner. I don't think the tasting guide cared for our group to much, we were rowdy! My mom came in and grabbed the list and started to describe all of the wines. She then turns to him and say "Wait is this your job"...lol!! My husband, who doesn't care for wine that much, even got into the tasting. He was even chewing the wine for the flavor..lol. So much fun.
Then we went into the shop were the owner had another good 15 bottles of wine for us to try and that tasting was free!! I love anything free..lol. I ended up with a bottle of Sangria to take home. It was a little sweet but not overly so and had a great citrus finish. A dangerous bottle to have around a cookout..lol.
After hanging out a bit with my parents we said goodbye and the four of us went on to the next stop.
Ventimiglia Vineyard. My sister had told me that when you first pull up to the winery you really feel like you are just pulling up to someone's house. She was right! They had chickens in the side yard, some grapes growing in the backyard and a few tables out front for people to sit and enjoy the wine.
This tasting was also 5 dollars and we got to sample 14 different types of wine. I learned so much. The owner's of this winery are so personable and you can tell the amount of heart and soul that go into his wines. We were even lucky enough to go down and get another barrel tasting! I wish I would have been able to take a couple of those home that day. But I will wait til they get bottled and enjoy!
Since my sister and her boyfriend (okay Monique and Jason...so much easier...lol!) had gone there a couple of times we totally took that over as well. By the end we were pouring the wine!! I loved the Carignane, which is a red. I was so excited to find one that I loved. It was smooth, crisp and a little tart but with no linger at all. I bought a bottle of that and of the Chardonnay. Their Chardonnay has grapefruit tones...grapefruit is one of my favorites!! It was crazy to learn the number of different types of grapes that they use in the wines. And they make it all by hand. For the sorting to the crushing to the bottling.
It was such a great day and I really enjoyed learning about the wines. I can't wait for them to come visit here again and for us to try some local wineries in MD.
So I totally want to post my eats on Sunday when I got back from NJ but I am beat and my Hubby just got me a lavender tea and I am going to relax and read and relax...lol.
No comments:
Post a Comment