Have you had your glass of wine today? If not, go open that bottle and get pouring, I'll wait............
Good, now that you have glass in hand let's talk about your need to go to the wine country. The great thing about 'wine country' is it can be found in places you wouldn't think possible. Wines from Oregon recently have been winning national awards and becoming well known, who knew! And can you believe it I have a winery in my own backyard. OK, not literally in my backyard, but I live in Texas and as big as Texas is it feels it's right there. I only have to drive 15 minutes to transport myself to wine heaven. Colorado, my home state has vineyards and wineries dotting the Western Slope. One of the best wineries in Colorado is located in the city of all places. If you ever get a chance while in Denver, visit Balistreri Vineyards, it's small, off the beaten path, you can almost miss it but what a fun find.
For those who don't see the "need" to tour the wine country in their state I implore you to step out and try it sometime. Not only do you see natures beauty in the growing vines that supply the basis for a vintner's art, you'll get to taste it too. You'll be tasting the unique flavors only your states soil and weather conditions can provide. It puts you in touch with the roots where you decided to make a life. I am no sommelier, but there are subtle difference in taste, aroma, color that let's you know where you are.
I have to thank my husband for infuencing me to drink wine. Before I met him I had the occassional drink around holidays. The people that know me today know me as the person who makes excuses to pop a bottle and enjoy among friends. One my first and most memorable experiences in the wine country are depicted in the pictures above. They are taken in Napa and Sonoma Valley (Sterling-Napa/La Viansa/Sonoma) We drove there with my parents in a rented Buick That had the most uncomfortable seats not to mention was in the category of Old man car. My husband got a speeding ticket and I blame that on 1) the seats being uncomfortable and needing to inflate our flattened butts back to normal 2) We were on that long, straight boring stretch of road in Nevada that begged for some speed 3)Since we had Nevada's racetrack road we wanted to see how fast the 'Old Man' car would go, it was surprisingly speedy as we found out with the cops lights in the rear view mirror. We laughed the whole way to California, joking that the Buick would get us there, not in style... but it would get us there. We strolled San Franscico, ate their delicious cuisine, pigged out on Ghiradelli Chocolate, Saw Golden Gate and Presidio. Drove the Muir highway by the sea on our way to wine country. When we got there we visited so many tasting rooms we were light hearted to say the least. We ate cheese, bread, proscuitto to sop up the wine in our stomach and went out for more the next day. It was the perfect trip. One that got us started visiting other wineries in other states.
Check the state you live in and I bet you will find someone living the wine making dream. If you've been able to tour your state's wine country let me know your experience and where the unique places are. There is something about getting out there tasting what man does with nature that binds folks together.
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