The Finery of the Winery.
We heard there was a wine trail in Connecticut but didn't entirely believe it. So Saturday morning, after breakfast and our daily gym excursion, we loaded up into Chris’ car armed with a bottle of water, a full insulin pump, and no map.
“We shouldn’t bring a map. It will just make us more lost.”
“Agreed.”
Directionally challenged and agreeing that “north” meant “in front of the car” (vs. “west,” which meant “to the left”), we heading up Route 7 towards the White Silo Winery.
It was like a scene out of Sideways. Tiny little farm off the side of a country road, far from the chaos of New York City, a woman behind a small wooden counter served fruit wines and told us the stories of how the wines were crafted from succulent raspberries and blackberries.
After the tasting and buying a bottle of rhubarb wine, we poked around the farm a bit. Found a wheelbarrow hiding behind a fence, casting shadows on the thickets of berries.
Our next stop was the Hopkins Winery up the "trail" a small bit.
Perfect driving weather: cool, crisp, and hosted by a sunbathed landscape. We stopped the car every so often to explore the scenery. We found these train tracks lining the edge of a small river.
Towards our second stop, we spied a waterfall near a quaint street of shops. Chris climbed down into the ravine (and slipped on the slope, dipping his elbow in the dirt) to take a few pictures.
Arriving at Hopkins Winery, we tasted the award-winning wines and toured the fermenting room. (Which, by name, reminded me of the Inventing Room from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - the Gene Wilder version, not the creepy Johnny Depp disaster.)
Chris took stock of Hopkins' finest ...
And I snapped pictures of the blooming labels.
Charmed by the country charm of western Connecticut, we retired to the vineyard gardens and (after I promptly fell in a ditch and Chris tried to eat the contraband grapes that were twining around the silo) enjoyed the sunset.
Comments
Kerri,
What a lovely day. Thank you for sharing the pics, they are great. Sounds like you had tons of fun.
Viv
Posted by: Vivian | October 22, 2006 10:10 PM
I was counting on you guys getting lost. I guess it's up to Jeff and me to provide getting lost tales.
Chris looked like a real wine connoisseur (had to pull out the dictionary for that word) while looking at the bottle of wine.
A dirty elbow, and falling in a ditch + wine=did you have too much to drink? ;)
Posted by: Shannon | October 23, 2006 07:33 AM
Ahhhh...I just love fall. Scenery looks spectacular. Great pics!
Posted by: Johnboy | October 23, 2006 08:53 AM
Was this as romantic as it sounds? I love wine, but I can never have just a sip!
Posted by: Sarah | October 23, 2006 10:19 AM
i've never been to a winery before. looks amazing!
Posted by: ali | October 23, 2006 10:38 AM
Vivian and Johnboy - Thanks ... it was a ton of fun!
Shannon - Oh, we definitely got lost. But it was okay because it was gorgeous weather and a perfect day to meander. And I wish my reasons for ending up in a ditch were because I was nice and giddy. Instead, I'm just awkward and clumsy. :)
Sarah - It was very romantic. We felt like we were on vacation a little bit. It's nice to wander with someone you love.
Ali - I've been to a few small wineries and it's just a gorgeous experience. Makes me feel like I'm cultured, like I'm fooling these people into thinking I have class instead of having just crawled out of a ditch outside. :)
Posted by: Kerri. | October 23, 2006 11:11 AM
Super pictures! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Scott K. Johnson | October 23, 2006 12:49 PM
Now I'm jealous! Looks like a great time.
tek
Posted by: tekakwitha | October 23, 2006 04:18 PM
Sounds perfect.
I just love days like this-- when you open yourself up to serendipity.
And hey, wonderful photos-- I can so see Chris climbing down that ravine :-)
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Sandra Miller | October 24, 2006 09:32 AM
Ohhh, sounds like a lovely day! I love the photo's. I was thinking the same as Shannon (hmmm, falling into ditches after visiting a winery ... hmmmm) LOL.
You know, I keep waiting to read about THE question being popped on one of these romantic trips :D (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Posted by: Jamie | October 24, 2006 07:58 PM
these pictures are gorgeous!!!!
Posted by: jennster | October 24, 2006 09:53 PM