Great Grapes Wine Festival: Take 5!
We figured on the way there that this was our fifth time attending!
Justin + Amanda offered to drive us, but it’s tradition to bike there 🙂 We like the exercise and the fun.
We packed a killer picnic to enjoy with our wine samples! Lucky us we were allowed to bring food in and it was a great idea to picnic while we sampled some wines.
Herbed goat cheese from Costo
Parrano Cheese + Costco Bries
Breads
Veg
Hummus
Aged meats
Fruits
RFTC cupcakes!!!
We grabbed a sample to enjoy while we ate..
But it went down too fast so Matt and I went looking for more
And came back with a bottle of RagApple Lassie Chard – an old favorite!
I had a small glass during lunch –
I had at least 2 of these sized plates of the delicious French picnic
He had three –
And I ended with one of these…
Half hot pink and half light pink (really only ate the frosting. The light pink was better)
Then we went tasting – us, The Hungry Wanderers and Whit’s Getting Fit!
Yummy
We felt that two wineries really stood out: Round Peak for its hip label and consistently impressive wines + Grove Winery for its quality Italian reds. North Carolina is not exactly a fabulous wine country, and many of the others achieved "meh" status for the muscadine (BLECH!), fruit (literally) and flat + dry varietals.
However, lots of wine was tasted.
And the bright sunshine was HARSH! We all came home a little pink.
Despite tasting at probably 10 different wineries, I felt I did OK maintaining my composure 🙂
And found a soap stand!
There were so many delicious flavors. I got a few for Christmas gifts
We eventually decided we were wined out (even though we’d probably only tasted half of the options!)
We came home and set up a relaxing atmosphere of furniture on the patio taking in the most gorgeous day ever.
After an hour or so of hydrating and chatting, we decided it was pizza pizza time. I had fun taking votes on pizza toppings, hunger status, salad preference to decide on our dinner plans. [I’m turning into my mom!]
It’s tradition to order pizza from Wolfman down the street and walk to pick it up. So us three girls set out on a walk to fetch the pie.
We got one veggie with shrooms, green peppers and roasted red peppers
And one Pepperoni-less jalapeno and sun-dried tomato pizza. They forgot our pepperoni!
Luckily they still tasted great. (Sorry again for the pepperoni problem Justin!)
The boys put together the salad while we were gone – spinach with carrots + leftover goat cheese with a homemade dressing
I had a slice of each plus salad –
Plus an extra sliver (that’s Matt‘s seconds on the right)
And I shared a pumpkin beer with Whit. Definitely didn’t need this half-beer, but it tasted good with the pizza.
For dessert I brought out a chocolate platter and we had a tasting!
Scharffen Berger samples and some leftover symphony brownie cut into pieces. I also broke out a Hershey’s Bliss Dark Chocolate bar and we determined that it was excellent in comparison.
Very long, super fun day and I’d by lying if I didn’t admit that I’m relieve it’s over. I’m so tired, so thirsty and so ready to climb into my bed and have a healthy 3 meals tomorrow!
Looks like a great day! How in the world did you get that impressive spread there on your bikes? Complete with crystal serving dishes?
What a great day! And some great chocolate to top it all off
Those cupcakes are such a pretty color – that is my most fave color. And the chocolate looks so good.
ahhhhhh long day! Thanks for inviting me out to the festival, I loved hanging out and getting to know you guys. Complete with the spider and the moths. 😀
That looks like so much fun! And I love your shades – they’re fabulous!
Wow – what a fabulous day! That’s so nice that they let you bring your own food into the festival – that is KEY!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 🙂
the cupcakes match your cool shirt!
what a yummy spread! looks like a fab day!
Everything looks DELICIOUS!
Jenn
Looks like a fun afternoon with some great people!
Goat cheese and salad looks great.
Hydrate and have a good Sunday!
That sounds like such a perfect Saturday – the picnic spread looks awesome and your pizza sounds great!
what a great saturday! Any day that ends with good friends and chocolate is a great one in my book.
oh my…what a fun and scrumptious day 🙂 i love your sunnies!
What a fun way to spend your Saturday Kath! And that’s so wonderful that you’ve kept up the tradition for FIVE years! The food spread sounds fabulous, and I’m so glad you had a wonderful time.
BTW – Those sunglasses are adorable! They fit your face perfectly!
Looks like such a wonderful day with friends, great food, and fun! I love any day that ends with pizza!
Hehe, I always eats only the frosting–we all know that cupcakes are just vehicles for frosting anyway:)
Looks like you had a fun day! I really hope one day to live “moderation” like you do…I think it’s just great. Oh and I am totally a frosting eater too…that’s why I ask for a tiny corner piece (when cake is around, which isn’t enough, if you ask me).
Here’s another thing that may sound like your mother:
Did you remember to wear your sunscreen?
What a FUN day!!! =) Love the picnic!
Looks like such a fun day!
What an AWESOME day/night!! Looks like you all had so much fun. I loved looking at all the photos!!
Those cupcakes look to die for!
Nothing beats a day with good friends and good food.
I love when bloggers get together!
such a fun day! I love the first pic of you with that glass… a touch of retro! 🙂
She should be wearing her sun screen. There’s skin cancer in the family, although she’s miles ahead of me. We used record albums covered with aluminum foil to draw the rays directly to our faces, which we smothered with baby oil. Ugh.
Kath, I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed Grove Vineyard’s wines! I recently went there with a group of 50, arranged by our local wine shop, to harvest and stomp grapes…and try generous samplings of all their wines.
Here is a fun video the wine shop put together. http://johnstonesvinblanc.blogspot.com/2009/10/shrimp-and-grits-in-gravy.html
Next time your in Durham, I highly recommend Wine Authorities. They have a fun wine tasting on Saturday’s from 12-3 PM.
Everything looks great. 🙂
Looks like you had a really fun day! I love wine festivals!
i adore your shades kath – too cute!
So much fun !! No insult but Kath those sun glasses are way to big for your small face 🙂
Love your sunglasses!!!!
At each picture I silently ooohhed. It all looks great.
I love your get togethers! All these cheeses and breads, pizza, and chocolate tasting – it’s wonderful! 😀
Enjoy your Sunday, Kath!
What a FUN day! You put it together wonderfully. Glad you got to spend some fun time with friends!
Amy,
Justin + Amanda took it for us in their automobile.
Sheila,
Always!
Jessica,
Fun! I am overdue for a visit to RDU.
Kath
What a fun day!!! That picnic spread is pretty amazing 🙂
You guys know how to picnic!
fun time at the wine tasting kath!!
jenna
Hey I know you love the frosting, but you know they are usually made from trans-fat right? I know you try to avoid that, so thought I would let you know!
Wow, it looks like you had the perfect day! Good company, delicious food, and beautiful weather. What more could you ask for?
Ty,
Yeah, I know. I’m not worried about a little trans-fat on special occasions.
Kath