My friend and I recently went to a wine tasting. We are both college educated, intelligent, worldly women...although worldly perhaps has a connotation she wouldn't appreciate...I digress. We're at a wine tasting chuckling over the descriptive terms. I'm not sure how "full-bodied" applies to wine but I know I don't like it when shopping for clothes and try as we might, neither of us could taste the "subtle chocolate nuances". So we decided to make a guide using language everyone can understand like..."sucks", or "good", or, my favorite, "so sweet I went into diabetic shock just sniffing it". We further decided not to limit ourselves to wine since we possess such vast knowledge and since one of us drinks wine out of a box at home and one of us can't afford too many wine tastings. So herein lies our first review.
Ruby's Take: https://www.valleyvineyards.com/ Our group consists of Sarah and her husband and me and my date. The place has a warm homey feel, lots of wood, brick and candles in the decor. You get to choose a flight of sweet or dry wines to sample then can choose a bottle to drink. I opt for the sweet since my date is a wine newbie who normally drinks Naty Light which I'm sorry...doesn't really even count as beer. Sarah and hubby choose the sweet as well so we can all rate each wine. I suggested they get the dry so we can have a larger variety to sample but was essentially told to get my own. There are pitchers of water so you can cleanse the palette if you so choose. We left the water alone...had to save room for the wine. My favorite of the sweet whites is probably the Niagra. I'm not sure what "varietal" means but it was a crisp and grapey wine and didn't make my date make a face. The honey mead was so sweet you could serve it on pancakes but after a couple sips not too bad. We opted for one of the reds as our bottle and I honestly don't remember which one it was...we'd had a lot of wine at this point...I should take notes next time. I would like to note there is at least one cute boy there to look at. I know I'm not supposed to notice that when I'm on a date but come on...anyone who drinks Naty light is going for quantity not quality so he's not relationship material anyway and there's no harm in looking. Overall opinion, I would definitely go back.
Sarah's View Valley Vineyard is a favorite date place for me and my hubby. It is not full of people (generally) nor is it a fancy place with frill...it is a spot for people to laugh, talk and reconnect. After running the children, keeping up with all the extracurricular activities, housekeeping, work and family needs...a date with a cute guy (aka Hubby), a bottle of wine and a warm fireplace fulfills a quiet need to be listened to and to feel like an individual rather than a minivan and maid. The vineyard offers dinner which is fun; you cook your own steak or salmon, get a bottle of wine, salad, baked potato, veggies and dessert for $50 a couple. However, lately we have been just getting the wine sampler with a homemade pizza. Hubby is not normally a wine drinker but enjoys the novelty of tasting the different kinds (and pretending to be a connoisseur). I am normally a white wine, Chardonnay kind of lady, so ordering the sampler gives us both a different taste and something to discuss. After you have been together for 20 years, discussion becomes a tad more challenging especially when you throw in the rules about no talking about work or the children. Hence, our decision to arrange date night around a sampler. So, we take Ruby and date. He's weird (as usual), cute but keeps reciting Monty Python movie lines. Personally, never seen the movie and I'm glad I have wine. It is funny to read what they write about the wines. Hubby and I choose Red Reflections...it is fruity and hearty with a little zing; can't really taste the "blueberry, black raspberry and black currants". We also liked the Niagra with "clean finish bouquet of butterscotch" or as Hubby stated, drink enough of that one and you could call it Viagra! I liked Vidal Blanc because it started off tart but ended up sweet; I guess that is what they called "aromas of pear, apple and melon". Hubby liked Pink Catawba with "lemon zest and good jolt"; he just liked that it didn't taste like Chardonnay. My least favs. . . Ice Wine; it tasted like the syrup stuff at the bottom of a snow cone, AND it is the most expensive! I also didn't care for Concord; supposed to have a "long, lingering finish"...I felt like I was confessing at church and waiting for the communion bread! I also didn't like Honey Mead; "liquid gold" or rock candy juice. As I have already stated, I love this place. It is fun, different and reasonably priced.
