hey guys!  how was your weekend?  mine was jam packed with fun, food, and friends!

friday night was spent with family at my niece’s pre-school’s fall festival.  they had crafts and games and ended with a parade.  it was cute. but there were waaaayy too many people cramped in small areas and i had some serious anxiety going on.  (i guess i need to get used to it, because babies will be coming before i know it and i’ll be taking my own kids to their fall festival!) after that, we went to outback for dinner.  i had the cobb salad and was pretty disappointed, but i wasn’t expecting much to begin with.

saturday, i woke-up bright and early to straighten up the house then get ready for Powhatan County’s annual wine festival!  its the go-to wine festival in this area, but this was actually my first time going, or even really trying wines for that matter!  i’m more likely to try a new beer versus trying a new wine, but i’d like to branch out some and see if i like it.

the festival is only three miles from my house, so Barbara, her mom, a friend, and i headed out our door around 10:55 a.m.  there were already A LOT of people there by the time we got there!  we parked and headed to the front gate where you show your tickets and grab you tasting glass.

after we picked up our glasses and got our wristbands, it was time to try some wine!  i am a complete newby at all of this and my memory is horrible, so i wont be able to tell you all the details, please forgive me.  there were tons of vendors set up, from artwork to wine-glass-holder-necklaces, along with the obvious wine vendors.

the wine vendors had samplings of anywhere from three to eight wines.  most had red, whites, sweets, and sangrias.  its mostly Virginia wineries which is nice to know its all made local.  some of my favorites included Cooper Vineyards, James River Cellars, and Byrd Cellars.

as you can see, the weather was not in our favor that day.  all week the forecast said 70* and sunny, then, friday rolled around and the forecast changed to 65* and rainy.  it was never a heavy rain, just enough to piss you off.  it surely didn’t stop people from coming out and trying some wine, though!

each winey had a list of the wines you were tasting, so i made note of which wines i liked and which ones i didn’t.  i noticed that the majority of the ones i really liked were a blend of vidal blanc, chardonel, and something else.  they usually had other fruity notes, like peaches and pineapple, and were sweet white wines, but not too sweet. just kind of refreshing. i also enjoyed most of the sangrias.

byrd cellars had sweet apple wine that was amazing.  i plan on visiting them for a tasting sometime in the near future because i only got to try a few of their wines.  from their website:

“Sweet Apple – Made from Virginia cider house apples. Light, fruity, and slightly sweet.  The apple juice comes from a cider house in Amhurst county.  We purchase the juice as the apples are being pressed at harvest time, begin the fermentation process at the cider house and transport it back to our winery to finish the process.  The apples are a wonderful blend of such great apples as pipin, fugi, yellow delicious and more.”

i really wanted a chance to try all the wines, and i’m glad i did, because i really got to see which ones i liked and which ones i didn’t care for.  one winery, peaks of otter, had a light chili pepper wine, which was served with a squeeze of cheese.  spicy wine, i did NOT care for.  it almost reminded me of the master cleanse – lemonade drink i tried for about 3 days.

i ended up purchasing wine from cooper vineyards called rhapsody.  from the website:

“Sweet:  Rhapsody – Our refreshing blend of Vidal Blanc, Chardonel, and Viognier. At 3% residual sugar, with notes of peach and honeysuckle, Rhapsody pairs well with Thai food and sunny afternoons.”

its a sweet wine, but i found it more refreshing than overly sweet.  i guess i’ll be able to give a better description once i drink more than a sample, but i’m excited to break open my bottle.

we stayed from 11-3 p.m. and then headed to a local restaurant for dinner.  i had a blackened and bleu burger, but it was so salty, i could barely eat it.  we got home and hung out a little longer with the fire going, since it was so cold and drizzly out.

scout was happy to see the fireplace back up and running.  the kid loves a fire.  i catch him some nights with his foot actually propped in the fireplace.

sunday, i stayed in bed until 12 p.m. sorryimnotsorry.  it felt soooo good to sleep in.  theres only been a few weekends, over the past few months, where i’ve been able to sleep in, so when i get the chance, i take it.  it was a nice relaxing sunday which included noodles & company for lunch, the movies to see carrie (don’t waste your money), and chicken noodle soup (GO MAKE THIS SOUP) + more movies (hunger games & act of valor) later that night.

all-in-all it was a really great weekend!! did you do anything fun this weekend?