Vine Harvest

Today, I visited a winery for the first time ever.

I’m not a wine expert. When I drink wine, it’s a bottle of Arbor Mist that will either be finished in two days or left to go bad in my fridge, mostly because I don’t drink that much. When I’m in the right mood, though, I like the taste of wine,  and I’ve always been kind of in love with the thought of being classy enough to attend wine tastings and knowing what the different varietals are. I’ve always wanted to go to winery, I just never have.

Today’s winery experience was unplanned. My co-consultant and I were day tripping to the small town of Louisburg, Kansas  for a Passion Party and we decided to see some of the local sights. At the time of arrival, the only local sight we planned to see was the Louisburg Cider Mill.

Louisburg Cider Mill

Apples to Press

Handmade apple cinnamon donut

While the Mill was pretty to look at, there was no cider making going on. We grabbed a couple drinks (they had awesome cold cider) and a homemade apple donut and decided to try our luck at the winery.

Somerset Winery was holding a harvest gathering. When we got there, there were people sitting on the porch drinking wine and listening to music. On the lawn was an artist painting pictures, and I wish I’d thought to take a picture right away, but I didn’t realize until it was too late that the gathering was actually winding down.

Tasting was still going strong  inside, and we were able to sample several brands of semi-sweet and dessert wines. The tasting was much quicker than I’d expected. There was no sniffing or swishing. There was just tasting.

At the tasting bar

I’ve always thought that I’d be one of those people who wouldn’t be able to taste the difference in different wines. Surprisingly, I could taste the difference in all of them. I couldn’t tell you if one was nuttier than another or had a strong bouquet (is that even the right word?) but I could taste the grapes in the Concordia and the cherries in the Buffalo Red. My favorite was a light tropical wine called Buffalo White. I wanted to buy a bottle, but I figured making sure I had enough gas money to get home was a better idea.

I’m going to look for it locally next time my husband and I decide to have a few drinks.

The experience was fun. The people were nice and the atmosphere was classy but a laid back classy that I hadn’t actually expected. Besides the wine tasting, we sampled some foods made with with locally made olive oils and balsamic vinegars: watermelon salsa and blood orange brownies.

To end our trip, we walked to the edge of the vineyard just to get the full experience. Had we thought it was acceptable, we might have walked further into it. But seeing it was enough and just having the experience made the whole trip well worth it. I’d like to go back someday and maybe spend a little more time and money to enjoy a bottle of wine on the front porch.

In the Vineyard

A.