New Local Finds!!!

Yesterday in our travels, we finally had a chance to stop by a winery that is within a stone's throw from SO's house. I say "finally" because finding it open has been rather elusive. The wine store has very limited hours but I happened to check the winery's website recently and saw that they were going to be open every Saturday afternoon for the next several weeks.

We made it just in time. The winemaker's father was working the store counter yesterday and he was just about to close when we walked up to the door.

But, we made it worth his while to stick around. This little place is pretty amazing. See here for the list of wines they produce. All these wines from a little estate of only two acres (of course, they do supplement with grapes they purchase). We tasted a good portion of what they offer and bought a case so we could get into the "case club" (= 10% discount). The wines for the most part are not very expensive and we got a nice variety which will be useful with the holidays coming up either for serving or giving as gifts.

This morning I decided to make a pork roast in the slow cooker and since the recipe called for red wine, it was a good reason to crack open a bottle of their Chambourcin:












After we finished the tasting and selecting our purchases, emboldened by the wine tasting, I asked for a tour of the wine-making operation and we were given the tour. It is a very small operation and the yield on each production is only about 500 bottles so this is truly a labor of love.

After the winery stop, we stopped into a farm that raises cattle without hormones, etc., and got their prices for beef which we will order after the holidays -- by then we will be mostly out of the beef from earlier this year. This farm has beef available more often so we won't have to order as much which I think will work out a little better.

It takes a little time to ferret out little places like this but they are worth their weight in gold to me -- These little operations take a lot of passion on the part of the people that own and run them and it shows in what they produce. They deserve our support.