Wine

Grapes are a beautiful sight to behold, growing on a vine, and wine is a wonderful beverage that comes from these beautiful grapes. Though I don't drink too often, I do like to enjoy a little wine now and then. The process for making wine is also quite intriguing to me. 

It all began here, at the Fredericksburg Winery tasting room. We, Lutheran ladies, were excited to try out and learn about Texas wine.

There was a quite a selection for us to choose from, but then we met the "wine Nazi" and didn't make it through many of these lovely looking wines. You can read more about our "wine Nazi" here on Heather's blog.

After making our way out of the Fredericksburg winery we came upon the lovely Messina Hof Winery just outside of town.

Things were looking up already.

Our sommelier was fabulous and the atmosphere was perfect for our little wine tasting adventure.

While we were in Washington, my Lutheran Stud and I escaped to "visit my little brother at work." The Chateau Ste. Michelle is quite well known in Washington, and perhaps, even around our country. If you've not heard of the Chateau Ste. Michelle you may know of other wine estates within this same company. There are so many and they aren't all in Washington. Check out Stimson Lane and I'll bet you'll know a name or two.The Riesling, made here, is one of my all time favorite wines. We currently have a large quantity of this Riesling which is also pretty wonderful, so you should come over for dinner.

When you arrive at the Chateau Ste. Michelle the view is just breathtaking. You follow a long winding road up to the actual chateau.

The Chateau isn't too shabby either. It's hard to believe that winemaking is going on here isn't it?

Wine really is being made here, however, the grapes aren't actually grown on the grounds. Most of the grapes are grown in Eastern Washington. Then they are trucked over the mountains, in the same type of trucks that carry milk. So, if you see a milk truck driving down the road it might just be grape juice and not wine!

Our tour guide explained all of the different types of grapes that are used to make wine. I had no idea there were so many.

The Chateau has produced many award-winning wines. 

We had to have a taste of some of their wines since we were there, right?

There was plenty of wine for purchase too.

There's my brother! See? We really went to see him at work. He snuck away in between meetings to give us a quick tour of the grounds. We wanted to see his office, but apparently no one is allowed in "dungeon" without security clearance and we were told that security would not clear us. His boss isn't even cleared by security. Hmmm. . .

A few peacocks live on the grounds. They aren't too afraid of people. I know this because I tried to scare this peacock into spreading his feathers, but it didn't work.

During the summer, the Chateau hosts concerts. It's pretty cool. You just hang out on the lawn and enjoy the music and drink wine if you wish. There's a wide range of performers from the Beach Boys to James Taylor to Sarah McLachlan.

Also on the grounds is a Manor House. It's been made a historical landmark and word on the street is that it is haunted.

My brother headed back to work and we walked around a little longer. I went around to get a few shots of cool areas and my Lutheran Stud headed back to the car. Look what I found in a tree as I was walking back to the car.

The trees in Washington are just unbelievably huge! I love them. If you're in the Seattle area a visit to this winery is a must. What are you waiting for? Hop to it.