Saturday, 3/20/10 The First Day of Spring!

Such a gorgeous, lovely wonderful day yesterday! SANDALS ARE BACK!

The first order of business? HIT THE GYM! I had not exercised since my walk Wednesday, and that combined with little veggies left me feeling fluffy and not so healthy.

Guess who else came to work out?

Mother Goose! I don't know about her, but I did:

• 15 minutes on the elliptical (I REALLY hate that thing now!)
• 30 minutes treadmill, 4.0 incline, 3.8 mph

For lunch, Ky and I grabbed some Altanta Bread. If you are ever in College Park, never EVER go there. Every time I've been, they are out of something (like, for example, BREAD), or mess up your order.

I asked for half the veggie panini and half the house salad. I got a WHOLE veggie panini and a WHOLE salad.

The salad tasted wilted, so my greenery plans were smashed. The panini was actually tasty, but why white bread?

I also orderd a vanilla latte thingy, which they forgot about. I wish I had, too, and not asked for it. NASTY. I sipped about 1/4 of it.

Luckily, lunch was quickly forgotten because it was such a beautiful day, and we were heading out to visit our favorite wineries for the first time this season!

First Stop: Barrel Oak Winery

This place was absolutely gorgeous! A huge yellow tasting house with a large outdoor patio and lots of nice stonework. For $9 you got to taste all 10 wines (5 white, 5 red) and keep your glass. Also, in honor of the weather and it being the first day of Spring, they had their patio set up for tastings as well as some live music.

And there were TONS of dogs, and I love me some dogs. I loved this little guy... and so did all the other dogs. Every time I turned around he was getting humped by someone!

The wines were also pretty good; some had not matured yet because the winery is SO young. However, they had a wonderful Chardonnay that they treat in a special way so as not to have an over-bearing buttery taste. It was very light, and also didn't have an oak finish because it was kept in stainless steel. Very good, but too pricey to get a bottle especially since it was our first stop!

Love him :-)

Second Stop: Vintage Ridge!

This place has fantastic food pairings... you get a plate of cheeses, breads, house-made chutneys, meats, etc to have with five 1/3 glass tastings of wine. It is also the most beautiful winery in the area in my opinion.

It is hands down our favorite winery... BUT IT WAS CLOSED! We were so bummed; totally sure it would be open by now. Not until April 9th.

After that, we stopped to get some soda and a light snack:

Tasty! Ky and I split half the bag and saved the rest.

Third Stop: Swedenburg

Not a fan. We had never been here before, and had to pay $5 each for a tasting, when our server didn't even talk to us about the wines. They had a large group there, but still. Either close your winery for the group, or provide service to other patrons besides pours. The wine wasn't that great, either.

Fourth and Final Stop: Quattro Gumba!!!

This place is just as cool as it's name :-) you walk in and it feels like someone's house. A nice kitchen/tasting area and lots of overstuffed couches and chairs. Cozy!

This place is also cool because they import grapes from all over the world, while most wineries import from their local country (like Barrel Oak imports mostly from California).

We also had a special treat... the owner was our pourer. She was really funny and informative, making up for Swedenburg. Also, they had a carmenre, my favorite kind of wine! However, it is not easy to find. I knew I wanted a bottle, but they were down to only 1/3 a bottle left, so you couldn't even taste it, just buy it by the glass. Luckily I jumped on that and she was kind enough to give me the rest of the bottle for the price of one glass. Fabulous! And it was delicious... I'm glad I was lucky enough to get it!

She filled my glass to the brim, then said "Honey, it's all you... take a big gulp and I'll top you off!" Fabulous!

Kyle also got a glass (Chard) and we relaxed outside in the sun listening to some more live music. Another plus? He bought a bottle of the Chard, and Gumba waives the tasting fee with purchase. Fabulous all around... we basically got to try 10 wines and get a bottle for $10.

DINNER!

We hit up a place in historic downtown Leesburg, the Doner Bistro. Kyle had been talking about it for a while, so we finally hit it up.

I have never eaten German food before, so while Kyle got a traditional Doner, I asked the cashier what she recommended. She said try the currywurst, so I did! Kyle and I split his Doner:

and my currywurst (pork sausages with curry ketchup and fries... you could also get shredded beef):

And a german beer (of course!)

I liked the doner,which is essentially a German gyro... but not the currywurst so much. I don't like my food smothered in sauces or dressings. I would have liked it better with the sauce on the side, for sure.

After that, we started our long drive home to watch some NCAA basketball (I effing !LOVE! basketball) with Nick and Kristen.

We talked a bit about the blog, and I am trying to decide how long I want to keep this project up for. I like doing it, but I know I don't want to go to the "big leagues" with sponsers and ads, etc.

We'll see.

While we chatted we played Mexican dominoes, and I had 3 rum and cokes and some beer. Today I feel really lethargic, most likely from drinking all day and night yesterday. Maybe not a GREAT choice, but I'm about to have a serious work crackdown the next two weeks, so I don't plan on having much alcohol for a while!

Time to make a writing schedule, catch you guys later!