absolute beauty: central new york state!

Seneca Lake from the east side. This is one of the Finger Lakes, formed by glaciers, it's over 600 feet deep! These lakes provide the perfect climate to grow grapes, and grapes make wine...


So on Saturday, I went on a little wine tour with four of my daughters and my dear friend Karen. This is Abigail, Karen in the back, me, Mariel, and Margaret. (Ev took the pic)




Such beauty!




We were surprised that we liked the microbreweries almost more than the wineries. Fresh, local, and original...my favorites for the day were:

Pumpkin ale, the top sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, oh yummers.


And here is the peanut butter stout! I know, it sounds a bit out there, but it was the best! Cold, crisp, and smooth, not sweet at all, but so peanut buttery! I don't know how they did it, but yum!!!


With Karen...


It's fun to taste them all, the tall one in the front was a coffee brew, which was okay, but didn't rank up there with the pumpkin or peanut butter.



So we had too much fun, but not too much alcohol. Evelyn was the designated driver, as the drinking age is 21 and she's only 19. But we drank lots of water, and had snacks in between, and had a nice lunch overlooking the lake. So our drinks were spaced out, and we behaved ourselves. I skipped a tasting or two, when I felt it was going to my head a bit, just enjoyed the views and drank lots of water.

It's fun to learn what you like, learn about the grapes, learn about the processes, but also to spend time together and relax.

And shh, I bought seven bottles of wine. It SHOULD last until Christmas, ha. But it's nice to buy what you know you like. I don't have it very often, every few weeks a little bit.

Anyway. This fine morning, Anne is coming in a few minutes. Lydia just went home last night. :)