|
 Unfortunately my husband and I don't get to travel as much as we'd like, but when we do, finding good places to eat is the number one priority... for me anyway. My husband prefers luxury accommodations, but I will stay at Motel 6 as long as I can dine where I want. I traveled quite a bit as a child, but none of those vacations really stand out as Foodie Road Trips. For our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I decided to check out the local wine scene, well not really local but it was as close as we were getting to Napa Valley anytime soon. A good friend of mine told me about the Brandywine Wine Trail located in Chester County Pennsylvania. Every weekend during the month of March they host "Barrels on the Brandywine", where for a nominal fee you can tour all seven of the wineries in the Brandywine River Valley area, participate in exclusive barrel tastings and a host of other fun wine filled events.
We started our romantic weekend by checking into the Hilton Garden Inn in Kennett Square, PA. and then had a celebratory anniversary dinner at this fabulous little restaurant called the State Street Grille. The owners, former New Yorkers Richard and Evelyn Halka moved to Chester County after having their daughter and brought with them all of their varied experience from working at some of the best restaurants in East Hampton, NY. The homey and quaint little restaurant boasted an open kitchen where you could watch the chefs as they prepared your meal. My husband had a perfectly prepared NY strip, and let's just say I had a nice sample of practically everything on the menu. We finished off the meal with molten chocolate cake and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot (my favorite champagne). The next morning we woke ready to start our tour, we were joined by our good friends Gerald and Sherri. Our first stop was the Twin Brook Winery, 30 acres of classic European vinifera and French hybrid vines. The wine making is actually done in their perfectly restored 19th century barn which also holds the tasting room and retail store. After a formal tasting in the tasting room and a sample from some of the barrels we left with two of their most popular vintages, the Icebreaker Blush Wine and the Spice Wine which, now that I think about it, would be a great addition to your holiday tables. Next up was Va La, (Sherri's favorite) Va La is what I like to call a boutique winery that focuses on blends of traditional Italian and French wines. In their tasting room, which is located in the main house, not only can you sample their Fioretti or Mahoganey Va La wines, but also artisan cheeses, mustards, and olive oil made by local purveyors. Visiting the Paradocx tasting room was like stepping into a crowded bar in Key West before a Jimmy Buffet concert. The tasting room was turned into an island paradise, which was definitely a nice reprive from the 50 degree March weather we were experiencing. Attractive young servers in brightly colored outfits were either pouring glass after glass of delicious wines to patrons or passing out cheeseburger sliders. It was like one big party, and a good time was definitely had by all. Our final stop on our day of tasting was the Chaddsford Winery. Chaddsford, a little more mainstream, is the biggest winery out of the seven on the trail and the one whose wines are most widely distributed. Chaddsford also has what was recently named one of Americas top tasting rooms. The place was wall to wall people. There were lines everywhere, at the tasting bar, the gift shop, and the barrel rooms. We left with a bottle of their Spiced Apple Wine which made for a wonderful mulled wine when we returned home. Unfortunately, we were only able to visit four out of the seven wineries that day, but the people we met, conversations we had, and the wines we tasted made our little weekend getaway our best Foodie Road Trip ever. And there you have it, that's my entry to Project Foodie's Foodie Road Trip event....
|
