tasting life

Last Saturday, Adam and I went to the Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, MA. This place is more than just a winery. They not only make their own wine, but also brew their own beer and liquor! Getting here, I couldn’t help but feel like we were driving through a little town in Vermont. Very quaint and charming. When you pull up all you see is fields and grape vines everywhere.

As we waited for our tour to start, we were able to try some wines and beer that weren’t going to be featured in the tour. I tried a blackberry wine that was very good and also their dry, apple New English Cider. (Yes they even make cider including pear!). It was my favorite for sure. Very light, dry and refreshing. During the tour, we were able to learn a bit about the history of the winery and of course (the best part) were able to sample some of their wines. The most noteable being their wine of the month: Strawberry Ruhbarb. Which reminds me…I had no idea you could make wine from fruit other than grapes! (Goes to show what I know I guess…) Anyway the Strawberry Rhubarb was…OK. A little too sweet for me but I can see where other people may like it. We also found out that they make vodka from apples, which I thought was pretty neat. I didn’t hear anything about apple picking, but I made note that I wanted to comeback here during the Fall season. The scenery should be amazing.

After the tour, we were able to purchase some wine and of course some beer…and we headed to my parents house where we had some dinner and were able to share and enjoy our purchases out on the back deck. A perfect way to spend a summer evening!

Well hope you enjoy the photos. If you haven’t been there yet, I highly recommend it. The tour is cheap (only $7) and it was about an hour and included 4 tastings. Their store also has quite the selection of wine, as you can imagine, but also beer and some food items such as jams, cheeses and crackers. You can actually go outside and sit at picnic tables and chairs to relax and enjoy your wine, beer or whatever you purchased. You can’t beat that! Check it out and see for yourself! :)

So Adam and I are excited to announce our first (and definitely not our last) overseas trip. Come October 27th we’re off to the UK! We’ll be starting off our trip in Swansea, Wales where, fortunately, my Aunt will be hosting us for a few days. I’ve been to Wales twice now, and as you can tell I can’t get enough of it. If it wasn’t for the weather…I’d actually consider moving there. As soon as you get off the plane you seriously can not help but take in a deep breath and smile. Sure there’s no palm trees and bright blue, sandy beaches but it’s a different kind of beauty over there. There’s something that’s so warm and welcoming I can’t even describe it. It’s like that all over the UK.Adam is beyond excited which makes me ten times more excited for this trip. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees the big green pastures with sheep everywhere and all the cute little houses along the country side.

As we make our treck from Heathrow to Swansea, our first stop will be at Castle Combe. If you close your eyes and think of quintessential England and what you picture on post cards and in movies then this is the place. In fact, TV/Movie directors have felt the same way as many different shows and movies have been filmed in this little town. It works out that it’s about a midway point from Heathrow to Swansea, so it’ll help break up the drive a bit.

That’s just the beginning of the trip though. We’ll be ending our trip in London and Adam has been feverishly doing all the research on the places that he (we) would like to see. Some I’ve seen before, but honestly one time really isn’t enough. I’m actually really glad he likes doing all the work because I have no patience with doing the research on what is where, the timing of it, pricing and all that stuff. I’ve included below a copy of our “itinerary” that he’s put together so far. You’ll notice that there are a lot of stops to local pubs that have their own craft beer or that they’ve opened their doors to allow other brewers to sell it there. -That’s the other thing I can’t wait for him to see. The pubs are just, everything you imagine when thinking of a traditional pub. However, the one thing I remember having a hard time getting used to is not tipping the bartender! It’s actually considered rude to do it. I guess because a lot of the bartenders are owners of the pub as well…so you tipping them is almost like a charity…but if you are a frequent patron of theirs and know them well…the polite thing to do would be to order your drink, pay, and then give a few extra and say: “and one for yourself…”.

So anyway, without further ado, below is our UK “to do” list. If you have any comments, suggestions on anything that we are seeing…or should be seeing please let us know!

10/27 Depart Boston - 10:00pm

10/28 Arrive London - 9:15am
Pick up rental car - 11:00am
Castle Combe, England

10/29 Swansea City vs. Bolton

10/30 Visit a castle

10/31 Joiners Arms Brewpub
Bryncelyn Brewery

11/1 Bath, England Roman Baths
Lunch/Dinner Spots Zero Degrees Brewpub
The Hop Hole
The Star Inn
The Old Green Tree
The Raven

11/2 Depart Bath - 9:00am
Arrive London - 11:00am
Drop off rental car - 11:30am
Check in at Best Western Victoria Place - 2:00pm
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abbey
Houses of Parliament
Big Ben
Trafalgar Square
The Harp
The Bree Louise
The Craft Beer Company
Cask Pub & Kitchen

11/3 Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Brick Lane
Borough Market
Tate Modern
The Wenlock Arms
The Lamb
The Rake
Brew Wharf
The Old Red Cow

11/4 White Hart Lane
Stamford Bridge
Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station
Hyde Park (Speaker’s Corner)
Oxford Street
Thames River Cruise

11/5 Check out of hotel - 11:00am
The Kernel Brewery
Depart London - 7:00pm