Eating Up Adventure: Wine Time!

I spent Saturday with some of my best gal pals doing one of our favorite things...wine tasting on the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail! We traveled the only way there is to travel, with J & J Limousine so that we could all fully and safely engage in our day of fun. They hooked us up with an Escalade and a fun driver. We started off our morning at Swedish Hill Winery where I had to get their 2010 Riesling. Next we were off to Knapp Winery where crazy Jamie hit the strong stuff, i.e. Grappa. Grappa is not for novices. It can be anywhere from 70 to 120 proof. As far as I am concerned it is like drinking lighter fluid. I don't know what lighter fluid tastes like but I am confident it doesn't taste good. My favorite place was Bellwether Hard Cider. As much as I enjoy a nice glass of wine, I prefer a good hard cider. Bellwether offered lots of great choices, but I was sold on the Cherry Street. As I am writing the blog, I am beginning to realize why by the end of the day I was feeling under the weather. As the day went on we tasted at five more wineries-Buttonwood Grove (you can feed goats and cows here), Goose Watch, Hosmer, Lucas Vineyards and Montezuma. Check out the pic below if you are looking for some cool shades. Just to tally it up for you and my gal pals, that is eight wineries and approximately 40 tastings. Plus, we stopped at a bowling alley and had a beer. Thankfully, we had lots of delicious snacks to keep our bellies full and ward off or at least decrease the effects of the alcohol. The finger sandwiches my friend's boyfriend made us were super good. He even made us a variety-Italian with fresh mozzarella, Turkey with pesto, and Cucumber! We were drinking wine so of course we included cheese and crackers, and pepperoni for good measure. I made Red Velvet Brownie Cupcakes for dessert.

No girl's day or night is complete without games. We played the game of Quelf, which is best described as an unpredictable game that gives Random a new name. It involves hilarious trivia, performing ridiculous stunts, and obeying silly rules. A sense of humor is definitely required for this game.

Obeying a silly rule!

I had to wear it the whole game. I
couldn't take it anymore.

Performing a silly stunt!

Today's tip: You can turn any cake or brownie recipe into individual servings by making them as cupcakes, just be sure to check the cooking times as they may vary from the original recipe. Package the cupcakes in a plastic tumbler and tie them up with a bow or ribbon to instantly make your treat that much more special for the recipient. Plus, it is a lot easier to transport when packaged in that manner.