Wine Country

 I'm Leaving... On a jet plane.....

Don't you just love the perspective from the air??? I am assuming that we are somewhere near the Grand Canyon here - West of Colorado... east of California....

on my way to WINE COUNTRY!!

my husband had to go to a company meeting out here - so he went to meet, and I flew out as his conference was ending to hang out !!

I left horrible winds, Sand Facials, and Dryness - to Rain!!!!

I had to run to my rental car... in the rain! and it was humid,..... and I really want to send it back to Colorado ;-)

PS ( photo out of order) Check out my tiny rental car!!!!  I MEAN TINY!!!!

The first thing we did when I arrived.... Head out to Cline Wineries. We wine tasted in the rain and the poor wine tester had to bring me a blanket. She laughed at me, as I really wanted to stay outside... but I was a little damp still.

Oh ya, and when my hair gets wet or humid.... it kinda goes goofy - I was trying to keep it at a low puff hahah!!!

After Cline we went to Imagery Estates. This one really appealed to me. Each vintage of wine gets a different label. Each of those labels is made from an original piece of art, that is submitted by famous artists  to up and coming artists.

The only Caveat - each Art piece has to have the Parthenon in it somewhere- and it is up to the Artists Interpretation.

Check out these labels:

I think that a Quilter should take over a winery and each label could feature a different quilt!!!

If you check out Imagery and decide to order wine - Give a shout out to Sandi. She was our Sommelier - and oh my stars - she was amazing. We had so much fun learning about the history of the wines, the area, and she gave us a great restaurant recommendation for the evening!!!

Oh - and we closed the tasting room! it got amazingly quiet - as we realized they had closed. But Sandi was having too much fun. So then we met the winemaker, the vineyard manager and .... it was too fun!

Okay - One more thing we learned. Most wineries do not use chemicals to keep bugs and weeds down. They bring in herds of Sheep and Goats on a regular basis to munch in the vineyards.  It keeps weeds down. and reduces pests!!!!  So we have really healthy wine( right!!)

We stayed in the Historic Hotel La Rose. It was just so cool! So old timey, yet totally refreshed!!!

I have photos too.... The rooms were just so cool. And there were antique desks, 4 poster bed, and antique paintings all over the walls. ( Under security!)

Sandi told us we needed to check out La Gare - a Famous French Restaurant - and so... we did!!

The food was amazing, the Staff - exceptional!! We were really glad we took Sandi's recommendation.

 Which leads me to our vacation style. We have an idea of where we want to go.. and an idea of what we want to do. We do research ahead of time - just in case you have to make reservations... but if you don't - 

We wing it!

So we got to Cline Wineries from a friends recommendation... got to La Gare thru Sandi...

Our Waiter at La Gare was tickled we were from Colorado. And he reminisced about all the places in CO he had been, and we enjoyed talking with him. We told him the area we were headed to the next day and He said... Oh! You HAVE to go this way, and check out **** and **** on the way.......

So we did.... see you later ......