Nelson County Wine Country

This last weekend after some fun tubing The Busy Bryants did a little tour of a few of the wineries around Wintergreen.  There are several in the area but since we've already hit a few in the past we narrowed down our visits to three new to us wineries. 

Wintergreen Winery in Nelson County was our first stop since it was on the same road as the resort.  With signs along the road and arrows pointing to "wine here" you can find this winery easily.  Tastings are $5 unless you buy three bottles, then tastings are free.  Yea, ours were free :)  The tasting room is in a small building that is actually over 200 years old.  You would never know that with all that they have done to refurbish the building.  Behind the winery are picnic tables right next to a winding brook, so on those hot summer days you can sit by the cool water and sip your wine. 



Yea I think I could spend a few hours here sitting and sipping.



After leaving Wintergreen we headed back towards I-64.  I was using my Wine in my Pocket App to find the wineries but there are really enough signs along the road to tell you where to turn and how far to go.  Just down (or is it up) the road we made our second stop at Hill Top Berry Farm .  This is a "true to the fruit" winery.  That means if you taste blueberry it is because it's made with blueberries, not grapes with blueberry juice.  This winery also is in the business of making mead.  That is wine with honey as the sweetener.  I like the mead wines ok but Mark liked them better than the traditional grape wines.  The winery itself is a simple one story wood sided building with a long bar in the tasting room and a separate banquet room.  They do have a large covered pavilion area attached to the front.  The pavilion has it's own fire place and ceiling fans for cool weather and warm weather. 

The banquet room.



They were pruning the blackberry bushes the day we visited.



Our last wine stop of the day was just a little further up the road heading back towards I 64.  This stop was at Flying Fox Winery.  This has to be one of the smallest wineries and vineyards.  I literally laughed at the vineyard because it was so tiny!  But none the less they had good wines.  The tasting room is in a small wooden building the size of most houses (it probably was really just a house converted into a tasting facility) but it was cozy and I liked their taste in decorating.  They do have a small patio on the back with a few table and seats. 








The attached patio



 

We really enjoyed all of the wineries on this visit.  There was something at each one that I liked and wanted to tuck away in my memory to draw from on my rainy days.  A winding brook, an outdoor fireplace and a charming house winery :) Our day still had one more fun tid bit left in store for us...but I'll save that for another day!

Oh what a ride

This past Saturday The Bryants and some friends loaded up and headed to Wintergreen Resort.  I had already tried my hand at skiing many moons ago and I found that skiing is just NOT for me.  It takes a fair amount of coordination and my body just does not cooperate!  So this time we planned on just sticking to snow tubing :) 




Get ready to ride.

I had purchased my tickets about a week in advance online.  You can't purchase them much further in advance per Wintergreen's policy.  That way in case of a major warm up or they can't make enough snow they are not having to refund a lot of tickets.  And don't wait too long before getting tickets because they WILL sale out!  Tickets are $28 a piece and there are certain restrictions on size (check their website for all the info).  We arranged for the 10-noon tubing time.  At first I thought 2 hours seemed like it wouldn't be long enough....but trust me....it MORE than enough.  We got to the resort about 9:15 and got checked in easily.  We had to wait until exactly 10 before we were allowed on "The Plunge". 




Go ahead....take the plunge!



This girl is ready!



My biggest kid :)

They send everyone down their lanes at the same time and you get a count down before heading down.  Once down at the end you just grab your tube and head over to a conveyor belt that hauls you back up.





I'm glad I didn't have to climb up myself.

The Plunge park is right next to some of the skiing and just below one of the lodges.  You could easily head up for some hot cocoa or to warm up by the fire.  

The lodge.



Tommy keeping warm.

Just before the our session ended the zip lining open up.  I had already planned on us doing that but needed to purchase the tickets there at the resort.  Christy was more than excited about this.   I am going to have to keep an eye on that girl....she is my thrill seeker!





Waiting to zip line





The plat form






About to jump!

 
The zip lining is right next to the tubing park so you are not running all around the resort to get from one area to the next.  Mark and I also did the zip lining :)  It was pretty awesome!  It's $10 a piece to do this and for $15 you can go twice.  Before leaving the park we grabbed a quick bite then made our way one to the next stage of our adventure.  I'll cover that tomorrow. 

Me and the kidos.



The ski slopes.


It was an awesome day.  I was a little sore that night and the next day but not enough to not go again!  The kids loved it and seeing them grin and smile almost the whole day made everything totally worth it!

Monday Love

What a very busy weekend!  There was snow tubing involved, zip lining, a few wineries in the mix, and a birthday party for a special 2 year old!  It was all enjoyable but man if all weekends were like this one I would need to surgically add skates to my feet :)




Tubing at Wintergreen.



Zip Lining.



Wintergreen Winery.

Can you guess what cartoon character
she is really crushing on right now?

Hope you guys had a fabulous weekend.  

Goodbye January....Hello February

With temperatures at a high of 73 degrees today I can hardly believe it's the beginning of February!  It has been like this all winter.  I keep waiting for the sky to open and a pile of snow to be dumped on us.  But instead I have flowers starting to get buds on them and I am starting to see signs of spring.  Don't get me wrong, I do not care for cold weather.  But I am getting spring fever and I hate for that to be squashed by a late winter storm. 

Things inside the house are starting to change with the seasons too.  Some of you know I like to keep a tree up all year. Yes the Christmas tree stays up only we call it a seasonal tree.  I guess it could also be called a holiday tree.  But it's time for my winter stuff to go and my Valentine stuff to come out.  But before I send the winter stuff off to the attic I thought I would share it with you.





It's all about snow in January.



My table top snowman.



This was a gift from Mark's mom :)



Then we have the tree.

I just always have loved the glow of a Christmas tree....and it seemed like such a sad thing to take it down.  So I just rotate the decorations and enjoy the glow all year round. 






Happy Birthday!

Our Emmapoo is 2 years old today!  I just don't have a clue where the time has gone.  I knew it would fly by....I mean I look at Tommy, now 14, and just shake my head wondering when did he get to be the young man he is today.  So I tried to slow down time when it came to Emma.  But it's not working.  She is growing so fast and learning new things every day.  We are both so thankful for all of the kids and today we are thankful for our now 2 year old :)

Happy Birthday Emma! 



Keep on Rockin' it girl!


Happy hump day folks....