Wine Tasting Part 1

Here at Ash in Pitt, I've realized I talk a lot. And yes, yes, you enjoy the CRAP out of it, but really, I should be utilizing these skills to create more productivity on the factory line of writing.

I.e. when I start a post, why make so many so lengthy? Why not break my long stories into several short stories so that I work less and you enjoy more?! I'M A GENIUS. On the teacher front, unemployed, yes, but GENIUS ALL THE SAME!

Thus the tale of how eleven kids went to Traverse City for 36 hours for a wine tasting they'll never forget.

Ahem.

One of my best friends in the entire world, Beth, and her sister Kelly attended a silent auction last year where they apparently bogarted the one item they bid on by pretending to debate about HOW MUCH to bid on it until the auction was over and SURPRISE, won a wine tasting at the lovely Brys Estate in Traverse City for 12 people. Almost a year later they frantically threw together the people that might be available for such endeavors when they realized it was about to expire any second and all their hard (conniving) work was about to be deleted forever.

Thus I found myself early this past Saturday morning in my mother's Trail Blazer with Beth, Sarah and Matt on our way to meet Rob, Kelly and five of her closest friends for good wines and good foods.

Have I mentioned that Traverse City is four hours from my home? And that I drove there during what can only be described as El Nino Dos (YEAH Spanish lessons) just for some free cheese and twenty four hours of friend-fun?

I should also totally mention, for the record, that it was fantastic.

By the time we got to the estate, the skies and totally opened up and we were left with scenic views of the bays on both sides of the Peninsula such as this:



LOVELY.
We felt so grown up! We dressed for the occasion. Here are three of us looking dapper and adult. We also acted like we did stuff like this all the time. As one of the actual members of the Brys family gave our tour and talked to us about growing the grapes, harvesting the grapes, what yeast does and the fact that Wine School for Wine Makers is a REAL THING (fact checked!) we asked intriguing questions and paused our fingers to chins. Yes, the same kids that did this while driving on said beautiful peninsula:


Do not judge. When the Gaga comes on, even things like traffic laws go right out the window.

Moving on. FINALLY it was time for boozing after exhausting education and unauthorized machine touching when the tour guide wasn't looking and ludicrous inquisitions such as "Do you think I could fit inside that wine barrel?" that we sat down to a lovely setting like this one. Our server, Erick, was fantastic to say the least. Our tasting was supposed to include 5 different bottles. He opted for 10. He gave everyone quirky nicknames like "The Professor" and "Cali" and was kind and gracious to all of us, even the kid who wore a tuxedo t-shirt.
After a wonderful while of fine dining, we put the icing on the proverbial cake by having a taste of Iced Wine with cheesecake. Iced Wine, if you did not know, is taken from grapes during the winter months because they must stay at 18 degrees for three days in a row. This allows the machine to separate the juice of the grapes from the water (which is now in ice form) so you are left with something so truly sweet and alcohol filled it should be illegal. It was the greatest thing we've ever tasted. It was like drinking liquid gold. Rob bought some and, turns out, it costs the same as gold actually might. But who's looking at prices while drunk? Certainly not us. Really, after taste number 8 from our new friend, Erick, I wasn't paying attention to a whole lot anymore. Good thing I captured the rest on camera.

To be continued....