Country Song

This post will probably offend anyone from California, much like how my skin tone, obsession with Laguna Beach, and inability to form successful carpools must offend anyone from California. 

This holiday weekend, I took a mini-getaway with the folks to the "Napa Valley of the Midwest." That's another name for Lake Michigan Shore Wine Country. Who knew that lake effect snow insulated vines so that grapes could grow? Okay, so the wine I tried may not have been as good as what I might taste in the real Napa or Sonoma. But it's a lot of fun tasting wine right where its made. 

There were about twelve vineyards in the area and we made our way to four of them. A lot of vineyards/wineries had free tasting, which was awesome. I'm a bit of a wino, but no snob. I'll seriously try anything, which in Michigan included Cranberry Wine and Apple Demi Sec--both of which were actually disgusting. But hey, at least I tried a variety, unlike my Dad who when given the choice just tries different years of the same Cabernet Sauvignon.

I broke a lot of my personal wine rules this weekend, and it really made me feel like I was on vacation:

Rule #1: Don't drink red wine in public- I don't know if my teeth, lips, and tongue are just more prone to turning purple than most people's, or if I sip (or rather slurp) wine the wrong way. I don't know, but every time I drink red wine you can tell, like seriously tell. It was so embarrassing I chose to only enjoy my Cab and Syrah in the privacy of my own home. Let's face it, usually when I drink wine it is by myself at home. But this weekend I broke my "no drinking red wine in public" rule. I decided that Michigan isn't really  public. By the end of the day, I looked like I either had a bit too much purple drank, or made out with Barney the dinosaur. 

Rule #2: No Merlot-  "I am NOT drinking any ****ing Merlot." Actually, the Merlot I tried was very good. And fun fact, the infamous line from Sideways actually altered the American wine market.

Rule #3: Only wear white if you're drinking white- You betcha by the end of the day I had a great red wine stain down my white dress. Did I fret? Heck no, it added to my look. When life gives you grapes, make wine. I decided that if I can't get the stain out, I'm going to tie-dye the entire dress. It might make a good blog post.

Taken just a few minutes before red wine was spilled all over it...