Phew. Thank goodness for having today off, because this weekend was full of wonderfulness all around. I am so thankful for this morning and the opportunity to reflect on the weekend.
Friday was my last day at Apex, so after work we grabbed some drinks at the Tin Lizzy's nearby. It was fun to spend that time with those folks. I am certain that Apex was in God's plan for me all along. It was the job I needed to get me in Atlanta and out of the suburbs, it was my very first professional job, and it brought me some of the greatest friends (and boyfriend!) a girl could ask for. I am so thankful for the time I had at Apex, but it's time to follow this path and see where it goes!
For Steve and I's one year anniversary back in July, Steve gave me a weekend up in North Georgia touring the wineries. After some recommendations from friends, I picked decided that we go to the top three: Frogtown, Montaluce, and Wolf Mountain. So, we got up early and had breakfast at Cracker Barrel; Don't judge! haha. The hashbrown casserole was just what we needed before consuming so many wines! We zoomed up 400 and made it to our first winery, Frogtown, right around 11am.
We seemed to have this place to ourselves, which was very obvious in the grand entry way. We approached the big beautiful wooden bar, and we waited for one couple to finish their tasting. The sommelier served us our white/red mixed flight soon after our arrival, but it was apparent she was the only one working at that point. She was very knowledgeable about the vineyard and spoke of the winemaker as if they were friends--which I loved. It was the vineyard with the most awards and had an overall humble experience. The views were amazing and the weather was perfect to sit out on the porch and drink a glass of the favorite of the flight. Steve's was the Chard and mine, of course, was a red blend called "Applause FSO" (and yes, we brought home a bottle!). Overall, we enjoyed sitting out on the porch and taking in the views. It was a good first stop to ease us into our wine tour.
Our next stop was Wolf Mountain where I fell in love.
Although the front of the building seems small, once you step inside the building seems so much larger. From the moment we stepped in the door, there were people ready to help us. We walked through the dining area to go downstairs to the cellars. We walked up to the bar where there were about 8 gentlemen ready to serve us our flight. We went for the reserve flight since we were sharing and I feel like we made the right choice. They offered a lot of bubbles, which is fun but not my normal taste. They had a syrah brut which I thought was really interesting--and tasty! My favorite, hands down, was the Howling Red. Holy delicious. (Brought a bottle of that home as well!) It is a great blend of syrah and cab; a great full-bodied glass for steak night! We never had to wait for our next pour, as the guy was very attentive...even with college football on! The tasting room was big and had several tables around for people to linger and eat the bar fare. It was very inviting and the huge windows allowed us to take in the views--sans the rain. Unfortunately when we got to Wolf Mountain, the skies started to open up so we drank our wine while rain pounded at the windows. This didn't shake us, since there was ample wine and the most delicious tomato basil mozzarella spread I've ever tasted. And, as I mentioned before, they had a few TVs with the college football games on...we were content. :)
Once there was a break in the rain, Steve and I headed over to Montaluce--our final stop on the tour!
The cellars at this vineyard are downright gorgeous. It looks like freakin' France, for goodness sake. A little hoity-toity for me, but I can appreciate the beauty of the estate. The facility was as beautiful inside as it was outside, with wine bottle lit up behind the granite bar. They, too, offered an attentive staff that got us set up for our flight right away. There wasn't a lot of education provided beyond the simplest explanation of the wines. I wasn't exactly pushing for more details as not many of the wines blew my hair back. Out of the chosen flight, I did enjoy the "Super Georgian" but not enough to take home a bottle. They had these amazing manchego and prosciutto fritters Steve and I devoured. We did enjoy sitting in the dining area by the huge windows overlooking the vineyards. It was pretty quiet for a Saturday, but I think they stopped seating people in the dining area in preparation for a wedding..meaning, we had the room to ourselves for a precious 15 minutes. It was definitely a pretty venue and would be good for entertaining a group of girlfriends, but overall my favorite was Wolf Mountain.
There are so many smaller vineyards that we didn't get to this weekend, so I look forward to going back either with Steve or some fellow winos. After our tour of the wineries, we checked in at the cute B+B and started to get ready to head to dinner on the Dahlonega square.
We had reservations at the Corkscrew Cafe which was amazing. We sat out back where there was live music and a cozy porch area. The food was
excellent. I had the chicken with the warm spinach salad--oh man, I hope to have that salad again. So delicious. Steve loved his rainbow trout but not his caeser salad--I definitely had the better salad. :) If you're ever in Dahlonega for dinner, please please please stop here for a bite. The service was great, the owner came out to greet us (calling himself the "highest paid dishwasher") and the food was awesome.
To wrap up the weekend, Steve and I went to the Grace Potter/Allman Brothers show last night at Verizon and it literally made my life. Not only am I mildly obsessed with Grace Potter and pray for an OUNCE of her talent, but the Allman Brothers--holy crap. I've been listening to the Allman Brothers all my life! For these two bands to play such an amazing show...it was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.
So blessed with such an amazing boyfriend I get to experience all of these things with! :)
#braggingonmyboo #imspoiledrotten
