i love wine!

Lots of vino consumption this weekend... and there's nothing wrong with that!! On Saturday we were finally blessed with a day of sunshine and blue skies after 5 days of clouds and rain. Ross and I were ready to be outside so we headed off to Delaplane, VA to the Barrel Oak Winery. It's about an hour outside of DC on Route 66 - an easy drive and a fabulous winery. (I can't wait to go back!) The winery is very dog friendly - so if you have a pooch feel free to bring him or her along. They have an outdoor and an indoor tasting bar, the dogs can be at either, and the outside patio has tons of picnic tables! It's quite a beautiful view and relaxing atmosphere - be prepared to spend the afternoon here.

They had horseback riding tours of the vineyard, unfortunately
I did not know this beforehand and I was wearing a skirt :(

I had purchased us a Capitol Deal which included; wine tasting for two, a plate with brie & crackers, two wine glasses, and a $20 credit towards a bottle purchase! This was such a fantastic deal and I was really excited to finally be using it.

 Also, what a great surprise it was running into our friends Dave and Erin while we were out there! We got to enjoy tasting and talking about the different wines together before we ventured outside to split a bottle and enjoy some cheese and crackers. Erin has a blog too, which I think y'all will love, check it out at I Am Quirky. She also talked about our wine adventures this weekend :)

My set-up with glasses, flowers, & snacks for guests.

Sunday brought forth our "Wine Sunday" tradition. Every couple of months Ross and I will host a Wine Sunday with groups of our friends. This whole shindig entails wine, snacks, music, and friends - what's not to love? Our friend, Ric Nelson, started this tradition long before Ross and I were together and I think he is a God-send for doing so. We love love love hosting Wine Sundays!

Each guest is asked to bring one bottle of wine and one snack. This way when everybody comes there is lots of food and drink to go around for all! Typically non-wine drinkers will come stocked in beer, so there's always something for everybody :)

Our friend and co-worker, Nicholas, really out-did himself and brought an Imperial (equivalent to four bottles of wine!). Needless to say, I cannot wait to open this bad boy. Potentially for the Fall Harvest Dinner Party that I'm planning in my head (think apples, pumpkin, and squash).

Hope everybody had great weekends and a great start to their week.

Happy Monday!

PS - don't forget to comment ;-)