Hitting The Connecticut Wine Trail

What better way to judge my new home state than by hitting the wine trail? RRR and I recently took a culinary road trip and hit a few farm stands and vineyards. Using the "Food Lovers' Guide to Connecticut" (a great book by Patricia Brooks and Lester Brooks) as our guide, we mapped out a game plan and ventured out to the farm lands.

First stop was Tulmeadow Farm Store in Simsbury. As I loaded up on zucchini, squash, tomatoes and peaches, I had to remind myself to take it easy since this was only the first stop on our journey. We enjoyed some of their ice cream as well and the red-raspberry chocolate chip was spectacular! I would drive back just for the ice cream alone!

After Tulmeadow, we made a short stop at Say Cheese in Simsbury where we stocked up on some cheese, crackers and other picnic goodies in anticipation of tasting some wines. We wound up at Rosedale Farm and Vineyard and after waiting quite some time for assistance eventually did a tasting. Our guide was doing some very one on one tasting and we were itching for some wine - c'mon, multitask! multitask!

Their Three Sisters (a delightful light fruity white) and Lou's Red (a big red in the California vein) were the standouts. We purchased a few bottles, some cheese, produce and bread and then set up shop at one of the picnic tables in back. The landscape was beautiful and if I didn't know any better I'd swear I was in Northern California!

We packed up and hit two more vineyards, Jerram Winery and Connecticut Valley Winery. We had a good laugh at Connecticut Valley Winery watching the couple next to us downing each taste of wine like it was a shot and staring at us like we were insane for not finishing our glasses of each wine. We didn't love any of the wines enough to purchase but overall it was a pleasant experience and we tasted some decent wines. Surprisingly, a bit less complex than the wines we tasted in South Jersey but delightful nonetheless.

Not bad, Connecticut, not bad at all!

My Fair Lady...

In another attempt to bond with the state of Connecticut, RRR dutifully drove down from Bean Town to spend the weekend exploring the Nutmeg State with her sister.

We decided to go "country" for this trip and hit the Goshen Fair.

For those not familiar with "fairs" (I was one of these people), it is a place were farm equipment, animals and large produce are on display and prizes are given for excellence in all of these categories.

We wandered around the fairgrounds, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the large pumpkins, zucchini, and farm animals. The piglets were my favorite! So tiny, cute and sweet as they insisted on lining up next to one another even when away from their mother!

Of course we admiring farm animals can work up an appetite, so we ate and ate and ate. C'mon, it's a joke!

The chicken sausage with sundried tomato sandwich from Nodine's (also mentioned in the "Food Lover's Guide to Connecticut) was the highlight of "pig-out"!

So much fun! Can't wait for the next one... now if I can only get the pooh out of my shoes!