Quick Traverse City Trip!

 Last weekend, Gil and I headed up north to Traverse City with our friends, Jon & Tina. We got up there super late on Friday and headed to a cute little place called Brew for some martinis. On Saturday, we headed to the Leelanau Peninsula for some wine tasting.

We made a quick, impromptu stop by Sleeping Bear Dunes. It was windy and cold and rained on and off all day. But still so beautiful, of course!

We were gonna stop by the Cheese Shanty in Leland for lunch, but didn't really think about where we'd eat our sandwiches. Way too cold and rainy to eat outside! We ended up eating in Glen Arbor instead.

Leland

Raining across the lake

Tina making the trek in heels...haha trooper!

 Sunday we watched the Lions lose in overtime at the Jolly pumpkin on Old Mission Peninsula. We also hit two of the wineries beforehand, 2 Lads and Chateau Chantal. Love 2 Lads, one of my favorite views! We drove back home after the game was done.

And when we got home, there was some produce waiting to be picked in the garden! Fun, quick weekend! Oh, how I love Northern Michigan!!

Day 3: Old Mission Peninsula Vineyards

Last Tuesday, we spent the day exploring the vineyards of Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City. I had never been wine tasting before and it was so fun!

We started out the day at 2 Lads winery, which had a modern look & an amazing view. We got a glass of the Pinot Grigio, crackers and cheese and enjoyed the view while we ate. We got a bottle of the Cab Franc. Yummy.

For the record, I'm not having a baby...apparently we just pose for pictures like this. :)

Next it was on to Chateau Chantal. After a fun tasting, we bought a bottle of the Sparkling Cherry Wine. Delish. We also did a cellar tour, which was a bit long winded so we skipped out early. It was cool going down to see inside the cellar, but I was bored within about 30 seconds! Chateau Chantal was under construction while we were there because they are currently expanding their tasting room and the cellars below.

Next we made a quick stop to Bowers Harbor Vineyards. They had a cute little tasting room and I really liked the feel of it. They are famous for their resident Bernese Mountain Dogs. I got a picture of Cooper laying around the Tasting Room. He's a biiiig boy. This made me miss Laila!

Next we went to Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery. We got a bottle of the Cab Merlot. Somewhere along the way, we stopped for lunch at the Bad Dog Deli. Yummy sandwiches, connected to the Peninsula Grill.

Chateau Grand Traverse was next and we picked up a bottle of the Late Harvest Chardonnay. I didn't know until this trip that I actually really like chardonnay.

One of my favorite stops of the day was to Old Peninsula Cellars tasting room which was set up in an old school house from the late 1800s. How fun is that? Unfortunately I had stopped taking pictures at this point. Wish I had gotten a picture of this place! Some of their wines had a school theme and we picked up a bottle of the unfiltered "Dentention" and a bottle of the "Homework". They were really yummy, sweeter wines.

The last winery of the day was Black Star Farms. We splurged and bought a bottle of the DELICIOUS Sirius Raspberry Dessert Wine. It tastes like jam. You should get it!

Wine tasting was definitely a fun day and a great way to experience lots of different types of wines. It's a great way to find out what you like and what you don't like, while enjoying awesome vineyard views.