Last December, Mal and I visited the Nashoba Valley Winery for the very first time. We only did a quick tasting in their wine shoppe, but we enjoyed ourselves so much, we vowed to visit again when the weather was warm and enjoy lunch outside on the patio.
Today was the day to do just that! 
The grounds at Nashoba Valley Winery are absolutely beautiful– even in the winter. The 52 acres of orchards include apple, peach, and plum trees, and the owner has recently started to replace the older apple trees with grapes.
Mal and I had about 40 minutes to kill before our lunch reservation this afternoon, so we popped into the wine shoppe for a tasting.
The winery offers daily tastings for just $4 and you get a complimentary wine glass. Sounds like a deal to me! 
For $4, you get 5 tastings of your choice of wine, beer, or spirits. Nashoba Valley Winery makes all three!
Today, I tried 5 different wines for my tasting: Chardonnay, Vignoles, Blueberry Merlot, Pinto Gris, and Riesling. My favorite of the bunch was the Vignoles, which was the winery’s very first batch. It was rich and fruity with a crisp finish and aromas of apricot, citrus, and tropical fruit.
Mal tried a couple of wines and a few different beers for his tasting.
After our tasting at the shop, Mal and I headed next door to J’s Restaurant for lunch.
We started with drinks. I ordered a glass of the Dry Pear wine; Mal ordered the Beer of the Month, which was the Special Reserve Helles Bock. He liked it a lot!
For my entree, I ordered the Greens and Beets Salad, which was served with gorgonzola, roasted walnuts, and blueberry wine vinaigrette.
I always seem to order beets when I dine out– probably because I always make such a mess when I make them at home!
It was a very nice salad.
After we finished eating our meals, Mal suggested dessert. (Another reason why I love my husband so much!) 
All of the dessert options on the menu sounded delicious, so I let my husband pick. He ended up choosing the Chocolate Macadamia Torte for us to share.
Obviously, we hated it.
I’m feeling sort of lazy tonight, so I’m just gonna tell you guys about dinner. I had a big salad, a bunch of Livin’ Spoonful Crackers (Pesto Pumpkin Seed flavor), and 3 Peanut Butter Nutella bars from Heather of The Single Dish. She was kind enough to send me a batch of her homemade goodies, which are a-mazing, but now I’m really stuffed. Three bars was just too many. Ugh. I feel like I need to lie down now! 
Good night, guys! I’m heading straight to bed!
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve driven past that winery before and it looks absolutely adorable! Looks like you had a wonderful lunch
I’d love to try some of their wine.
How cool that you can pay $4 and try 5 wines AND get a wine glass! That sounds right up my alley.
I’m a little scared of beets at home too. I did it once relatively clean, and the secret behind it was using disposable gloves. My boyfriends a chef so we have random things like that on hand, but it really made a huge difference.
Glad you had fun! I’ve been to Nashoba probably 3 times and never actually tried the restaurant! I need to do that. I get wrapped up in the tasting I guess
They do tours too (maybe only on the weekend?) which are kind of fun and they give you wine along the way.
Beautiful winery! That salad, especially the vinaigrette, sounds delicious!
Jenn
Looks like such a lovely place! Thanks for sharing.
If you want to cook beets at home and have less mess, try the yellow and pink varieties. They don’t bleed everywhere like the red ones!
HOLY YUM!!!! I want to try out a wine tasting, I can’t believe that I’ve never been to one!
What a wonderful way to spend your Wednesday! That salad is nothing shy of perfection to my palate – yummo!
Pesto pumpkin seeds crackers sound divine too.
Night, Tina! See ya in the a.m. ; )
What a fun day! I love going to casual wine tastings like that!
This looks like a really cozy place and delicious food, too. What a nice way to spend a day off! We have some great wineries just outside the city that I’m looking forward to visiting this spring.
I love Nashoba Valley Winery (it’s 15 minutes from my parents house) but I’ve been to the restaurant. That’s on the list for my next visit home. My husband and I had one of our first dates there, doing a wine tasting and then going apple picking. Such a fun time!
That is such a beautiful vineyard! I love the style or architecture you guys have up north!
what a beautiful winery! Tastings are so much fun!
What a beautiful place to have lunch! Get some rest.
so much fun! i’ve only been wine tasting once (i don’t drink alcohol) and i got to bring my dog with me! he was so confused.
I went wine tasting for the first time in November. I had so much fun. I love how pretty all of the properties are.
Wow, that place looks beautiful! What a nice afternoon! I love spending time like that with my husband too! I am jealous of your day. Sleep well!
thanks for sharing, grew up in westford, ma. will have to visit nashoba winery next time i get up north!
barb (origrambosmom)
I think Murph deserves his own backyard bird bath!
I love Nashoba winery!! Brian and I had brunch there one Sunday…sooo good! I want to go back for dinner sometime
I love the look of that place. So pretty.
That is a beautiful restaurant and winery. The blueberry and the pear wine sound wonderful. And you were even able to top the day off with an amazing dessert
The winery looks beautiful! I would love to try the blueberry wine too, it sounds delicious (and so do those peanut butter nutella bars! YUMM!)
Don’t beets just make the tastiest salads!!!
I feel the same way about beet salads – at home, I stain everything purple. The winery looks gorgeous!
That looks like such a great day, I’m glad y’all enjoyed the country! I’ve never had a beet salad before, but yours looks delicious!
What a beautiful place!
What a perfect day! I love wine tasting
I’m glad you had a good day! I wish I knew how to cook beetroot properly – Every time I’ve done it at home, it just hasn’t come out right
I want to live in that house forever and ever, with a neverending supply of gorgonzola and those peanut butter bars you just mentioned. Eating things like that three at a time is the kind of thing I do every single night. The tummy gets used to it, I promise
That house is gorgeous!
What a beautiful ambiance to eat, drink, and be merry in! That torte looks mind-blowing delicious! Good call on ordering that.
I love the fact you are having such a good time now Mal is on his break. I can’t wait until my bf and I have next have a day off together. Your dessert looks great! Chocolate + macadamia, heaven!
Now that looks like my dream house! I’d love to live on an acerage like that with wine in abundance!
Going to wineries is so much fun! Jeff and I visited Hunter Valley in Australia and it was probably the best food we had the entire trip.
That beet salad looks awesome – I love beets but agree that they are too messy to make at home. I always wind up staining the counters, the cutting board and the dish towels!
Those bars sound delish after heading to her website. She just put up a pbj recipe that looks to die for. And wine tasting is just the best. Manfriend and I went last weekend. It always makes me happy and relaxed.
The winery looks beautiful! I love little hidden gems like that! It’s so photogenic too. We don’t have many places like that here in Southern California. Northern CA has a ton of wineries though, of course! Anyway, looks like you had a beautiful day-out with the hubby! Glad you got to enjoy yourselves and left the pup to play with grandma!
What a beautiful ambiance to eat, drink, and be merry in! That torte looks mind-blowing delicious! Good call on ordering that.