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!