Tag: wineries

The trunkful of Booze – a family tradition?

Been over a week since I last posted, and with judiang posting almost daily on her WordPress blog of late, she’s making me look bad. So, now that LJ has calmed down a little, I can finish talking about my Organic Chemistry Vacation. (Might as well post about it since this past week wasn’t near as interesting.)

After my boozy Wednesday, Thursday was fairly uneventful. I had supper from that famous French Restaurant, Kroger. I had le fried chicken, le baba ganoush a la whole clove garlic bread, le pistachios, and le brownie. (The joy of buying supper from a grocery – you can combine all sorts of things in one meal!)

Friday was our last class. Kate got us conversant enough in benzene ring chemistry, and then we filled out our evaluations. I had nothing but praise for her – she was a fabulous teacher. And then it was off to Opie Taylor’s for lunch and then Oliver Wineries for a tour.

Kate was kind enough to drive me to the restaurant and winery since I wanted to return to campus before leaving. The restaurant was a bar with decent enough bar food. I had half a Reuben and onion rings. Oh, and a cup (very small one) of chicken noodle soup with really thick (and tasty) noodles.

Oliver Winery is the first winery that appeared in Indiana. The grounds are beautiful with lots of flowers. And when we got into the sales area, I saw the cutest little bottles and went right over to them. To discover that they weren’t wine bottles at all, but hard CIDER!

Two of the class had left by the time we gathered at the winery, so when we got on one of the tours, the poor tour guide had 9 chemists in amongst the non-chemists. I think we got him too flustered with our questions. He definitely forgot to show us the video on bottling that they usually show their tours. But he was nice enough to take a group photo of us.

After the tour, those of us who were left bellied up to the bar and tasted what Oliver had to offer. So of course, I tried the ciders. I tried the three flavored ciders (peach, raspberry, and strawberry) and then a Gewurztraminer. I liked the ciders pretty well but couldn’t remember if the Gewurz was something mom would like or not. So I got her a Riesling and dad a Shiraz and me a case of Cider.

Kate brought me back to where my car was parked on campus, and I put the first bit of booze into my trunk. But I had plans for more. See, I was channeling my great grandfather Lowry that day. He was a brew master, and would sometimes get called away to a brewery in Indiana (for example) to help them out with a problem. And when he would get ready to return home, the grateful brewers would load his trunk up with beer and fill the empty spaces with single bottles of liquor.

So I headed next to Kroger (where I had gotten supper the night before) because I wanted to buy some Upland beer for dad to try. And when I asked him what he’d like in addition to the wheat beer, I mentioned that they had a nifty Fat Tire display at the store. “They have Fat Tire? Well, get some of that!” was his response. So I picked up a 6-pack of Upland Wheat, a 6-pack of Upland Amber, and a 12-pack of Fat Tire. Those went into my trunk as well.

But I wasn’t done yet! My goal was to head to Trader Joe’s on my way home. It was only slightly off the beaten path on my way home (in Indianapolis), so I had a list of things to buy for me, for mom, and for dad. And dad’s requests were all wine. So after a supper of Pad Thai at a Thai place that happened to be in the strip mall where the Trader Joe’s was, I picked up a dozen bottles of wine and plenty of nuts (for mom and for me) and added those to the trunk.

My trunk wasn’t as full as great grandpa Lowry’s was, but it still had more booze in it than it’s ever had before. I had dad take photos when I dropped the booze off the next day. I’ll have to get the pix from him so I can show y’all.

Italy: Day 6 (Wine Hunting)

Jul. 25, 2005

Today was winery day. The original plan was to go early in the morning, see a vineyard/winery, then have a long lunch, then see another and come back. After the Fierenze trip, however, folks were willing to visit only one. I suggested leaving at noon and getting to a winery by 3pm. Gary was against the idea – wanted to go early and then drink wine all afternoon and evening. They awoke late the next morning, however, so were part of the afternoon group.

judiang‘s swollen feet and ankles said that she had to take a day off, so she stayed at the vill while we all headed into town for lunch. There was a cafe open, so we ordered sandwiches (I got focaccia w/ ham & cheese), sides (I got pistaccios), and drinks (Sprite for me). Good and cheap – €4.50 total.

We drove on to wine country and made our way to Castello di Broglio – the birthplace of Chianti. We had to park near the bottom of a steep hill, then walk up to the castle. It was a long arduous climb, but if I can climb 320 steps, I can do anything!

The castle was medieval and looked like a fairy tale castle. I took lots of pictures. The wine store was back down the hill. I walked and others drove. I tasted every wine and bought two. Granello, a sweet white that I actually liked. Also, I got a chianti for mom & dad. I later got a granello to have at the villa. My wines were €17 and the chianti was €13. We left the enoteca having bought many bottles of wine and headed back with a goal of stopping at an olive oilery/winery that we’d spotted on the way to di Broglio.

We followed the signs and came to a winery and parked. The lady who owned the place said they were closed, but she’d let us come in anyway. She let us taste her wine and (unlike the castle) see her HUGE wine barrels. She had two lovely doggies, too, who were very friendly.

This vineyard/winery was much more like the way I pictured wineries. Beautiful house on a hill, lots of vines and olive trees, doggies, a swimming pool, and a gorgous view. She even rents out part of her property and some of the residents were enjoying the pool.

We headed back towards the villa and went to Castellonuovo (or Newcastle as I dubbed it). The vintner had said all of the restaurants in that town were good. The first one we saw had good prices and some recommendations. It wasn’t open until 7pm, however, so we had half an hour to kill. So what do people do when they have half an hour to kill in Newcastle, Italy? Buy toilet paper, of course!

We, of course, went to the local fromagerie and checked out the cheeses and found the toilet paper. So I bought a roll and also two more of those candy toy things – all for under €5.

When the restaurant opened, I sat with the O’Neals and ordered Tuscan stew and lamb with rosemary. The food was fab and the price reasonable (€15 including charges and tip).

We returned to the villa late, where we encountered a hungry Judi. Earlier, I had been concerned about her getting food (cuz Tammy was vague about supper before we left) and it turns out she hadn’t gone out to the town for food. Dave volunteered to take us out so he could get gelato, so Dave, Mary, Judi and I rode into town and parked near our favorite microwave joint. Those two got gelato while Judi and I headed for the first restaurant we came to – Al Viale.

Two folks (later discovered to be mother and son) were eating when we arrived. The young man served us and the mother cooked Judi’s steaks. I say steaks because we had a language problem. Judi wanted steaks between al sangue (rare) and medio (medium). So he got her two steaks, one of each!

Still, the meal was only €20 and included free biscotti. Judi had leftovers. We then walked back to the Big Apple for gelato and I had the superb combo of vagnilia and cocco (vanilla and coconut). Paid €4.40 for BOTH of our gelatos.

Back at the ranch, folks were swimming, but since we were going to the seaside the next day, I decided to just watch and chat. We got to sleep late and got up early. So what would the seaside be like? Just wait and see…

Speaking of seeing, I’ve got a few photos of our fine time with wine.

Castello di Broglio - old bit.
Castello di Broglio – the old bit.

Castello di Broglio - new bit.
Castello di Broglio – the new bit.

The gardens of the castle.
The gardens of the castle.

John's a little thirsty...
John’s a little thirsty…

Tuesday morning.
Tuesday morning.