There are something like 176 wineries in the state (I foresee a lot of driving). They grow the most grapes around the Lubbock area. I'm still shaking my head in wonder. Lubbock? Who'da thunk it?
This is the Pleasant Hill Winery in Brenham, Tx. Brenham, the home of Blue Bell ice cream creamery. The half way point on the way home from Austin. The cute little town with a pretty good Italian restaurant.
Quaint No?We got a nice little tour of the winery. When I say little, I mean little. I think my house is actually bigger than the actual processing room. Which looks a tiny bit like a mad scientist works there. Close enough, I guess, the wine maker is a retired mechanical engineer wine maker hobbyist turned salesman/wine maker/vintner. What they lack in size they more than make up for in their Sauvignon Blanc. (Mary Anne, you'll want to try this).
JR was pretty sure that this vat of mashed grapes was not going to turn into enough wine for me for a year. I'd have like to have called him on that one but I would probably have lost. I'd have to use math to figure out the cubic inches of this bucket o'mash; then the finished wine to mash ratio; then yearly consumption. Now, I just have a headache.
Here is the wine makers wife. She wants me to send her some recipes for the Texas wine growers cookbook. She really was lovely.
She did sort of get strange when she found out I was a vegetarian. When I was looking at the cookbook she pointed out a beef recipe she thought I might like to try. I said, that might be really nice with tofu. You would have thought I'd grown an extra head and a tail (that might be a good look for me).
She spent a good portion of the next hour apologizing for eating meat and explaining that she wants to cut back. She went so far as to stop her husband from talking about which meats go with which wines so I wouldn't be offended. I tried to tell her it was no big deal. That JR still eats meat. I just don't cook it or eat it. She really was trying to be nice in a make the vegetarian stand out like a freak kind of way. I just don't think she knew how to handle it. I was probably one of the first vegetarians she'd ever met. Not unusual here. *sigh*.
All in all, we had a lovely road trip, bought a couple of wines, had a nice Italian dinner (and yes the waiter was freaked out also) and picked up some plants at the local lavender farm.
How was your weekend? Freak any locals out?
Love,
M
