NYC 2 BIG D: 19th Annual New Vintage Wine and Gallery Trail

Delaney Vineyard Patio

Cyberspace: www.grapevinetexasusa.com

Where to Find It: Historic Downtown Grapevine and nearby

How Much to Fork Over: $49 per ticket (includes 4 tastings and food at 8 vineyards/wineries and complimentary shuttle service to Delaney Vineyards located outside of downtown)

The Grade: A

Faves: La Bodega Winery/La Buena Vida Vineyards

Peeves: Had to pick up our tickets at Delaney Vineyards

The Jibba Jab:

Red Red Wine, you make me feel so fine. You keep me rockin’ all of the time!

For all of you Grapefest Fans that hate the crowds and heat strokes that come with it, this is the Wine event for you! I have never attended this occasion in the past, but I will in attend it again in the future. It’s a great value for all of the wine and food that you receive! First, you must pick up your purchase tickets at Delaney Vineyards, which is south of downtown Grapevine right off of Hwy 121. We began the event a bit late, so many of our friends had been downtown for quite sometime, which is where the other 7 wineries are located. Of course, now that I think about it, I wouldn’t have visited Delaney if we could pick up our tickets somewhere else, and it really is a nice vineyard with a great view of the vines when you sit out on their huge patio, it’s just a little out of the way. They definitely have you pick up your tickets there on purpose. We quickly sampled our 4 tastings there, and even enjoyed the live music because guy played our wedding song “Quando, Quando, Quando” the Michael Buble version. I think we were in and out in 20 minutes.

MT and I at Delaney

We then headed downtown to meet our friends at La Bodega Winery/La Buena Vida Vineyards, which are in the same building, but count as two different places on your Wine Tasting card!! It’s located a little ways, as for walking distance, off the main road in downtown Grapevine, but as we walked closer you could here the music blaring, so I knew that this place was going to be fun. Wow! What an amazing patio La Bodega has and why haven’t I been here before? The place was jam packed with people either waiting in the tasting lines or lounging around in the sun and shade savoring the beautiful day while sipping on the vino! I could definitely tell that our peeps had been there for a while because they were the group that was dancing near the live band. We had a lot of catching up to do. Also, the event ended at 5pm and it was already 3:30, so we needed to speed drink and head to the next wine stop, which was Homestead Winery just around the corner. I have been to this establishment quite a few times; we even have our insignia on the wall inside near the bathrooms. It’s a cute old yellow house with a great backyard and every time we go there our “John Wayne Hater” man is there pouring the tastings to thirsty patrons. You can’t miss him. He’s quite a bit older, thin, and has a set of teeth that could put Gary Busey to shame. On our first visit here, he explained to us that he very much dislikes John Wayne because he was a Draft Dodger. Each time I go back, I always get him to tell us the same story, and if you are really nice, he may give you a healthy pour; although, he wasn’t doing the pouring that day, but he was walking around talking to customers. We had quickly drank our tastings there while sitting at a picnic table out in the backyard, then hurried over to Su Vino…..I saved the best for last!

Su Vino has this Almond Champagne that makes me weak in the knees it’s so good. It is a little sweet and I normally don’t like sweet wine or champagne, but the almond flavor really creates a wonderful balance. It’s like drinking the stars!! We always buy a case of the stuff, and usually end up splitting it with another Su Vino lover….it’s not hard to convince someone that this stuff is amazing. It speaks and sips for itself. You can’t find it anywhere else. Now, because the Wine Event was ending, they were out of the Almond Champagne for tasting…..Wait…. What? Excuse Me? I wouldn’t take no for an answer and very politely begged that I saved this place for last because of their Almond Champagne and would you please, please, please serve me a glass? Also, did I mention that I’m buying a case? The lady at the counter was, so nice and gave me a very generous pour of it. She was my new best friend.

At this point, I was feeling quite giddy from the wine and from the delicious bubbly, so when I saw Girl Scouts right outside of Su Vino selling Girl Scout cookies, I just had to buy some. I used to be a Girl Scout, and I remember how much I hated getting people to buy those cookies, therefore, I can never pass up a girl selling them, and they are really good. Yes, Girl Scouts of America, come to my door because you’ve got a sure buyer here! So there I was, and my Aunt, buying as much as I could with the amount of cash that I had, which wasn’t much. During the purchasing, one of the Girl Scouts says “I love your gold purse!” and “Where did you buy it?” I explained that I found it at Sam Moon about 4 or 5 years ago for around $10. Now, partly because of the wine and partly because I love Girl Scouts, I emptied out my purse, put the contents in my plastic bag filled with cookies, and gave it to her. She was astonished! The other two girls looked at her and said that she always got everything. I felt bad, and wished that I had 2 more purses to give, but quickly averted to happy again when I saw the look on that girl’s face. She was so happy! I think I just made her day…..and she made mine. Check out the pic that I took with them and that gold purse that I gave away.

The event came to a close after that, so we met up with our friends at Esparza’s for yes…Margaritas on their patio! I know….you are probably thinking how I was still able to stand. Well, it was more like leaning….on MT. Finally, we needed to get some food in our stomach, so we opted to dine at Fireside Pies for some great pizza! Check out my review of them!