wine, cheese, and chocolate; oh my...

we ended off my birthday celebrations on sunday with a trip to a winery. back in march i had bought a living social deal that was $25, which involved a wine tour and then a tasting and pairing with cheese and chocolate.  just like niagara falls, we are so lucky to live so close to wine country; not only is it beautiful, but it's a fun day date, too. going to wineries is also a great way to scope out possible future wedding venues. we both kept an eye out for what we liked and what we're looking for ;) (no engagement yet!)

chateau des charmes. 

(i was planning on taking a picture with the real camera after the tour, but it was absolutely pouring, so instagram camera phone will do)

....

 enough glasses?

 finishing off with icewine.

.............................

the tour was great; it was about an hour and we saw all the parts of the wine making process and learned some interesting things. it was nice because there was only about 8 people in the tour, so it was an intimate little setting. once the tour was done, we went upstairs to a room with chairs set up and a view of the vines out back. we  got to try 2 different white wines, 1 red wine, and icewine to end. each wine was paired either chocolate or cheese. i'm still learning to like wine, if that makes sense, but the icewine was definitely my favorite! oh my gosh, it was so sweet; you definitely couldn't drink more than 1 glass of it, but it would be delicious with dessert. we ended the tour in the store, where we bought one bottle that isn't available in the regular liquor store.

i'm pretty sure we found our new hobby. as soon as we were in the car driving home, i was looking on my phone for another deal. what do you know, i found one and we snatched it up. it was $35 and it gets you a wine tour and tasting/pairing for 4, plus a $40 giftcard to spend in the shop and buy wine!! that's a little crazy right? we're getting more money than what we're paying along with a tour. couldn't pass it up! 

time to start getting a bottle from each winery and saving them for special occasions!