So I am sure you have noticed that Jesse and I like craft beer and we try to visit as many breweries as we can. We decided to try a winery for a change of pace. I saw this winery mentioned in a bunch of magazines so we decided to check it out when we both had the day off from work. My work people also said that we had to visit downtown Bloomington which is home to Indiana University (they are Hoosiers as opposed to the Purdue Boilermakers, kinda like Tarheels vs. Blue Devils). One coworker even pointed out the roads we should walk down and the places we should visit.
We had plans to leave nice and early but I had a phone interview that lasted an hour so we got a late start. We opted to take a nice back road instead of the highway to see a bit more of the state. It was pretty much that one road the whole way there but we were supposed to turn at one town to make it easier. Too bad that town was barely a blip and we completely missed whatever turn we were supposed to make so I consulted our trusty 2015 Indiana state map and we managed to finally find the winery.
It was beautiful! It was a large building with pretty water features out front and some Stone Henge-ish rocks. They had a ton of pumpkins out front and other fall appropriate decorations. We were sad that it was raining out because it looked like you could explore the grounds a little bit. We went in and found out that they had a tasting of 8 wines for $5. We got our little tokens and bellied up to the bar. They had wines that were made with the grapes they grew a short way down the road and they also had ones that were made with either grapes or juice that they got shipped in from other states. The local Indiana grape wines could only be bought at the winery and at their little wine bar in downtown Bloomington. Jesse and I tried a few but we fell in love with their Indiana grape Noir. It was just wonderful to drink and it tasted good with the soft Italian herb cheese they let us eat while we tasted the wines.
They also had tours of the area where all the oak barrels and big steel vats are kept. Jesse and I got a glass of the Noir and headed off to join the tour. They showed a video of the history of the winery and then went into describing wine making in general. When he showed us the barrels (that are handmade!) we were quite impressed. It was a good tour.
We bought some more of that awesome cheese, some crackers and some soprasata to snack on out on the porch. Thankfully it was covered since it was still raining and it had one of those awesome heat things to keep us warm. It was so picturesque with the colorful leaves falling to the ground.
We decided to brave going to downtown Bloomington even thought it was getting colder, darker and rainier. For once we had an umbrella in the car so off we went to explore. We found a running store that the Hoka rep mentioned and wandered in there to talk running trails for a bit then we decided to find Upland brewing. After a bit of wandering and asking some college kids for help (they were not helpful) we found it. It was nice and warm and dry in there so we each got a beer while we waited for our table. I had a wonderful porter and I forgot what Jesse had. We arrived just in time because when we left the line was out the door. We walked a bit down Kirkland Street and saw lots of other places we would like to check out. Bloomington will be another area we visit a second time before we go to our next location. Hopefully earlier in the day, with warmer clothes and no rain.
(301)
