Hidden Lakes Winery

Happy Friday, friends! I know I've been promising this post for a while now, and what better time to deliver than on a Friday afternoon! Can you think of a better kick off to your weekend than a glass of wine?

...Me neither ;)



Several Sundays ago, spurred on by the impending expiration date on a groupon, Jon & I ventured out to Hidden Lakes Winery for a wine tasting for two. Hidden Lakes is a lovely little winery located in Canal Winchester, which is about half an hour from our house -- perfect for a sunny afternoon drive!

To our delight, when we arrived we found a quaint little winery located (not surprisingly) on a beautiful lake. The winery was pleasantly filled with people, but not too crowded, and there was live music in the gazebo. Jon & I grabbed a table outside; soaking up the gorgeous weather from the comfort of a shaded patio.

And then we got down to business:

Cheese tasting plate (muenster, gouda & havarti; salami and crackers)

::NOM, NOM::

Our two person tasting included 10 1-ounce wine tastes each (!), and we each received a list to mark our desired tastes and comments.

Now, I'm pretty sure you know this all ready, but, as much as I love wine, I am not a wine snob. Not in the slightest. I know what I like, and I know what I don't like ... but it doesn't go much farther than that :) I had such a good time playing sommelier... taking my time and savoring each dainty sip (you sip quite daintily when you only have a 1 oz pour!), trying to pick out all the different notes and mouth feels of each individual wine.

You know I have a penchant for reds, and my favorite Hidden Lakes wines were the Pinot Noir (a very earthy, soft, distinct taste-- probably the most memorable dry red I've ever had. In totally unsophisticated terms,' this wine was everything I would want a red wine to be.') and the Road House Red ("drinkable" was the first word that came to my mind. Absolutely delicious. My notes read: "grape juice with a bite" ... Jon & I totally blew through a bottle of this goodness last Saturday evening, and I got my mother a bottle for her birthday!)

Jon has always fallen more on the sweet end of the wine spectrum, and he had a wonderful time sampling, as well. His favorite wine was called Early Frost, a light, sweet, cidery blend. We definitely bought a bottle of this, too!

All together, it was a wonderful experience -- a perfect date! It was so wonderful to sit outside and relax with my husband, sipping wine & chatting as we overlooked the lake. It made me (if this is possible!) even more excited for our trip to Sonoma in September.

Definitely 'love at first sip'....