Mara Visits Murphysboro

Remember Mara from Florida? She is Joey's girlfriend and helped orchestrate the proposal. Well, she and Joey made the drive up here to visit. With just one day to explore, we took her out on the wine trail. Our first stop was Kite Hill Vineyards. Their wine slushy is the best. One of these days I'll buy the mix. Since I am now a wine cork collector, these birdhouses caught my eye:

Our next stop was Pomona Winery, still my favorite winery to visit, hands down. While, you do have to pay a $2 tasting fee, you really get your moneys worth. You get to taste all the wines and get to learn as you go. Plus, Becky is always there and she is still the best. I bought a bottle of Kir to take home. Our next stop was Von Jakob. We always order food here. Brandon and I shared the BBQ pizza. It was just ok, but hey it came with a side salad. I love their Red Oak Port Vinaigrette Dressing. Our friend, Christian, is the wedding coordinator there. She pulled out some of her wedding magazines and we looked through them. She has offered her wedding planning services, wherever we have the wedding :)

Next up was Kie's choice, Owl Creek. His birthday is coming up in the next week so we decided to celebrate early. The girls made him a tasty cake.

Kie turns 26

The final winery of the day was Blue Sky. We ordered a pitcher of sangria and it was delish. I like it better than Rustle Hill's. The winery was packed, including a Mardi Gras themed birthday party. As they were leaving they gave us their masks. We looked like Misteriosos!

Joey and Brandon

And finally we ended our journey at 17th Street. Because really, what trip to Murphysboro would it be without that. Order the 17th Street potato. WOW.

Well, we won't have to wait long for our next winery visit. This upcoming Friday is the second Teresa Herring benefit at The Bluff's, $5 cover. 

Wine & Dine

Caitlyn, our friend from Columbus, OH just became a lawyer. Before starting her first job she decided to come check out Southern Illinois! We had a great time showing her around, starting on Friday with a house party:

We had a delicious meal in Jarrod's garage featuring a watermelon basket:

Carved and balled by me!

On Saturday we hit the wine trail:

We made our first stop at Kite Hill Vineyards for their famous slushie.

We also stopped by Orlandini Vineyards - where we picked up the "Wino Xing" sign - and posed in front of the Blue Sky Vineyards gates. For my third time, we went to Pomona Winery which I have decided is my favorite. All their wines are sweet and go down easy - no grapes here! Plus the hosts are amazingly friendly. If you go ask for Becky. We actually had the owner serving us this time. He was so knowledgeable and gave us recipes to use all the wines in. The owner is going to publish a cookbook soon. Go here!

Pomona Winery

Pomona Natural Bridge

As we were driving through Pomona we I saw a sign for a Natural Bridge and demanded that we go there. It was a bit of a drive through the forest but totally worth it.

Our evening ended at Pinch Penny Pub where Rock U were playing in the beer garden. All in all it was a great day.

Bucket List: Shawnee Wine Trail (Part 2)

I'm currently visiting my hometown - McLean, VA. But, I'm still behind on posting so back to Illinois we go... enjoy!

Another weekend, another winery outing! Brandon's friend, Lindsey, was in town from Mississippi and wanted to go out to explore the wineries. Since we had such a good time last week, we had to go another round! This time though, I was the designated driver. (PS: I drove through some seriously winding roads!)

Again, our first stop was Von Jakob. Lindsey ordered us a wine spritzer:

It tasted like their Johnny Apple Wine with pineapple juice, Sprite and some fresh fruit slices. Our next stop was Hickory Ridge Vineyard. Such a beautiful view from their deck. Unfortunately, it started misting and we had to go back inside the cozy lodge (complete with loft).

Just down the road was Pomona Winery which is a winery that doesn't use grapes! Most of their wines are apple based with some different fruits and spices. Their Orchard Spice wine tastes just like an apple pie with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Their tasting was very generous and the gang got to try all of the wines on their list. Our server was really friendly and a true wine lover. She gave us lots of cooking tips!

Next on the tour was the luxurious Blue Sky Vineyard. From the moment you drive through their massive gate you can tell that a lot of money went into the place. The main house and the landscaping (complete with waterfall) are really nice. I didn't participate in the tasting but I did order a cheesecake with "the works."

This baby came with a raspberry Framboise drizzle, chocolate, cherries and whipped cream for $3. The gang ordered a bottle of the Misterioso. Quite possibly the worst/scariest label I've ever seen:

Last stop of the day was Rustle Hill. It was busy as usual with live music being performed. We were hungry so we ordered pizza. We tried the Italian, Hawaiian and Chicken Alfredo. All came on thin crunchy crust - so good but a little pricey at $15/pie.

My original goal was to go to 6 of the 11 wineries on the trail. Turns out there are actually 12 wineries (oops) and I have been to 8 so far (wow!). I see more wineries in our future! We already have a trip for Memorial Day Weekend planned, in addition to the Shawnee Wine & Art Fest being held in Riverside Park in Murphysboro.