Visit to Wine Country

Our decision to go on vacation 45 minutes from home was one of the best we've ever made. Not only was our four day trip the least expensive vacation I've ever been on, but it also ranks among some of the most entertaining trips I've taken. We spent a few days sampling wine in and around Hermann at six wineries - Bias, Robller, Hermanoff, Adam Puchta, Stone Hill and Oak Glenn. For two days we took our own personal tour sampling the wine and the bbq offered by the "Berry and BBQ Wine Trail" festival and pretty much everything else we could get our hands on. We are food people and after a while, the whole trip started to feel like a "food vacation!" But what's a pie-loving girl to do when there is a shop strictly for enjoying homemade pie and playing checkers? And what's a guy to do when someone tells him that their little sandwich shop is famous for their Reuben (his favorite sandwich)? And when the lady at the chocolate shop tells you that the carrot cake truffle is to die for? You eat! Oh, and eat we did.

Quite possibly the best part of the whole trip was the bed and breakfast we stayed in on the second night. Sadly, due to lack of vacancy and a willingness to save money, we only stayed in the Alpenhorn Gasthaus B&B for one of the nights we were in Hermann. Next time, it is the only place we will stay! We absolutely loved it. Like small children on Christmas morning, we toured the grounds with Adriane, the Swiss who runs the place with his wife Kate. When he escorted us to our room, and we had a moment alone, we practically squealed with excitement over the swiss chocolates and chilled water in our room, the robes for our use, the slippers (flip flops) there for us to take home, the bathroom, the king-sized bed, etc., etc.



We ventured out for one more visit to the pie shop - just for coffee and checkers this time! When we returned it was time for our Midnight Chocolate Rendezvous consisting of candles, homemade gourmet chocolate, and port wine sampling in the wine cellar. So worth it! We spent and hour in the candlelight and soft music talking with Adriane and eating Kate's chocolate while he served us three varieties of ruby port and one tawny port. Love.

I can't say enough about this bed and breakfast without gushing, but let it be known that Kate is one hell of a cook. For breakfast we were served mimosas and coffee, the most delicious french toast, creamed eggs, and swiss sausage. While this slowed the pace of our morning bike ride on the Katy Trail a little, it was very impressive. We sat with a couple who were guests in one of the cabins detached from the main builidng. While this was the part of the trip that I was anxious about - eating a meal with perfect strangers - Tammy and Harry were so very nice. She is a nurse and he is on the maintenance staff at Missouri State University. I left thinking we should have exchanged email addresses or phone numbers so we could talk more about wine and food and the places we've been. Good food, good people, great experience.

The final leg of the trip was a night in Saint Peters to visit my family and see the first game of the Cardinals/Dodgers series. We had perfect weather, good seats, Matt Holliday's debut as a Cardnial and a 6 to 1 win!