As June 1 comes to a close, so does our latest anniversathon. The annual May 21 through June 1 celebration.
Today we drove south a ways to Jackson and went to a buffet. On the way down the highway I spotted a road sign that there was a winery off some exit. So off the ramp we went looking for the winery. Out in the middle of nothing I almost drove past their driveway when wring shouts "WINERY!!!" Screeching brakes and up the drive we went. Unlike much of mid Michigan, this is a morainal area, and so hilly. Pretty.
At the top of the drive is a young man power washing the driveway. I ask him if they are open or had I chosen a bad time? Open, let me get the owner. OK. A short time later, a middle aged man comes out and greets us to Chateau Aeronautique Winery. Into the tasting room, he gives the quick tour: look around inside and now look out the rear windows. A quick timeline, and he points out it is an air park, the grass strip out the rear windows, and see the neighbors have hangar garages. And thus the name of the place. he introduced himself as Lorenzo, and I introduced myself as just Enzo.
I asked him what he flew, and he said a Cessna 172. I asked is that the little high wing plane? yep. I admitted my very limited knowledge in that area. He then added, "Oh and I also fly the A310 Airbus for Delta." "Oh, that won't land on the grass though, right?" I ask good questions, I think. I didn;t get to see his Cessna, or even cooler, he has a Stearman.
he then handed us off to his wine steward/consultant/ bartender. And we sat at their bar for a tasting. The guy told us the story on each wine as he poured a sample. We tried all eight wines on their "sweets" list. They were all pretty tasty, I thought. I liked some better than others. I let wring chose a bottle, and I got it for her as my last anniversathon gift of the year. The guy seemed very knowledgeable about the wines. And seemed genuinely amused by our patter. I knew it would be a fun event when wring couldn;t climb up onto the tall bar stools. Teehee...
Apparently the wine sampling in $10, but they knock $5 off that if you buy something. And they throw in a nice glass, stemware etched with their logo. I declined the tasting because I was driving, wring says "Well I'm not driving." So I sipped a little of hers. So we got a nice bottle and a stem glass and a fun adventure, huddled around an air strip in the woods of nowhere. With a clean driveway.
Oh, and the poor wine guy, he never had a chance. We were chatting about something, and mentioned Greenpeace. I said "Oh don't get me started on Greenpeace." He nodded in sympathy... "Yeah, every time I go to the beach, these Greenpeace guys keep trying to pull me back into the water."
Thank you, I'll be here all week...
He never saw it coming.
Here they are:
http://www.chateauaeronautiquewinery.com/index.html