Hey there kiddos!  Happy hump day.  It’s quite the dreary day over here but I do have it off and am taking advantage of the time to do some catch up.  It’s funny on my days off how the day flies by.  It’s my day “off” but I guess I try to squeeze everything in.  Vacuming, cleaning, laundry, wedding stuff, blog stuff, planning yoga sequences, making dinner, oh and showering at some point in there.  Is that what life looks like after babies?  Except you have a human child who you can’t let just lay on the couch the entire day.  That must be tough. 

Anyways, I wanted to share some exciting news.  Andy and I have officially handed in our Connecticut Wine Trail Passports!  Have you heard of the Connecticut Wine Trail Passport Program?  Basically, if you go to a certain number of wineries across the state you are entered into a couple of contests.  We managed to get 16 stamps this first year we participated, which means we are entered to win a trip to Spain!

I really enjoyed this adventure for the sole reason that you really get to explore the state!  We went to places we would probably never travel to otherwise and of course for the wine!

Here are a few highlights from our adventures.  We started around April or May and just finished last weekend.

I’ll start with a picture from one of my favorites, Gouveia Vineyards.  And it just so happens that this one is my very own hometown of Wallingford, CT.  Oh the sunsets.

Andy and I have visited Priam Vineyards in Colchester, Connecticut quite a few times because well in less than a year we will be saying ‘I Do’ here!

One Sunday Andy and I made our way through Fairfield County.  Below is White Silo Winery in Sherman, CT.  They had pretty unique fruit wines.  I just loved the old barn and silo here, so picturesque. This same day we also visited McLaughlin Vineyards in Sandy Hook and DiGrazia Vineyards in Brookfield.  We did them all in about 3-4 hours and it made for a nice little wine tour of a day!

Okay, so below is not a winery.  It is a little guest house that we rented in North Stonington, Connecticut in October to hammer out about 7 wineries in one day.  Yes this was ambitious, and I do think next time we will try and spread our visits out a bit.  With that said it was such a fun day! We did have to pace ourselves carefully though!

The first stop was Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington.  We had been here once before (wedding venue shopping).  It’s a great winery on a beautiful piece of land.  

After Jonathan Edwards we headed to Saltwater Vineyards just in time before they closed for a wedding.  Saltwater was just as beautiful as I had heard.  It’s a modern barn set on a piece of land with beautiful marsh views.  We will definitely have to go back here.

Stonington Vineyards was next.  This one was tucked away a bit and had a fairly large piece of property with plenty of seating options outside. 

The next stop was Dalice Elizabeth winery in Preston, CT.  This winery was so sweet.  The winery was in a little cozy shed set next to a little pond.  They even had hot mulled wine for us to try.  

The next stop was Preston Ridge Winery.  This winery was also in a larger, modern barn.  They had a great view for sunset which of course I loved.  They also had live music and a food truck outside which made for such a perfect night!

Our last and final stop was at Maugle Sierra Vineyards in Ledyard.  They also had great live music.  Think you can tell this was our last stop?

Last week we had just one more stamp to collect on our passports so we rounded it out with another one of our favorites.  Paradise Hills is also located in our hometown of Wallingford, CT.  We know the family who owns it so it’s always a special place to visit and was also the location of one of our very first dates. 

It’s funny that throughout this entire post I didn’t mention anything about the actual wine at the wineries.  For me, the experience and the sights and sounds at all of these vineyards is what I love most.  And the wine, well I usually like it all.

And that completes it!  The CT Wine Trail has really shown me what a beautiful state Connecticut is and has definitely given me a new appreciation for where I have grown up.  I highly recommend going to visit a few (or 16).  If you ever have any questions feel free to ask!

It’s also funny that throughout this entire post I didn’t mention anything about the actual wine at the wineries.  For me, the experience and the sights and sounds at all of these vineyards is what I love most.  And the wine, well I usually like it all.