My SE MN Wine Trip, May 30-June1, 2008

Travel Log

It was time for a girl's weekend and having some time on my hands I decided to map out a wine tasting and tour of Southeast MN...

Day 1: two wine tastings
It started where most trips start for me, in South Mpls. We all gather at Cafe Maude for a filling lunch before hitting the road. Thankfully the company and atmosphere won me over cuz the menu did not. Not many vegetarian choices so I ended up with the most boring of dishes: eggs and potatoes. Still though, it hit the spot! The road trip could now commence!

First stop, Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings.

This was when we first realized this trip would go off without a hitch. Once in downtown Hastings, the MapQuest directions really started to fail us so we had a decision to make, go left or right at this t-bone intersection. Instinct told us left. That put us in a traffic jam that was timed to take 20 minutes before we would hit the bridge that was only a few blocks ahead. During the wait, we called the vineyard to see if we made the right decision at the intersection. We didn't! However, we were stuck in this parking lot of traffic. The only out that I saw was to do a u-turn and jump the median. Now, before heading out we really hemmed and hawed about what car to take; the efficient Civic or the not so efficient Tribute SUV. We settled upon the SUV, we decided that even though extra space came with a cost we wanted to pay for that. So we did it, right then and there, we jumped the median! We laughed about how if we were in the Civic and tried that we would have still been stuck half way across it. Now with our re-direction change we found the vineyard in no time flat. The tasting was $10 and that included a souvenir wine glass.

A couple of wines to note:

• Ratafia: smells of oranges. It is a fortified sweet dessert wine, it reminded me a chilled mulled wine. Price, $19.99.
• Isis Ice Wine: a very nice ice wine (you think there would be tons of ice wine in MN!), with hints of apricots, peaches and honey. Price, $29.99.

We had another decision to make as 3:30 crept up on us... hurry the tasting so we could make to the next vineyard or take our time and find something else to do to occupy us. Like troopers we decided to rush and drive to Red Wing for the Falconer Vineyards tasting.
This tasting was only $4. The employees were nice enough to not make us feel rushed either, even though I am sure they were super annoyed that we were there 15 minutes past closing.

A few tasting notes:

• Riesling: Semi-sweet, German style Riesling. Price, $15.95.
• La Crescent: U of MN white grape. Apricot hints. Price, $17.95
• Frontenac Rose: Frontenac is a locally grown grape. This wine has a fruity, cherry flavor. Price, $12.95

We now had a task on hand, find a place to stay! I had done some research beforehand and was finding that even road side motels in Red Wing were pushing the $100 mark. We had a goal of trying to find something for $80. We came across a brand new hotel that I hadn't checked the price on and the lot was deserted so I thought we might have a chance of negotiating the price down to $80. We put Pam in charge of making that happen. Well she walks in, head held high, ready to fight for the $80/night rate. She asks, "What is your rate for one night?". Reply: "$84.50". Well you can't really fight that, can you?? The room was great! Very clean, Bath and Body Works soaps and lotions, and a wonderful continental breakfast (make your own waffles!!) the next day. I would recommend this place and happily stay again, Nichols Inn.

After settling in at the hotel, we got ready for the big night ahead of us in Red Wing. It was the weekend opening of "Sex in the City"! We had dinner at a weird (not so little) local restaurant before the movie, Liberty's Restaurant. They served EVERYTHING - mexian, italian, breakfast all day, burgers, pizza, seafood, etc. I always find that scary, I guess I am use to more specialized joints. The one thing I can say that none of us had a problem finding something to order! Oh and the movie, sorry to the die hard SITC fans, but I found it to be like the dinner we had - sub par. But granted, I had only seen Season 1 and 2 before the movie so I don't think I am as invested in the characters as others.

Day 2: Lanesboro
We tried to connect with Diamond Ridge Winery in Peterson, they are an appointment only winery, however, no call back meant no tasting. So we had to skip this and head directly to Lanesboro. Now, Lanesboro has its own wine boutique, Scenic Valley Winery, but we got there after it closed. Thankfully, all liquor stores in the area (and restaurants) carry the wine. So we could have are own wine sample that evening. They are heavy on the fruit wines: cherry, rhubarb, etc. None of the wines really won me over. I think maybe mixing the cherry wine with a Sprite might be a very refreshing spritzer.

This evening we had made reservations ahead of time and so we drove over to Preston, MN (about 15 minutes outside of Lanesboro) to check in at Jailhouse Inn. I had stayed here before and found it delightful. This was an old Jailhouse that opened in 1869 and operated as a jail until 1970. It has now been fully refinished and converted to a very charming and unique B&B. They have preserved one of the original cell blocks and that is the room we got! I shouldn't really say "preserved", they may have saved the space, but I don't think prisoners had queen sized beds and/or a 2-person spa tub.

As guests of the cell block, we have access to the second floor porch. It was beautiful night so we checked out a bottle of wine, pulled up a rocking chair and all just relaxed for a bit. They only shame is that the porch looks out to the back alley and back yards of the next door homes. They some what obstructed and clouded the view of the bluffs. After a breather on the porch we decided we needed some dinner and we had to get a move on, it was approaching 8:30 and well, in towns like these even restaurants close down at 9pm. We found one open restaurant in Lanesboro and ate there. Again, a wide variety on the menu and we also had a dinner show. There was a party of 4 sitting a few tables back from us that were great entertainment. One of the couples were fighting like I had never seen in public! But then, well our dinner was rudely interrupted by Mother Nature. Out of no where came this storm. We were watching the lightening come in (that should have been a clue), and the next thing I know, we were getting pelted with hail! Those little things hurt! We ran screaming for cover and finished our soggy dinners inside.

Ready for a little ghost story? So, I was finding it hard to sleep that night in the jail cell. It was kinda eerie actually, the way the light hit the jail bars and casted the shadows. It didn't help when at 2 in the morning one of my cellmates decided to clip their nails. That noise for me is such a grinding sound, I can't stand it, I even hate to trim my own nails because of that sound. Well, the next morning when we all were up, my roommate yelled over to the next room, "Which one of you started to clip your nails at 2 in the morning?" Thank you! She was also bothered by it!! Well, our friends in the room over swear they didn't do it. OOOHHH!

Day 3: one wine tasting
Well Sunday arrived, like it always does, and that meant we had to head home. After a little shopping time in Lanesboro we hit the road to drive up through Cannon Falls. There the last wine tasting of the weekend awaited us. Cannon River Winery, wine tastings: $3. I don't know what kind of mood I was in, but the blushes here really won me over. For some reason I was transported to a warm summer night, sitting on a porch, sipping wine - and that is a wonderful thought.

Trip pictures: Click here!

~Posted by Ann