Sakonnet Vineyard

Off the beaten path, and set back on an open farm is Carolyn's Sakonnet Vineyard and Winery (about 40 minutes from Newport, RI and about an hour from Providence, RI). We chose to do a wine tasting at the bar, but plenty of guests were taking advantage of the beautiful day and bought a bottle of wine and were enjoying it on the patio and in the gardens.

The wine tasting is $10, and plenty of people were standing at the bar enjoying their wines. However, others were taking their tastings to the patio and coming back to the bar for each new glass. This was a great way to enjoy both the beautiful day and to take advantage of the $10 tasting.

Platypus Wine Tours

For our day exploring the wineries of Napa, we decided to use Platypus Wine Tours to take us around. This eliminated the need to drink and drive. The shuttle bus was very comfortable and the seats were laid out in a "U" shape making it easy for everyone to converse and get to know each other.

Our driver was very friendly and informative. She took us to Mumm Napa, Tudal Winery, Rutherford Ranch Winery (which included a chocolate tasting) and Razi Winery. All of the vineyards selected were very nice, and of course had great wine.

In addition, after the second winery, we had a really nice picnic lunch, provided by Platypus Wine Tours. This is definitely a service we would use again and would recommend to others.

Grape Creek Vineyards

One of the Texas Hill Country vineyards that grows their own grapes right in the state of Texas is Grape Creek Vineyards, in Fredericksburg. Of the two wineries we chose to sample, this was definitely our favorite, both in the quality of the wines and the quality of the tasting room.

When you purchase your tasting, you get to keep the very large wine glass and are assigned a space at one of the tasting tables. There is space for three to four groups at each table, which is served by one host bartender. Each taster can choose six wines to taste - we chose 12 and split the tastings so each of us had a chance to try all the wines available on the list.

Of the wineries open for tastings, we definitely recommend stopping here.