Salami and baseball

So far this week there's been very little new tasting going on, but we have 6 we can report on.  We've been busy doing projects around the house and Megan's been working on her textbook.  Tonight it's finally blessedly cool for here, already well below 70F at 9 PM, and the humidity is quite low.  We can finally open up the windows and get some air through the house.

342. San Guiseppe Salami Co.  - Salami Classico:  This is a locally made (well, in North Carolina) salami in the soppressata style.  This has a closer local connection in that this salami is made exclusively with pork from Rolling Fork Farm in Pilot, VA.  Brett loves a good salami and this makes him feel like he's back in Italy eating salami at Specialita Mucci. 
     
     You can try some yourself by getting it at the Blacksburg Farmers Market as we did or if you aren't local, the salami can be mail ordered from the link.
343. Chateau Morrisette Winery - "Wine Dip":  We're not sure why this is called wine dip, since it's clearly spices lightly ground to put in olive oil to dip your bread in.  Megan liked it a lot, but thought it could use a bit more parmesan in the mix.  Brett prefers plain oil or oil/balsamic and he thought it was good also, but would probably stick with one of his preferred.  This was purchased at the winery and we don't think they carry it anymore, much like the much missed garlic-grape seed mayonnaise they used to carry (the grape seeds were taken from the crushed grapes used to make their wine).  
344. 2006 - Monte Antico - Toscano IGT - We had this with dinner (pasta and red sauce, sourdough bread with olive oil, some salad).  This is a very reasonably priced super Tuscan (85% sangiovese, 10% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% merlot).  We have seen this for $10 - $12 and it's a real bargain.  This ages well, even given the screw cap for recent years, and is a superb wine for the dollar.  We've had worse wines that cost two to three times this amount.  This particular bottle still was a little hot, even after being aired for over an hour, but we expect a bit more aging would have mellowed that out a bit.

Tonight we also went to see a Pulaski Mariners game.  It just so happened, without us knowing ahead of time, that Legend Brewing Company was down from Richmond and pouring 3 of their beers.  We tried all 3.  Note Brett even wore his Dogfish Brewery shirt to the game tonight!

345. Legend Brewing - Brown Ale
346. Legend Brewing - Golden IPA
347. Legend Brewing - Lager

Of the three, we would probably choose the brown ale to drink again.  The Golden IPA was pretty good, but was distinctly in the style of an English IPA and not an American IPA (read, lots less hoppy with more malt in the taste profile) - might like to try it with some Indian food some night!  The lager was unfortunately a little forgettable.

We should have some more new tastes coming up by the end of the weekend!

Tastes from the weekend - 7/20 to 7/21

We had a few new tastes from our weekend, including a few wines from the regular Saturday tastings at Vintage Cellar, a bit of cheese from Kroger, and finally some beers we tried around the house.  First, the tastings at Vintage Cellar:

330. 2007 - Azienda Agricola Michele Laluce - Aglianico del Vulture Zimberno
331. 2012 - Fondo Antico - I Versi Rosso Sicilia IGT
332. 2012 - De Forville - Piemonte Chardonnay
333. 2012 - Fondo Antico - I Versi Bianco Sicilia IGT
334. NV - Jo Landron - Atmosphéres
335. Arentine Reggianito - from Argentina, salty with a mild bit of granularity, not as creamy as we'd like, slight crumbly texture

At Kroger, there were a number of new cheeses out that we hadn't tasted before.  

336. Kerrygold - Dubliner:  This is a cheddar cheese.  The flavors were nutty and creamy and very delicious, although we think many of the cheddars from Cabot were as good or better.
337. Mont Chevre - Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese:  Brett liked this a lot, but Megan doesn't like goat cheese so she wasn't so fond of it.  Brett thinks this would go great on a summer day with a slightly sweet and crisp wine and some crackers.
     
338. Yancey's Fancy - Smoked Gouda with Bacon:  Again, Brett likes smoked gouda more than Megan, so this is primarily based on his palate.  The smoke isn't overwhelming like in many smoked goudas, but the the bacon flavor and aroma is obvious, but not too in your face.  Brett would eat this until he couldn't eat anymore.
     

Last, but certainly not least, we tried two beers we had on hand at the house.  Brett managed to fix some bathroom plumbing in the master bathroom.   The poor sink hasn't drained in a long time like it should.  Brett assumed there was stuff caught on the drain plug, but that was clear.  While checking the u-trap, the j-shaped pipe broke off at the connection to the larger pipe.  Yaaaa for old cheap chromed pipe that easily corrodes.  After a fast trip to Lowe's, Brett was able to get new pieces to replace the entire sink drain!  Brett hates plumbing so in response to a successful plumbing venture (and our late lunch), we opened two new beers and popped some popcorn to relax for the remainder of the evening.

339. Brooklyn Brewery - Silver Anniversary Lager - this is a version of their original Vienna lager brewed in a more doppelbock style.  This is very good and probably in limited supply, so if you like a good doppelbock or are just a fan of Brooklyn Brewery, try to find one.  
340. Foothills Brewing - Strawberry Ale - this is a cream ale with addition of strawberry (flavor).  We're fairly convinced this was brewed with strawberry flavoring and not actual strawberries.  It eventually starts to taste like a diet soda or gum you've chewed too long.  We don't recommend this.  

That's it for the weekend - we'll hope to have some new tastes (recipes) later this week!  Woot - we're now over a 1/3 of the way there!

Whoops - we discovered we missed a beer taste from The Thirsty Monk in Asheville!

341. Brouwerij Van Steenberge - Gulden Draak 9000 Quadrupel -  this is obviously super-malty, and Megan surprisingly really liked this!  Definitely try this if you can find one!

7/17 Tex Mex Delight

Megan doesn't usually like to cook.  This is probably a result of lack of practice, which she blames on  her parents not ever neglecting her and always providing meals on the table and all that happy childhood stuff.  Well, that and she's a really picky eater...which is one of the reasons that this 1000 tastes is a true adventure for her.  Tonight she made dinner and it turned out pretty well, so we thought we'd share the recipe.  It's not very spicy, but you can ramp that up with seasoning if you want more heat.

Taste 329
Megan's Mexican Meal

2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb chorizo, sliced into medallions
10 oz dry pasta (curly, twisty types that hold sauce are recommended)
1 can mild Rotel, undrained
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
Spicy Ms Dash to taste
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack (or Pepper Jack)

In a pan, heat olive oil and brown onion and chorizo.  Add dry pasta, rotel, corn, whipping cream, and chicken broth.  Stir and bring to boil.  Add seasoning to taste.  Cover and reduce to simmer.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Add cheese, stir until melted.  Top with a little extra cheese and broil in the oven for 3 minutes to brown the top.

Tastes over July 14th - 16th

 We did a few more tastes over the weekend and into the new week.  First up on the 14th was a new/old beer.  Founders Brewing Company used to make a beer called Rübæus, then they stopped and now they are brewing it again.  We picked up two bottles at Vintage Cellar because it's a raspberry beer and Brett finds it hard to resist anything that has raspberry in it.  :-)

314. Founders Brewing Company - Rübæus - this is a wheat beer with multiple additions of fresh raspberries at different stages of the fermentation;  it's full of raspberry on the nose and a bit of wheat sweetness underneath and tastes fantastic;  if you like raspberry, raspberry wheat beers, or just want something refreshing on a hot day, give it a try!

On the 15th we did some mountain biking in the morning, did some other errands in Roanoke then headed back to Radford.  Once there, we decided a burger sounded good for dinner so since it was Monday night and Sharkey's had buy one get one free burgers, we headed on down.  While there, Brett tried a new burger (and Megan took a bite as well) and had another 4 taster selection from their 32 taps.

315. Black and Bleu burger - basic cheeseburger, but made with blue cheese;  somehow Brett had never had this although he likes blue cheese very much, but it's now added to his favorites list!
316. Rogue Brewing - Yellow Snow IPA 
317. Devil's Backbone Brewing - Vienna Lager 
318. Breckenridge Brewing - Agave Wheat
319. Hacker-Pschorr (Hefe) Weisse

Of the beers, probably Yellow Snow IPA was the best.   The Vienna Lager was pretty good in Brett's view, but he really likes Negra Modelo as well so that's not too surprising.  The Agave Wheat was pretty sweet and tasted a bit watered down.  The Weisse was not as good as Brett's had from a bottle.  So, the winter beer, which I think Sharkey's had at least a keg still setting around somewhere, was the best (they also have Anchor's Christmas Ale on tap right now....).

Brett had a gift card so on the 16th we decided to go to The River Company and just share a quick sampler.   They had 9 beers on tap, 8 regulars and one seasonal/special.

320. The River Company - Fairlawn’s Finest Cream Lager
321. The River Company - Farmhouse Hefeweizen
322. The River Company - Peachicot Blonde Ale
323. The River Company - River Red Ale
324. The River Company - Timber Brown Ale
325. The River Company - Traveler's Pale Ale
326. The River Company - Southwest V IPA
327. The River Company - Dumpster Dog Porter
328. The River Company - Peach Angel (seasonal/special) 

The first 8 are regulars (although we thought Peachicot was a seasonal...) and the Peach Angel was the special/seasonal beer.  Brett likes the Peachicot very much since he can't find Pyramid Apricot Ale this far east....  Note, he likes apricots almost as much as he likes raspberries.  There will be a growler of this in the frig before the summer is over, but the frig is too full right now.  The best regular beer is their red in our opinion, although on a hot 90+ degree day, the cream lager was quite good as well and matches very well to the style.

New tastes - July 12th and 13th

On Friday, we (Dave and Marty, Megan's parents and us) went out for an early birthday dinner for Brett to The Summit in Christiansburg.  We had been there before, but it was Marty and Dave's first trip.  The food was excellent just like it was the last time we were there.  Usually the chef (and owner) provides a complimentary soup with dinner and this trip was no different.

298. Apple Rutabaga Bisque - Brett smelled the apple when we first walked in the door, but he knew there was nothing with apple on the normal menu.  We thought it might be a new dessert, but it was the soup!  On first blush, this probably sounds like a very strange combination, but it was quite good, so much so that we asked if we could get a container to go (obviously, we'd pay for it).  The wait staff said if you call ahead, the chef will make containers to go.  Plans for fall/winter lunches commenced!  The soup was sweet on first taste then went to savory.  It was nicely spiced and mid-taste you really got a nice hit of cinnamon.  
299. The Brigadier - Brett had this.  The steak was literally melt in your mouth tender, the gorgonzola sauce was not overdone and the flavor of the steak was fantastic.  This may be the best steak Brett has ever had, even including steaks from Sir Scott's Oasis in Montana....  It was GOOD!
300. Chocolate creme brulee - This was Brett's dessert.  Brett's not normally a fan of creme brulee, but decided to give this a shot.  In short, it tasted like a super delicious chocolate mousse with caramel on top with a bit of sea salt on top.  
301. NV - Prince Michel of Virginia - Cabernet Sauvignon - Restaurant Reserve - This is a Virginia wine and while it was okay, it was very very buttery.  Neither of us are big fans of that much oak, but it went okay with dinner.  This was a restaurant-only version - maybe the regular bottles are better.

Saturday morning we did our normal wine tasting at Vintage Cellar.  

302. 2012 - The Other Guys - Sauvignon Blanc - Pennywise
303. 2012 - Montevento - Malvasia di Puglia IGT
304. 2011 - Yalumba - Riesling - Christobel's Eden Valley
305. 2011 - The Other Guys - Pinot Noir - Pennywise
306. 2011 - Montevento - Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
307. NV - Marietta Cellars - Old Vine Red - Lot Number 59
308. 2012 - Aviva Vino Almansa - Niel - Santofimia
309. 2009 - X Winery - Pinot Noir - Truchard Vineyard
310. They also had a cheese out - Beemster Classic Extra Aged Gouda - this was very good but we have enough cheese in our house from going through Vermont to feed an army so we skipped getting this today, but it's on our list for later.

We then walked down to the grocery store to get a few things we needed and found a couple things out  to try there in the deli.

311. Castello - Creamy Havarti - Brett love havarti, but again we are drowning in cheese at the moment but once we eat some of that down, we'll buy this as it was very very good havarti.
312. Stacy's Pita Chips - Perfectly Thymed - these were out with the cheese and they were very good. Definitely buying some for all of our cheese and just general snacking.   

Finally, Brett made some dessert for the weekend with stuff from the Farmer's Market.  As usual, Brett started with a recipe then completely ignored it and started goofing off, but did manage to remember to write down the actual recipe.

313. Peach Blueberry Cobbler

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 cups sliced fresh peaches
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Vermont maple syrup

Mix the first five items until just combined, then fold in the peaches and blueberries and start the oven preheating at 400F.  Take all of the other items and mix in a sauce pan, bring to boil and stir making sure the sugars are all dissolved.  Pour all the mixed 7 items into a greased 8" baking dish.  Pour the mixed second 7 items over the top, place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 40 - 45 minutes.  

New recipe for some summer squash and 2 wine reviews

We had a new recipe for summer squash, made up by Brett on the spot for dinner tonight (along with elk from Brett's dad as well as potatoes and rosemary from the garden).

295. Summer squash - This was Brett's simple recipe (makes enough for 2 or one very hungry person with a second person who doesn't like squash that well.  Slice up, moderately thickly, and place in a container you can cover.  Brett used a Pyrex bowl with a lid, but foil on the grill works as well.   Toss with a bit of olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a dash (or two) of ground chipotle.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees (works out well if you're also making roasted potatoes for instance).  

We also have two wines we've had for awhile and haven't reviewed.  Both are boxed wines from a local producer here in Virginia who makes very nice bottles, Michael Shaps.  We wanted something less fragile to take on the trip and they also happen to make boxed wines which would, when removed from said cardboard box, be perfect to fit in a cooler for our long vacation.  We bought both a Viognier and a Cabernet Franc.  Both wines are very good, but both had a big flaw - both were not clear.   We understand when a wine might have a bit of residue in them, however this was omnipresent and in the case of the Viognier was excessive!  Every single glass we ever poured from either box was like this.

296. 2012 - Virginia Wineworks - Viognier - this we actually took on our trip and forgot to review till now.  The wine itself is crisp and tart as a viognier should be, but every single glass was filled with finings, lots of finings.  It became kind of unpalatable eventually on the trip and we tossed the remainder of the bag before finishing it.  For those not into homebrewing or winemaking, finings are used to clear the wine or beer before bottling.  In this case, the box we got was apparently near the bottom of their vat when they filled it and they went too far and we got lots of finings.
297. NV - Virginia Wineworks - Cabernet Franc - Brett really likes Cabernet Franc and the bottle of wine from the same manufacturer is very good.  This was also very good, but had residue (grape pulp, skin, etc) in every glass.  It is not nearly as full of residue as the viognier (and Brett at least prefers it anyway), but it's a bit annoying.  

A few more tastes from the weekend

We made our traditional weekend trip over to Blacksburg to hit the Blacksburg Farmer's Market. The market is, we would guess, 30 - 40% bigger than last summer. The variety of vendors and the amount of choices to make is almost overwhelming, but sure is fun. While there we bought a few things (basil for pesto, blueberries, handmade noodles, and local beef), and then headed on over to Vintage Cellar for the regular Saturday wine tasting. It was a closeout weekend so a lot of the wines were limited in supply, but it was surprisingly dead in the shop compared to what we expected. We guessed everyone was at the lake/park enjoying the long weekend (since it wasn't raining on Saturday until early evening). Here's a list of the wines we tasted:

282. 2011 - Niño Jesús Calatayud - Figaro Tinto
283. 2003 - Clendenen Family Vineyards - Nebbiolo
284. 2008 - Villa Maria - Riesling
285. 2005 - Clendenen Family Vineyards - 90% Syrah, 10% Viognier - Rancho La Cuna
286. 2011 - Concha y Toro - Malbec Xplorador
287. 2010 - Beaulieu Vineyard - Merlot Coastal Estates
288. 2006 - Balthasar Ress Hattenheimer Nußbrunnen - Riesling Erstes Gewächs
289. 2010 - Montes - Pinot Noir
290. 2010 - Trimbach - Pinot Noir Reserve
291. 2012 - Valley Vineyards - Chenin Blanc - The Royal
292. 2012 - Santa Alessandra - Pinot Grigio Valdadige

There were a number of good wines, but the real standout was the Clendenen Family Vineyards - Nebbiolo.  We both like nebbiolo, but this was unusual as it was grown in California, not Italy, but made in a traditional italian style.  It was very very good and was on sale for half its original cost on closeout!

We also had a bit of wine from our cellar with pesto made with our fresh basil and the handmade fettuccine noodles we got from the Farmer's Market.   It was an older chardonnay that we thought had been aged in stainless so it wouldn't be too buttery and fight with the richness of the pesto.  It was apparently not aged in stainless and hadn't aged very well in the cellar so it was kind of a miss and we didn't even drink two glasses with dinner.  It was disappointing.

293. 2006 - Azura Wine Cellars - Chardonnay

Finally we had some Brett-made thai chicken curry for dinner on Sunday and he tried a beer we brought back from our trip.  

294. Baxter Brewing - Stowaway IPA

And with that we're very very close to 30% of the way through!  

4th of July weekend tastes

We have a few new tastes from the 4th of July weekend.  Brett made homemade pizza and we had some pepperoni we brought back from Dakin Farms in Vermont.  Dakin Farms does some interesting smoking of cheeses and meats - they smoke all their items using only corn cobs as a smoke source.

272. Dakin Farms - Cob-smoked pepperoni - It was delicious, but it's a little strange on pizza.  The smoked flavor is a little surprising with every bite when you expect regular pepperoni.  It also shrinks up a lot when you cook it.  We think this would be better served sliced with cheese and crackers.  It's not bad on pizza, just surprising.
273. 2011 - Maipe - Malbec - We had this with pizza and we've had previous vintages before.  This winery has made some of our favorite reasonably-priced malbecs we've had.  This was no different but a bit young and it needed a lot of time to air before it really came into its own.  If you get one of these, let it age a bit in the bottle and/or let it air a good while before serving.

On Friday, we discovered that  Sharkey's, one of the local bars in Radford, has quite the selection of craft beers. during the school year is a bit crowded with students, but during the summer it's just locals and a lot more enjoyable for us.   Today we went down and enjoyed two flights.  

274. Oskar Blues - Dale's Pale Ale
275. Avery Brewing - Ellie's Brown Ale
276. Bluegrass Brewing - Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout
277. Blue Point Brewing - Sour Cherry Imperial Stout
278. Abita - Purple Haze
279. Ommegang - Hennepin
280. Breckenridge Brewing - 471 Small Batch IPA
281. Wolf Hills Brewing - Lonesome Pine Porter

Megan thought the stout, which is not remotely her favorite flavor, was the most surprising. It had a surprising (and tasty) sour cherry aroma and flavor throughout a taste. Brett enjoyed that as well, but found the Bourbon Barrel Stout to be very good. We would both strongly recommend finding Dale's Pale Ale near you - it's available only on tap and in cans so it's good for travel as well.  

Days 17 through 20 - Watkins Glen, NY and Niagara Falls

Leaving the ridiculously beautiful Vermont and New Hampshire behind, we took a scenic drive through the Adirondack Mountains.  While the lakes were plentiful and pretty, the greens just didn't compare to the Green Mountain State and it seemed a bit underwhelming.  It did remind us of Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss (a little known but hilarious movie sequel of the family in A Christmas Story with Ralphie is a teenager) with all of the ramshackle fishing cabins, perched on the edge of fish filled lakes.

But the drive that day was long and we didn't have time to stop and do any hikes so we kept going.

We did take time to stop in Seneca Falls at the Women's Rights National Historic Park. It was a really interesting stop (and 2 more stamps!). Neither of us knew much about the women's suffrage movement before our stop.  It was sad to read the old newspaper articles that sounded exactly like some of the same arguments we still have today: that women aren't promiscuous for wanting equal rights, treatment, and power in society. As a linguist, Megan was particularly interested in the exhibit about the etymology for the word "loose". Around this time women were realizing that corsets and big crinolines were restricting.  The corseting fashion of the time put a woman's liver in her pelvis!  In an effort to become more "free" women who supported suffrage would loosen their corset strings or not wear a corset at all (up until this point that "fashion statement" was reserved only for the very poor).  They also cut off their big skirts so that they were knee length and revealed poofy bloomers underneath.  Their legs were still covered, but they could walk around with a greater level of freedom.  Because people objectified women, the desire to be physically free from restrictive clothing had to be shelved.  People against women's right apparently couldn't hear their logical arguments over the sound of their legs in poofy pants.

        
The park site also talks about the development of the women's liberation movement and current issues and myths about gender inequality in America and the rest of the world. It was a great discussion starter and we both learned a lot. We would highly recommend the stop to anyone in the area.

We didn't even get to see anything other than the museum and the outside of the meeting house, where the first convention was held, but we spent quite a bit of time there.  It was late evening when we left so we headed on to our campsite. However, the road along the Seneca Lake, and the whole Finger Lakes region, is covered in wineries. So we stopped at Swedish Hill Winery to see what all of the fuss about the Rieslings in the area is about. Stand by for tasting list. As always for wines, the notes are in the links.

208. 2011 - Swedish Hill - Dry Riesling
209. 2011 - Swedish Hill - Vidal Blanc 
210. 2011 - Swedish Hill - Riesling
211. 2011 - Swedish Hill - Cabernet Franc Lemberger
212. NV - Swedish Hill - Radical Raspberry
213. NV - Swedish Hill - Classic Concord - don't judge us, we had to try it....  
214. NV - Swedish Hill - Raspberry Infusion
215. 2010 - Swedish Hill - Reserve Chardonnay
216. NV - Swedish Hill - Viking White
217. 2011 - Swedish Hill - Vidal Blanc
218. NV - Swedish Hill - Spumante Blush 
219. 2010 - Swedish Hill - Cabernet Franc
220. NV - Swedish Hill - Doobie's Jack Ass Red
221. NV - Swedish Hill - Cynthia Maria Port

We ended the day at Watkins Glen State Park. It's a campground next to a beautiful ravine with several waterfalls, which we visited bright and early the next morning. All of the hype didn't disappoint. It was a beautiful place with a magical feel.

Then we started the drive to Niagara.  We were finally trading our tent for a real bed and staying in a hotel in Niagara.  Speaking of this, we'll interrupt the narrative for some tastes to count.  In addition to new prepared foods and drinks, new recipes also count for towards our list.  As we took many frozen meals in the cooler with us, there were several recipes we had never tried before.  They were all delicious and froze just fine, two reasons that we'll be making them again!  (The last few are products we ate while camping or took on hikes, so we'll throw them in here too.)

222. Cooking Light - Chicken and Black Bean Burritos
223. Cooking Light - Tex Mex Rice Bowl
224. Cooking Light - Quick Beef Stroganoff
225. Cooking Light - 20 minute Chicken Cordon Bleu
226. Cooking Light - Cherry-Almond Crisp
227. Kurt Beecher Dammeier's Pure Flavor - World's Best Mac and Cheese
228. Erin Bakers - Endurance Granola - Tri berry - A sticky dry granola that is great when mixed with flavored yogurt but not spectacular alone.
229. Fresh Market - Chili and Lemon Crisps - Spicy and zesty round crackers that sounded like a better idea than they ended up being. 
230. Larabar - Apple Pie - A delicious gluten free wonder.  We weren't looking for gluten free in particular but it did turn out to be a very healthy and truly apple pie tasting trail snack.  The bread-less part of the make up did leave it exceptionally mushy and the texture wasn't amazing, but it was quite tasty. 

Wanting to kill a little time for check in and because the drive to the interstate was on a wine trail, we stopped at a few more wineries along the way and scored some more tastes.

Rock Stream Winery was a disappointment in quality of wine and service. The people behind the counter made fun of customers after they were gone. When someone wanted to taste the beers (they have a counter for a brewery there as well) a young man had to be yelled at to make him pour the samples. He called the yeller "Mom" - nepotism rarely works for the business. Tasters are forced to choose dry or sweet and cannot deviate from the set. When one customer complained that she didn't realize she wouldn't like the one she chose (but knew after the first glass it was a bad idea), they berated her for choosing poorly rather than letting her opt to switch.

231. 2011 - Rock Stream - Traminette
232. 2010 - Rock Stream - Semi-Dry Riesling
233. NV - Rock Stream - Make Me Blush
234. NV - Rock Stream - Poolside Pink
235. NV - Rock Stream - Vignette
236. NV - Rock Stream - Shamus White
237. NV - Rock Stream - Grappa
238. NV - Rock Stream - Grape Brandy - the grape species can't be identified so you can't enter it into CellarTracker - you can taste some floral, but this is mostly just an alcohol burn
239. 2009 - Rock Stream - Vignoles Port
240. NV - Rock Stream - Shameless Red Port 
241. 2010 - Rock Stream - Cayuga White 
242. 2011 - Rock Stream - Niagara
243. 2011 - Rock Stream - Riesling Semi Dry
244. 2009 - Rock Stream - Pinot Noir
245. 2010 - Rock Stream Cabernet Franc
246. 2010 - Rock Stream - De Chaunac

From there we headed down the road a ways and stopped at Fruit Yard Winery. As the name suggests, they mostly specialize in fruit wines, which usually aren't our thing.  But after the previous tasting, a change seemed like a good idea. Turns out we were right. They don't charge for tastings and instead say "if you don't find anything you want to buy, then give us $2 on your way out." With their low prices and approachable flavors, there were close to 20 people and only one person paid the $2.

247. NV - Fruit Yard Winery - Cranberry
248. NV - Fruit Yard Winery - Strawberry
249. NV - Fruit Yard Winery - Apple Raspberry
250. NV - Fruit Yard Winery - Semi-Dry Riesling
251. 2010 - Fruit Yard Winery - Native Infusea
252. NV - Fruit Yard Winery - Chardonnay
253. 2010 - Fruit Yard - Riesling Semi Sweet
254. 2010 - Fruit Yard - Tree Shakin' Red
255. NV- Fruit Yard - End Post Red

The last place we stopped advertised cider, so we wanted to give it a shot. There's a local cidery near our house here and we were looking to see how Earle Estates Meadery stacked up and took the opportunity to sample some of their mead as well.

256. NV - Earle Estates - Seyval Blanc
257. NV - Earle Estates - Traditional Mead
258. NV - Earle Estates - Cherry Charisma
259. NV - Earle Estates - Porky's Pleasure
260. NV - Earle Estates - Big Jake Warthog Cider
261. NV - Earle Estates - Black Jewel
262. NV- Earle Estates - Pear
263. NV- Earle Estates - Creamy Apricot
264. NV - Earle Estates - Honey Raspberry Reflection
265. NV - Earle Estates - Apple Enchantment
266. NV - Earle Estates - Worthog Hard Cider
267. NV - Earle Estates - Cruisin Cranberry

From there we went to our hotel and checked in at the Seneca Niagara Casino. We bought the room on Hotwire and got a good deal on a beautiful room with a great view.  The American side isn't the best side for viewing the Falls, but we could see the spray of the falls from our room. More importantly, it was easy walking distance to the Falls. After hanging out at the Falls that evening and getting our Discovery Passes, we headed back for our first sleep in a real bed since Boston - about 2 weeks of camping.

The Discovery Pass includes entrance tickets to five major attractions at the Falls plus trolley tickets.  We started the morning at the Aquarium of Niagara. It was almost comical how small the aquarium was. They even had an empty tank with plastic sharks strung up on white kite string! Little kids seemed to enjoy it, but for parents it was just a break in the air conditioning.  From there we wandered over to the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center. It is mostly a museum with facts about the Falls from prehistoric fossil and geologic information to more current stories of people going over the edge and surviving (sometimes). The information was fascinating. For example, we learned that people used to hang out below the falls when it was frozen over in the winter. Vendors would set up food carts and souvenir shacks on the ice and tourists would spend the day out on the ice. However, one winter the ice suddenly started to break up and caught several people unaware. Some were rescued. As one couple went under a bridge on an ice floe - headed to the Class 5+ rapids downstream - people threw ropes down to them. The woman couldn't get a good hold on her rope, so her husband let go of his so he could hold her as they drowned together.  That tragedy marked the last winter the public was allowed on the ice bridge.

From there we took the trolley over to Cave of the Winds. It's a 130' elevator descent to to bottom of the American Falls. Out of the cave you can walk around on a variety of decks that get progressively wetter until you hit the wettest one called "Hurricane Deck" because of the tropical-storm wind and water conditions. It was exhilarating. The entrance fee includes a pair of disposable sandals and a rain poncho, but everyone still ended up soaked.

After that we took a second to hang out at the Nikola Tesla statue. Tesla was a contemporary of Edison and did much to help "electrify" cities. In fact, he designed the first hydroelectric dam, at Niagara, to provide power for western NY. He also provided some of the founding principles for wireless technology. Despite his advances in applied physics that raised the standard of living for us even today, he didn't want recognition or payment for most of his inventions and ideas and died in poverty with no one in his life but some pigeons that hung out with him. As a physicist, Brett needed to stop and have his picture taken with the great Tesla!

We were still pretty wet from the Hurricane Deck, so we went up to the Observation Tower, a tall tower with a walkway over the Niagara River. It was windy and warm up there, so we dried off a little while admiring the view.

Then we took our disposable sandals and wandered over to the entrance for the Maid of the Mist. It's a boat that heads into the base of the Horseshoe Falls. The company has been operating the boat since 1847, when it was a steam powered paddle boat.  There was a disruption in service for the civil war, but operation resumed when people started traveling and vacationing again.  After a seven year old child went over the Falls in just a life jacket and a pair of trunks, the Maid of the Mist rescued him.  He lived. Driving straight into the mists and winds of the falls was an epic experience. It was definitely one to mark off the bucket lists and a highlight of an amazing final day of adventuring.

We did a few more things in the park before going back to the hotel and changing for dinner at a highly recommend hole-in-the-wall Italian place a block from the hotel. The reviews were spot on. The food reminded us of Italy and the open kitchen made us feel like we were hanging out in someone's house. We met some new friends and shared plates and wine with strangers.  It was fantastic!

Here are the new tastes from lunch that day and dinner that night.

268. Great Lakes Brewing - Burning River Pale Ale
269. 2008 - Monte Faliesi - Aglianico
270. 2001 - Azienda Agricola Ca' del Monte - Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
271. Villella's Ristorante - Lemoncello Gelato - It's a dessert of creamy vanilla gelato served in a flute with lemoncello.  Think of it as a refreshing and adult ice cream float.

The 20th day of our trip we drove from Niagara to Richmond.  What should have been a 10 hour drive turned into a 12 hour one thanks to a random, large hail storm and the resulting accidents and traffic.

It was a trying last day: the pouring water on the Hurricane Deck and Maid of the Mist was far more fun than driving through a similar storm in traffic. But we made it safe and all in all, had an amazing, unforgettable #epicroadtrip full of adventures.

Below is a slideshow of our pictures from these days or you can link to the full album.    

  

  

Days 15 and 16 - New Hampshire and Vermont

After we left Maine and rejoined civilization, we headed through New Hampshire. Neither of us had been in the state before and were absolutely wowed with the beauty. We mostly drove through the state with our jaws open and didn't take nearly the pictures we should have.

As we were leaving New Hampshire we stopped at Bishop's Homemade in Littleton. Our rule is to not put tastes on the list of types of things we've tasted before unless they are dramatically different recipes. So it's ok to have multiple merlots on the list because each wine maker does their own thing, but the pepperoni slice in North End Boston wasn't much different than a usual pepperoni slice, except in serving size. This ice cream was outstanding and noteworthy, so it gets a place on the list!

164. Bishop's Homemade - blueberry ice cream: the texture was very creamy and the taste was super berry-y. Sometimes fruit tasting ice creams can lose their flavor because they're served cold. This wasn't the case. The blueberry was a great flavor and didn't have any big chunks of actual blueberries, which Megan hates so that was good.
165. Bishop's Homemade - chocolate ice cream: this was super creamy and rich without tasting like eating too much cocoa. Very very good.

That night we stayed at a nice campground with free WiFi, hot showers, and electrical at the tent sites. We were worried about Moose River Campground when we made the reservations because it was mostly an RV place and those places can be not very considerate to tent campers, but not this place. There was a separate space for tents and the campground was quiet at night. The tent spots are prime, right on the river, and the view is beautiful.

The next day we focused on tasting our way through Vermont. In the morning we went to Cabot Creamery for the tasting and tour. The drive was on these beautiful rural roads with views like this:

For $2 per person we got to knock out quite a few tastes. We only made notes about the very best tastes of cheese rather than every single one as the tour was starting shortly after we got there. (Of course after the tour was over, we came back and finished and re-sampled to see what cheeses we needed to bring home with us.  We didn't include the sharp or extra sharp cheddars as we have those here and they were not new tastes.

166. Cabot  - Muenster
167. Cabot - Pepper Jack
168. Cabot - Monterey Jack
169. Cabot - Colby Jack
170. Cabot - Tomato Basil Cheddar - this was super interesting and could be excellent as an alternative to mozzarella or just on its own
171. Cabot - Chipotle Cheddar - this had a bit of heat at the start and slowly built up to a mild hotness after you swallowed; okay for a bit of spice
172. Cabot - Smoky Bacon Cheddar - a bit of bacon flavor here, but not overwhelming - we imagine this would be excellent on a burger from the grill
173. Cabot - Garlic and Herb Cheddar
174. Cabot - Hot Buffalo Cheddar - moderately hot - about the same as the chipotle, but maybe a tad bit hotter
175. Cabot - Horseradish Cheddar - Brett doesn't really like horseradish but tried it - it was okay, but it was horseradish....
176. Cabot - Hot Habanero Cheddar - this was hot, not so hot you had to run for a drink but definitely some good heat
177. Cabot - Premium Farmhouse Reserve Cheddar - Brett's favorite - never have we had a cheddar that had granularity to it (think some parmesan cheese or more typically, Gran Padano) - super delicious
178. Cabot - Private Stock Cheddar
179. Cabot - Vintage Choice Cheddar - Megan's favorite - nutty and flavorful
180. Cabot - Adirondack Wicked Sharp Cheddar
181. Cabot - Seriously Sharp Cheddar
182. Cabot - Cheddar Powder - salty and bursting with real cheddar flavor, this would be a great addition to popcorn. Unfortunately it is only sold in very large jars and we don't eat nearly enough popcorn to make it worthwhile
183. Maple cheesecake cheese dip
184. Strawberry cream cheese dip 
185. Moosewood Hollow - Sweet Autumn Maple syrup - infused with typical fall spices
186. Moosewood Hollow - Vanilla Bean Maple syrup
187. Moosewood Hollow - Maple Syrup with Cinnamon Sticks

From there we headed to Hill Farmstead Brewery. Ranked the number one brewery in the world, it was worth getting off the beaten asphalt path (and onto dirt roads) to get there. It's a very small place with not nearly enough parking or room inside for everyone who had flocked there, but the beer was excellent as promised.   Brett notes that this was certainly some of the absolute best beers ever - so tasty and simple in flavor at first, then the flavor becomes even more complex.  Brett would say that the experience is more like a fine wine or excellent port than beer.  The logo for the brewery is from a sign that was found at Shaun Hill's great great great grandfather's tavern up the hill from the current brewery site.

188. Hill Farmstead Brewery - Edward - Megan's favorite, an American pale ale, very very good
189. Hill Farmstead - What is Enlightenment? - a different American pale ale - this was a bit more lemony citrus rather than grapefruity - 
190. Hill Farmstead - Susan - Brett's favorite, but just barely, over Everett; this is an IPA but it's not all too hoppy and is very very complex with an incredibly long finish that leaves you licking your lips
191. Hill Farmstead - Everett - a robust American porter - this was very very good and almost Brett's favorite;  if he had to compare this and Fuller's London Porter, it would be absolutely impossible to choose which was better even though they're a bit different in style; <sarcasm> life is just so so hard <end sarcasm>

After that stop we headed over to Morse Farm Sugarworks, a 200+ year old working farm, where we continued our culinary education and sampled syrups and had a maple-flavored soft serve (which in Vermont is called a "creemee").

192. Morse Farm's Fancy (Grade A) Syrup - This is light in color and in taste. It's delicate, but we couldn't decide when it would be best to use it.
193. Morse Farm's Grade A Medium Amber Syrup - This was Brett's favorite and Megan's second favorite flavor. It was much more bold than the Fancy but still not overwhelming.
194. Morse Farm's Grade A Dark Amber Syrup - This was Megan's favorite in the for-pancakes category. It's sweet, mapley, and had more complexity than the others before.
195. Morse Farm's Grade B Syrup - It's a heavy taste with more complexity than the Grade A's. It's a very dark color and tastes of maple and carmel mixed together. While not necessarily the best choice for pancakes, it would be a great idea to bake with it.
196. Morse Farm's Maple Creemee - At first we thought they had given us a vanilla bowl instead by mistake, but then realized it was because we had done our tasting of syrup right before digging in. After letting our palate's rest a few minutes, the creemee was definitely maple flavored and quite fun. They had a chocolate-maple version that we wished we had tried in a swirl.

From Morse Farm we headed into Waterbury, VT and hit a few more tastes. First we went to The Alchemist Brewery which has the #1 double IPA. After having been at Hill Farmstead and tried the delicate, Belgian inspired beers there, this was a let down. It also probably skewed our palates that we were in the room where they were brewing the beer, which, if you don't know, is an awful smelling process (so says Megan;  Brett notes that with all that malt and 6 kinds of hops it wasn't awful smelling but it sure was overwhelming).  Others in line were buying hundreds of dollars worth of cases, so clearly it works for some people.

197. Alchemist - Heady Topper

After that disappointing stop we went one block up the street to a sure fire win, Ben and Jerry's! We took the tour, which ended with a free sample, and then bought cones for each of us because that's a reasonable lunch. Those people sure are generous with their scoops!

198. Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Therapy - an ewwy gooey chocolately mess. The rich flavor was delicious, but a whole cone of it was overwhelming...unless "Castle" gets cancelled. Then it would probably be a great choice. The only problem is that the fudge pudding makes it a melty mess.
199. Ben and Jerry's Late Night Snack - ice cream with chocolate covered potato chips is the win. It was crunchy and sweet and salty. Perfect!  Brett would have preferred a bit more of the chunkies, but it was still very good.
200. Ben and Jerry's Triple Caramel Chunk - We like caramel (Megan more than Brett) and even she thought this was totally too much caramel.  The ice cream and the chunks and the swirls are too much caramel. It would have been so much better in vanilla. Sadly, that was a bit of a bust.  Strangely, Brett thought it was pretty darn good, even though he likes caramel less.

We wanted to hit the Green Mountain Coffee place for tasting but it was getting late and we needed to set up camp in Burlington, another 2 hours away. What we decided is that the north central part of Vermont is fantastic. There's so much to do - we didn't even get to do any of the tons of outdoor activities to enjoy it more. We'd love to go back and rent a place for a week and just have a great time outside.

After setting up camp we walked down the bike path to downtown Burlington and had dinner at American Flatbread. They specialize in wood fired gourmet pizzas and have partnered with Zero Gravity Brewing to have a full beer selection. Since they do half pulls we were able to try more tastes. This place was FANTASTIC and we'd recommend it to anyone in the area!

201. American Flatbread's Pepperoni and Peppers Pizza - It was outstanding. The pepperoni was crispy, the crust was chewy, and the cheese was salty but not overwhelming. The sauce was a little underwhelming (we expected more herb and less sweet given the other high end complex flavors). All in all, it was great though.
202. American Flatbread's New Vermont Sausage Pizza - This is a sauce-less pizza with local no-nitrate pork sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, carmelized onions, and mushrooms.  It was incredibly savory and matched well with the beers for the evening. 
203. Zero Gravity Brewing - T.L.A. I.P.A - this was on cask for the evening
204. Zero Gravity Brewing - London Calling
205. Zero Gravity Brewing - Villiers Extra Special Bitter
206. Zero Gravity Brewing - The Bard's Brown
207. Zero Gravity Brewing - Grateful - This was the real winner for the night.  A very complex Belgian-style ale made with barley, wheat, tea, maple syrup, and raspberries.  The taste was so complex that Megan described it as "shimmery."  

On the walk back to camp, we watched the sun set on Lake Champlain, another bucket list item checked off!

Below is a slide show of our pictures from the days and as always you can just go to the full album.

Days 12 through 14 - Maine's North Woods

After we left Acadia we spent a few days in a land of no people. While Megan has still not tried backpacking, she was interested in seeing what camping in the middle of nowhere felt like. We found a place that offers car camping sites that are away from everyone and not part of a formal campground in Backpacker magazine's article about drive in sites that make you feel like you're backpacking. Mostly you drive up logging roads and there are a few spots along the way that have a fire ring and picnic table. The map of our drive is below. The directions were less than clear and Google Maps barfs when you try to get it to do the last little bit of the drive, but if you zoom in near the end point, you'll see Horseshoe Pond and Pearl Ponds - our campsite was just to the west of the westernmost Pearl Pond (the pond located under the label "Pearl Ponds" on the map).


View Larger Map

We stayed at one of the Pearl Ponds sites(to reserve one of these 4 sites, actually ask for a Horseshoe Pond site - site #1 is the most secluded and best of the 4 in our opinion) and after losing yet another day to rain, we got to enjoy hiking, canoeing, wildlife spotting and the solitude. What we didn't enjoy were the swarms of militant mosquitos.

The morning after we arrived, we went on a short hike to explore the nearby ponds, get water to purify for camp, as well as a quest for oars for the canoes that were supplied by the ponds. While on our way down to the Pearl Ponds, we came across a marten. It ran up into the tree and we tried to get a few shots of it, but it was quite a ways up. It was very cute though.

(Obviously we didn't take this, but we wanted people to see how cute they are.)

One of the hikes we went on was a 10 mile hike along Gulf Hagas. It's supposedly the "Grand Canyon of the East" but I assure you those people have never seen Breaks Interstate Park. While it's no massive canyon, it is a large ravine with a series of waterfalls. The hike in was very technical. The granite in Acadia was mostly grippy on our shoes, but it was just the opposite here. We're not sure what the difference was (maybe that these slabs were upended?) but in North Woods, it was slicker than frozen owl snot coated with a layer of teflon then sprayed down with Pam. The rain meant that the rocks were still wet in places, adding a feeling of that ice level in Super Mario Brothers. Megan took a spill but aside from a skinned elbow, banged up shoulder, and bruised hip, didn't do any major damage.

The route was so technical (and after a fall anyone will be more careful) that it took us 5 hours to do about 5 miles. And we did the first mile in about 20 minutes, so really it was 4 miles in 4:40. Even Perpendicular wasn't that slow!

We had packed a lunch to have along the way, but the mosquitos were absolutely unbearable. We had thought Acadia was pretty mosquito-y, but we were so wrong. Megan is a favorite tasty snack of mosquitos and other biting bugs. She had covered her clothes in pemetherin (a bug spray that gets into the fabric) before we left and wore picaridin spray on the hike. The mosquitos were so insane that they bit through clothing! Granted the clothing was light weight, but with the added infused bug spray it should have done something. While studies show that picaridin is comparable to DEET for short term use, this place is clearly a 100%-ruin-your-gear-DEET kind of place. (Note - Brett is apparently not very yummy to mosquitos and rarely gets bit, but even he got 10 - 15 bites during the hike.)

But the waterfalls were beautiful and on the hike back we took a much less technical trail and made excellent time doing the 5 miles in 2 hours back to the car.

It was our last day when we went on that hike and our plan had been to go canoeing around dusk to see if we could spot a moose as we had the day before. Megan hadn't seen one in the wild and it was a big part of her wanting to stay in North Woods. After that crazy hike, as we bumped down the logging road back to camp, we talked about how neither of us felt like going to a pond (1 mile hike through bog) and pulling out a canoe. Once those boots came off at camp, there was no way our feet were going back in them! Megan was bummed as that meant that she wasn't going to see a moose, but it had been a long day.

Then we drove around the corner and there was a moose hanging out in the middle of the road. Seriously.

It was a perfect end to our stay up there. We got to see an American marten (cuter cousin of the mink), eagles, loons, and moose. Brett even saw a lynx, but it moved too fast for Megan to see it. Megan had never really seen the Milky Way before and it was bright and clear. There were so many stars in the sky and the big white stripe down the sky made it finally clear to her why it was called "milky". The wolves howled in the distance at night. It was truly magical. We'd love to go back when it's colder and the fairy-vampire season is over.

The usual slideshow of our pictures is at the bottom and you can see the full album here.

As a post script, if anyone's interested in going to the area but not doing the filter-your-water-tent-camp-thing, we came across a lodge with cabins that seemed really nice. They do fly fishing classes and guided hiking (or just leave you alone if you'd rather). They even had solar, propane, and water! Little Lyford Pond Camp has been around since before the civil war. It would be a nice way to experience all of that beauty and have someone else worry about making sure you're fed and having a good time. It looked a lot like summer camp for adults.