Sun 17 Nov

It has been a very nice Mpls trip. Thurs we did the MOA and stayed at the lovely B&B in Hastings. Friday we started with an awesome breakfast of oven puffed pancake, broiled grapefruit, and absolutely incredible bacon. It was a gorgeous sunny day to drive through rural MN to the winery. The experience there was great! There were probably 25-30 people. The vintner gave an entertaining and very educational presentation on his history, his collaboration with U of M in procuring Mn-friendly vines and the long process of waiting for maturity to harvest a crop and finally the wine making process itself. We sampled many wines directly from the barrels in various stages of maturity to get an idea of how the wines age and he demonstrated this amazing tungsten spoon he uses to "magically" age a tiny glass of wine so he will know how long to wait before bottling and releasing it. He did a pruning demo in the vineyard and talked about caring for the grapes through the season. We were fascinated. The experience included a lunch with gourmet pizzas and Stromboli from a local provider. Great day if a bit too much wine consumed. Yesterday we spent with Kurt and Barb which was also fun. We capped it with dinner at the Red Stag Supper Club which is always fun Today we're off to church, then Byerlys and home in time for choir tonight.