LIWINEDAD

  During part of our Mid-March pick-up expedition , we added in a new winery (well, new to us) for a full tasting.   Jo is the driver today, so I was able to explore a large selection of the Suhru Wines portfolio, two flights, a total of 8 wines in all.   The Tasting Room is located in a small building that you quickly drive by, so be on the lookout for the roadside sign (Figure 1).   The main entrance is a reminiscence of a professional office such as a dentist’s office.   (Figure 2).   The inside opens up to a bright, colorful airy room with request tables and a bar.   There is also outside seating with a fine view of the parking lot but a perfect ambiance overall.   The team greeted us, walked us through our choices, and provided details on each tasting wine.   Under the heading of it a small world while chatting with the server, we found out that he had grown up in the same town and knows our future daughter-in-law!   The wine tasting menu has many options for flights, wine by the

  We have stopped at the Cooperage Inn several times before but only to pick up their Island famous NOFO Pot Pies .   However, today this stop was not only to pick up pies but for lunch as the first stop on our mid-March pickup expedition .   The restaurant is located on the north side of Sound Ave in Baiting Hollow and has a sizeable well-maintained parking lot connecting directly to the main entrance (Figure 1).   Inside is bright, cheery, and spacious.   Seating options include the dining room, bar, semi-enclosed patio, and outside dining spaces (Figure 2).   As this was the first stop of a six-stop pickup tour, we were early, and the door locked, but the team spotted us, greeted us warmly, and guided us to our table that included a nice view of the fishpond and front yard seating area (Figure 3). The menu is extensive, ranging from simple salads to robust entrees and daily specials (Figures 4, 5, 6).   After an opening round of cocktails, good Cosmopolitan, and unsweetened Iced

  Time for the next round of pickups, and we were able to add in lunch and tasting at two new to us places.  Given that we were adding in at least one full tasting at a first visit winery, we decided to have a large lunch first to help buffer all the fine wine to follow.  So the first Stop was the Cooperage Inn for lunch, followed by pickups at Roanoke Vineyards , Lieb Cellars , Sparkling Pointe , Suhru Wines , and Terra Vite Winery & Vineyard (Figure 1).  In the past, we have stopped at the Cooperage inn but only to use their outside pickup window for NOFO Pot Pies (Figure 2).  We spent over an hour at lunch and then picked up five Pot Pies for friends and Family.  Lunch was fantastic, requiring a separate posting at the liwinedad-cooperage inn to discuss how enjoyable the lunch was.  Roanoke Vineyards, Lieb Cellars, and Sparkling Point were our classic drive-by pickups, except we also picked up for our friends at Roanoke and Sparkling Pointe, which quickly fill the SUV.  Each

  Now that we picked up the Roanoke Vineyards futures wine samples, we need to try them.  As the samples were five full bottles (Figure 1) and once opened, they needed to be finished; we enlisted the help of our friends (Roanoke members also) and our kids.  The future bottles were fully labeled, and four of the five came in two wood cases (Figure 2).  Roanoke provides a well-produced set of tasting notes that helped us understand the different wines (Figure 3A…3D).  The future selection consisted of a representative cross-section of Roanoke’s entire red portfolio.  In addition, we put out a collection of meats, cheeses, fig compote, nuts, and a simply outstanding Short Rib Pot Pie from NOFO Pot Pie at the Cooperage Inn to pair with the wines.  First up is 2020 The Hill – A Site-Specific Field Blend.  This wine was hand-harvested by members and blended in the field, producing a 50/50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc mixture.  The wine was very young with a solid nose of Cherry and