This afternoon, The Sailor and I went to Vintage Illinois at Matthiessen State Park (just south of Starved Rock State Park) with his sister, brother-in-law and best friend. For $15, we each got a souvenir wine glass and seven tasting tickets (two extra tasting tickets for buying in advance online). Each "taste" was equal to half a glass of wine (see The Sailor's glass for an example). There were a bunch of wineries there, but I don't remember which ones I tried, or even the names of all the wines I tried. I just know that I went up to ones with shorter lines (especially if the lines were in the shade) and asked for a dry red. Sometimes I mixed it up and asked for a dry white. At one tent I went hog-wild and tried their port, and at another they had mead! I really mixed it up. Although I got dry mead (or at least I told them I prefer dry and they poured me something dry).
But I know what I like. Dry red wine. The drier the better. The Sailor is the complete opposite. He prefers sweet wine, the sweeter the better.
Next year if we go, we need to bring some camp chairs. And even though it said no outside food or beverages, we need to bring some cheese and bread. Like the many other sneaky folks who brought in their own snacks. And dogs. Apparently you are supposed to bring your dog to a wine festival. It doesn't matter if it's a tiny lap dog that you push in a stroller (saw that), or a dog you carry in a shoulder bag (saw that - on a dude) or a big golden retriever, husky, German shepherd, or St. Bernard. Forget the dog park. Bring them to a wine festival.
Oh, and I did earn all the wine this morning (well, this morning and whatever I do tomorrow). The Sailor and I went out for a 3 mile run, and did it in 25:30, which is my fastest training run. Actually, since I've had my Garmin, this is my second-fastest pace. My fastest is the 5K I did in June, my time was 26:20 which was an 8:29 pace. Today's pace was 8:30.
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