The Harvest

Much to my surprise there were many grapes still on the vine at Childress but you could tell where they had already been. They picked, I don't know 7 bins full just for the grape stomp. When we arrived I was so surprised by how pretty it was decorated and I couldn't help but run through my mind how pretty it would be to have our wedding there. The band was there warming up, they had candles lit, service people there to help, and plenty of wine to go around. Now don't think we are changing our minds now, it will just be a very nice Plan B. I just wanted to say that it was lovely and I would tell any of my friends.... Shannon.... to get married there because they throw a good party and the food was spectacular. This harvest party was much like one of their pairings parties, where they pair some of their best wine with food. You visit 6 or 8 different tables, to try 6 or 8 different wine and food pairings. At the harvest party they featured Mr. Childress' red varietals. I think they were all very good but the first station was my favorite which was"Pinnacle." If you ever get to Richard Childress' winery/vineyard, make sure you taste his "Pinnacle." It is a very full-bodied red wine with a mixture of Cab Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has some cherry flavors with a spicy smooth texture. Try it next time you go! I think if you do his signature tasting you get to try it, which is $15.

Once you make your way around and taste all of the wine and food you get a free glass of wine out of all of the ones you just tried. Then they had little stations set up around where you could try other things they have, such as the wine-a-rita which was wonderful. You have to pay for every glass after your free one which was ok because we just ordered bottles after that. The band was great, they were called "The Plaids," I would hire them in a second for our wedding because they played awesome music. Don't you think it would be so much more fun to have a band rather than a DJ? I don't know? Maybe it's just what you prefer? We really liked these guys, we might hire them because they were awesome! My parents kept saying we shouldn't stay all night because we have a long day tomorrow but we couldn't help but stay. Plus... I wanted to stay for the "Stomp." I had been awaiting this moment all day, to finally get to stomp the grapes.

That time finally came too, and they had two ladies dressed up as "Lucy." It means something to them because their grape crusher is named Lucy, she's not real, it's a machine I mean. Soooo many people wanted to take part in this momentous occasion. I thought a lot of people would sit out because they didn't want to get their feet dirty, but boy was I wrong. I quickly pulled off my shoes and got in front. I was one of the first ones in, and then more people piled in. It was so weird, having grapes beneath your feet, ewww. Squishy and then little rough parts, and then sticky. I just couldn't believe that's what they used to do back then. I mean I could think of a lot of different ways, oh well, I can now say I have stomped the grapes, yay! Before anyone r got in, when we were all down there alone, we tasted some... and you wouldn't believe how sweet they are. No wonder they have such good wine, they have awesome grapes!

We all went back upstairs after I had my stomping fix to hear more of the band. Nothing could have prepared me more for what happened next. My sister was a little wild when we got back to the band. She had us all dancing! She was dancing with anything that had legs. She danced with an old man! CRAZY! At one point they played a Journey song and we were all dancing with our "significant others" and she was all alone, so she invented the "circle dance," where we all get close and dance in a circle, all 5 of us! We had a newspaper person from the "Triad" taking pictures of us, pretty hilarious! Maybe we will dance like that at our reception, one big circle! My sister was so silly, she even went up there and grabbed the microphone herself. The band wasn't up there but she didn't care, it was so funny. We had such a good time, great food, great wine, and great friends. I would recommend to anyone to try and go to one of their parties because it is so much fun. Worth every bit of our $25 each.

I can't wait until we get married, we are going to have so much fun in Las Vegas. If Vegas is half as much fun as this was, I will be happy. I know it will, probably just the bachelor/bachelorette parties alone will be just as fun. I can't imagine the wedding part of it. Then we get to come home and throw a huge shindig. You can bet there will be some Childress wine there. I hope you all will be there to share in our joy!