What to do in Ripley, Ohio…go to Meranda-Nixon Winery

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Wineries are so much fun and Meranda-Nixon Winery in Ripley, Ohio is no exception! Although summer is gone…the vineyards are still beautiful. My friends and I drove out there yesterday. Located about 40 minutes from the east side of Cincinnati, it’s not too far of a drive. Because it was a Friday, there were only a few other patrons there. The owners are Seth and his wife Maura. We joked that we wanted some “Maura wine”. Anyway, Maura did the wine tasting for us and gave us some background about their lives. Both she and her husband are widowers and when they met recently…they only dated for one month before getting married!

I asked her how many employees they have and she replied, “Her husband and four children! While we were there, two of the boys came in to help wash glasses. The 11-year-old took me for a ride on their “gator”! I asked him how fast it would go and he said 21 mph, so I asked him to floor it! He probably thought I was crazy when I asked him to do donuts in the front yard!

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Autumn has arrived at Indiana’s oldest and largest winery…Oliver Winery

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Oliver Winery in Bloomington, Indiana has stunning scenery…stone landscaping, sculptures, beautiful flowers, and tranquil seating areas. For my annual girls’ weekend this year, five of us visited the winery this past Saturday. It’s one of eight wineries on the Indiana Uplands Wine Trail. The day before, a few of us went to the Butler Winery, which is also on the Indiana Uplands Wine Trail, and really enjoyed our time there. They are very different from each other. Butler Winery is much smaller, has a more homey feel and natural beauty, and only a handful of people were there. As you’ll see from these photos…Oliver Winery was very crowded, but beautiful!

Dee is taking our photo here…

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Wine and Women

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Travel Spirit

Our second stop of the day on our annual “girls’ weekend”, was to Talon Winery in Lexington, Kentucky!

Here is the tasting room. As you can see, the grounds and scenery were lovely!

For $5.00, you receive six tastings and they were yummy! I had two Chardonnays, a Traminette, a Syrah, and their Chambourcin Reserve.

According to Wikipedia…the oldest known winery is located in the “Areni-1” cave in the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia. Archaeologists announced the discovery of this winery in January 2011, seven months after the world’s oldest leather shoe, the Areni-1 shoe, was discovered in the same cave. The winery, which is over six thousand years old, contains a wine press, fermentation vats, jars, and cups. “The fact that winemaking was already so well developed in 4000 BC suggests that the technology probably goes back much earlier.”

It’s a good thing this glass wasn’t used!!

Big Bone Lick State Park and Elk Creek Winery

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Travel Spirit

I’ve always wanted to check out Big Bone Lick State Park! My girlfriend – Gina – wanted us to go to Elk Creek Winery in Owenton, Kentucky (less than an hour’s drive from Cincinnati), so we stopped by Big Bone on the way. There are some hiking trails and a campground there.