Saturday Night Impulse

Last weekend Jason and I went down to Hastings to visit an apple orchard. When we arrived at Afton Apple we were told that we were one weekend too early to pick Honeycrisps. It was not-so-secret that I wasn’t terribly excited to visit an apple orchard, so took this as a sign that we should continue south the visit Alexis Bailly Vineyards.

barrels

inside the winery

It was a quiet, cute little farm. Volunteers were picking grapes for harvest. Some bachelorettes were eating soft cheeses on the patio. I scraped together $5 to taste 10 of their wines.

outside the winery

I tasted in this order: Seyval Blanc, Country White (my top pick for white), Rose Noir, Country Red, Frontenac, Voyageur (my top pick for red), Hastings Reserve, Chocolate Reserve Port, Ratafia, and Isis Ice Wine (yum yum yum yum yum yum!).

vineyards

Before we left, we even got to try the Ratafia mixed with the Country White then mixed with Seyval Blanc. The Ratafia was good, but it was just so sweet—mixing it with one of the whites helped lessen the intensity.

outside

pine cone

The Chocolate Reserve Port tasted just like a tootsie roll.

red flower

old bottles

I could’ve chugged all of my tastes within 5 minutes, but I decided it was best to keep it classy. It’s somewhat difficult to make each taste of wine last 10 minutes, though I did my best.

tasting

wall of wine

alexis bailly

Dude, it’s Alexis Bailly.

old sibley house brand

ratafia

As we left, Jason and I couldn’t remember the name of the Ratafia, so now it’ll always be known as the Rastafarian. This is funny, but probably not for the best.

flowers

vineyards

yellow flower

grapes

Grapes grapes grapes. They tasted just okay (I only ate one, I swear).

grapes

fish sculpture

After our visit to the winery, Jason and I toured Hastings.

Milwaukee Road

He made up fantastic lies about Hastings that I probably would’ve believed.

Matte Black

And we stumbled upon the Saturday Night Cruise-In.

Mini Donuts

Hastings mural

racing stripes

I don’t know anything about cars, but I do know that the old ones always look good in photographs.

V

Especially up close.

Scooby Doo

Many Scooby Doos

It’s interesting to see what some people are obsessed with. (Scooby Doo? Really?)

bullet holes

This car had actual holes in the door. Real or fake? And if they’re fake, why why why?

la dolce vita

“La Dolce Vita”

It certainly is.

1930s

elect hoover

downtown hastings

Downtown Hastings also has some excellent facades.

hastings panorama

Before we got back in the car to head home, we sat on a bench along the Mississippi and ate cheese curds and mini donuts. Excellent dinner, really.

heron on house

wisconsin sunset

We also went to Wisconsin for a minute. Why not? We got to see a very lovely sunset during our return to Minnesota.

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