A Little Wine Time

Hi all,

Had the most amazing fun in Albuquerque this weekend! Just have to share that with you.

Why, you ask?
Because of a little thing called the Albuquerque Wine Festival.

The trip kind of came together kind of last minute. And by last minute I mean that I didn't buy my ticket until Saturday night because I wasn't sure I would be going on Sunday due to Mr. K not feeling so well.

But, he said he wouldn't be going, yet that shouldn't keep me from going. With his blessing, I bought my ticket and got whisked away with Mr. and Mrs. B to Albuquerque.

I can't say the weather was bad when we got there. But it wasn't necessarily pretty.
Threatening would probably be the best word for it.

We got screened three times. Once to check our ages, whereupon I got a large black circle put on the back of my hand with a sharpie (thanks?)
Another screening to check the actual ticket. It paid to have an online ticket. Didn't have to wait in the long line.
And then a third time where we actually got our wristbands.
We were told to walk to the white booth and get our wine glass. Souvenir!

Fantastic!

Mrs. B is modeling the black circle for you all to see. Mr. B is showing us his orange wristband.

Then we were in!

For a questionable day, there were a ton of people.

Lots of people, lots of line waiting.

Mrs. B and myself in line

Not a selfie. Mrs. B took this one. 

I think most of our time spent at the festival was in line.
But the vendors were great. Explained the flights, had water to rinse out the glasses, and you could buy a bottle or just a glass of wine or nothing at all.
The tastings were free.

The only thing missing was a cracker or something at the booths to cleanse the palate between the different tastings.

Oh well, that's what the food vendors were there for, right?

Some people even had on pretzel necklaces. We didn't get those, but the idea is genius.

Aww. They're so cute.

We walked on from St. Clair and looked at some of the art there too.
There was one woman with amazing glass works. I didn't get a picture of her wares, but there was a rose stained glass plaque that just was gorgeous.

Drinking a California Award winning Riesling from St. Clair.

And, lest you forget that it's still New Mexico, there was a biscochitos stand. I love this state.

We tried some Gruet champagne. But, I'm spoiled though. I actually went to the Champagne region of France and tasted champagne at Lanson with Mr. and Mrs. P (hi guys!) and I must say, I like Lanson a bit better than Gruet.

We went to Dos Viejos and tried some of their wine. One was called the Wild Hare and it was a blend of sweet red grapes. A little cloudy, but delicious.
I tried a few other reds and liked their Sangiovese. It tasted like you could serve it with any meal thrown at it (except fish). I got a glass of that one.

And then we had to eat.

But first, we had to get a picture in front of the Sandia Mountains.

Cuteness overload.

I said, "aw, you guys are too cute let me take another one" and then they smirked at each other and did this.

"It's a mountain!"

I tried a selfie with my big camera.

Didn't realize I had a friend behind me.

Then they said to get in the photo and they'd take one for me.

"Look at that mountain!"

I'm a goof. What can I say?

Food. Right.
Well, we found a great Philipino stand that was selling Lumpia. I said yes to that and waited in line. Meanwhile, Mr. B was sent on a mission to get a turkey leg.
He returned to us, still in line, carrying said turkey leg and told us it was the last one.

Well, that must have reached the ears of the man behind us, because he started saying he'd pay Mrs. B fifteen bucks for the leg. She laughed and said sorry. He upped it to twenty and that's when we realized he might not be joking. The comment that it had already been licked came out and the man still wouldn't take no for an answer, saying it wasn't a big deal.

I don't know about you, but if someone had already bought lunch, I'd be willing to believe they'd want to eat it.

Yup. Turkey leg was good.

But the craziest thing I saw for sale that day? A doughnut cheeseburger with pickles, green chili, red onion, bacon and cheddar cheese.

Sure, it looks like I'm taking a picture of the pineapple. But that's because the man moved just at the last second.

How about another try?

Yep. You see that right. That's a glazed doughnut on both sides.

I shudder to even think about eating it.
*shudders anyway*

Moving on.

By the time we finished lunch, the sun had come out. Everything was right in the world again.
And all the people came out. This was when it began to feel like more of a festival.
Live music played, kids ran around, and people were laughing and chatting all over the place.

Amazing what a little sun does.

On a last tour, we went to Ponderosa and tried their late harvest riesling and Don Quixote for their ports and dessert wines. The plum port was delicious and so was the apple wine.
And we capped it off with some Black Mesa, home of the ever popular and utterly delicious, Black Beauty Chocolate Port. Even got to taste some port wine chocolate syrup.
Scrumptious.

Sushi for dinner on the way home was a good end to the day. Oh, FYI. If you ever want sushi on a Sunday in Santa Fe or Los Alamos...there is no place open.

Yup. You have to go to the Dine in or Drive Through Sushi place in Santa Fe. I know it sounds bad, but really it was pretty good for what it was.

Would I go back to that joint? Probably. In a pinch.
What I probably would do though is wait to have sushi on Monday.

Anyway, yes, the Wine Festival was great! Will definitely be returning!

Until next time,
Bisous!