A Great Weekend Get A Way Close to Home

So my Wife and I have had an incredibly stressful six months.  Some good stress, some bad stress but crazy none the less. So as her birthday approached this weekend, the stars all aligned so that we would have a couple of days without the three kids, work or the dog.  So what to do?  As it turned out we had gotten some gift certificates for a winery in the Finger lakes so I thought , why not.  So just days before we were set to leave , I made a few phone calls and we had what turned out to be a dream mini vacation.  So I thought , I should share the idea with you.

First of all I can not recommend enough the Belhurst Castle as your destination for accommodations.

This place is amazingly beautiful with charm to spare. We stayed in two different rooms, one at the main castle location overlooking Seneca Lake, the other at the White Springs Manor over looking the vineyard.  Both rooms were great but I have to tell you if you go, you need to try to get the "Lewis Suite"

This is where we stayed our second night and it was incredible.  The White Springs Manor is about two miles away from the Main property where the restaurants , spa, and gift shop is located so that can be a little inconvenient.  The off site location is also what gives it its charm. You really get to enjoy the privacy as there are not that many rooms in the manor and no staff to speak of to distract you from your peace and quiet.

The second thing I actually did right in planning this weekend was to contact, "Finger Lakes Winery Tours".    Having a driver take you around to the different wineries for tastings is clearly the only way to go.  For one, why in the world would you want to drive and have to control your intake of wine, and two they know the area so well.  This was the case with our driver, "Dan the Man."  Dan was a great guy he was  informative,  easy going and professional.  The company can also accommodate you no matter how many people you have in your party.  Whether its just two of you for a romantic weekend, or your with a bunch of good friends celebrating.

Lastly, I could go on and on with the attributes and charm of all the different wineries we visited.  And if I were to make a top three or five , they would all be close in quality. But for the purposes of this blog , I decided that if I had to pick just one winery that you HAD to see its, "Three Brothers Winery".   They have like five different tasting rooms where most have only one.  They have great gift shops and friendly helpful staff.  And of all the tasting rooms at the winery you MUST go to "Bagg Dare"

Honestly, I don't even know how to describe this place for you. All I know for sure is, if I were ever to open a bar, this is exactly what I would be going for.  The girls that were doing the pouring for us even said, most people get pretty upset that it isn't open past like 6:00 pm.

Plus the wines there are all great and the names will definitely entertain you , and eventually the guests you serve it for. In fact, they are all so good, I had to buy all six varieties!Please as you look at that picture, understand this was one of the last wineries we visited and I was barely aware I was posing for it.

Well, I do hope this helps and if you do decide to try my recommendations for a little get a way of your own, let me know how it goes.  I know there is much more to do and see up there so I too will be updating this blog before you know it. I know I would definitely like to get a massage at the spa next time, and a round of golf might have made the weekend even better.  I will warn you though, you really will hate coming home and getting back into the trials of everyday life. Like me, you will probably start planning your next trip right away.

God Bless.