“A leisurely stroll is a gift”- this quote, from the movie Saving Mr. Banks, has stuck with me and made me realize it is true. A leisurely stroll is a gift. To wander and simply be; to admire God’s creation, and enjoy the present – what a gift!
But in the winter, simply wandering leisurely is a rare act. In the bitter cold I rush everywhere in the hopes to get to the next warmer place. However, there’s something uplifting about being outside. Feeling fresh air on your face, basking in the sun’s light and looking out as far as the horizon brings a calmness to my soul. When everything is covered in dazzling snow, that especially helps the dreariness of winter slip away . . . at least a little.
One of my goals for 2016 is to get out on a date with my husband at least once a month. Before we got married, I thought this would be easy and just happen. I’m not sure how it works in other marriages, but in ours, date nights are seldom. If we do go out, I’m usually exhausted by 9:00 p.m. What was first going to be dinner and a movie has more than once become “dinner and let’s go home, I’m tired”. Pathetic, I know.
But good news, we did go on a date in January! My parents watched our son from lunch time until a little after dinner; and we headed out from our suburb of Philly home and stopped at Peddler’s Village for soup and wine. From there we took a very short drive into New Jersey where we enjoyed our own little “taste of Napa” at Old York Cellars. To our delight, Old York Cellars comped our wine and chocolate tasting! I had planned on writing about this date no matter what, so this just made me love this vineyard even more!
We had such an amazing day, I want to encourage everyone I know to embrace the Day Date and head to a Vineyard! If you live within an hour and a half of Ringoes, NJ, I strongly recommend Old York Cellars.
5 Reasons to Go on a Day Date to a Vineyard
- The View. Looking out at the vineyard was calming and peaceful. The brightness of the snow added joy to my mood. Plus, it was daylight, so not only can you see more of the view, if you are like me, your out before you are exhausted! Old York Cellars had a gorgeous patio set up and welcomes guests to bring snacks or a meal and purchase a bottle to enjoy outside! Three women were out there embracing the day, soaking up the view -and the cold didn’t seem to bother them at all!
- The Tour of the Winery. The tour of the winery was both educational and entertaining. My husband was fascinated by the details of growing and harvesting the grapes and learning about the entire wine making process. I found it interesting that it takes 600-800 grapes to make one bottle of wine and was laughing out loud when the tour guide spout out a ton of information that Matt understood, then ended with, “It’s a beautiful thing monks figured this shit out years ago”. Matt favored the education, I enjoyed the entertainment 😉
- The Wine. The wine. The wine and cheese. Then Wine and Chocolate. When we went to Old York Cellars all three were available! Most wineries not only host tastings, but also have wine and food pairings as well.
- It’s Both Unique and Romantic. Don’t get me wrong, I love going out to dinner – but a change of scenery is nice – and maybe even adds some spice. The time you spend together at a vineyard provides an opportunity to walk outside, taste new wines, discuss likes and dislikes and learn something new. Many wineries also have other forms of entertainment like an art gallery and host entertainers like comedians and musicians. (Old York Cellars has a free art gallery and monthly wine and comedy nights).
- The Date will Continue. You’re probably going home with some awesome wine which will allow the “party” to continue that night or provide for a fun date night later in the week or month. I’m not sure we had any intention of buying a bottle of wine . . . but we ended up buying 5 bottles of wine! It seems that no matter what winery we visit, Matt and I discover there is at least one that is so good we want to enjoy a bottle at home. At this particular tasting we were both floored by how “clean” the wine tasted. WE loved the cabernet and their “What Exit White”. Plus, Old York Cellars donates $1 from every bottle of their “What Exit” line to charity.
So if you you’re looking for a new date idea, may I suggest Winter Windering? Dress warm, go out in the daylight, and wander around the grounds of a vineyard. Enjoy the view, enjoy each other, enjoy the wine. Cheers!
If you live in or around PA and New Jersey (or plan on visiting sometime soon), enter to win tasting coupons to Old York Cellars! Enter today! Contest ends on February 22, 2016. To enter, click here: a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sounds lovely, I haven’t been to this winery or even hear of it…I will have to check it out! Thanks!
Awesome! Yes, definitely check it out – and enter to win 🙂
We have a local winery about 15 miles from us, and I’ve been debating whether or not it would be worth it to go. (I’ve never been to a vineyard before) This definitely helped to seal the deal! I’ll be planning a trip out in the next week or two 😊
Woohoo! Enjoy!
Love that quote from Saving Mr. Banks! Sounds like a fun trip 🙂
It was! I highly recommend it!
I would like to take my husband
I took mine 🙂 Hope you entered to win! Good luck!
I love this! I have to look into seeing if there are any vineyards near us though…I don’t think we have many in western MA :/ But we do two date nights a month and the idea of breaking free from the monotony of dinner dates sounds wonderful-you sort of inspired me to go on a hike next time around!
Hi Lauren! Check out this website I found – you put in your zip code and it shows you vineyards and wineries near you! https://www.wineweb.com/closestWinery.cfm By the way, I love the hike idea too!
My husband and I always plan to have a date once a month, but like you said, it rarely ends up that we actually go on a date! We live in Southern California, so we’ve started “day dates” when the kids are asleep on the weekends, and we take a bottle of wine to our backyard and leave our phones inside. Not exactly the “perfect date” but it’s better than nothing!
That is so romantic! My husband and I do something similar in the warmer months out here – we set up an outside movie after our son goes to bed and watch it in the yard!
I’ve been to a winery, but haven’t done the tour. Definitely on my list of things to do. Gorgeous pictures!
It’s fun to do as a date and with a group of girls! So happy you like the pictures – I felt funny posting the one with me in it!
My hubby and I have not visited this winery. We love and try to do monthly dates because life gets so busy and crowded with life! HA! Love your blog and look forward reading more!
Awesome! Hope you get yourself there and post pics!
We have a vineyard close to where we live. I think we might take your advice and go!
Do it! And please share a pic 🙂 <3
We love visiting wineries. This looks like so much fun.
Awesome! It’s nice to find a new one once in awhile!
Sometimes life becomes overwhelming and little excursions like this is a good way to take a step back and appeiciate the little things in life.
So much truth! Thanks for entering Jen!
I think we might also need a girls wine day…
You are SO RIGHT!
“The Date Will Continue…” Love it. LOL
🙂 So glad you liked that one! 😉
Missing my BFF… so a girls’ date is in order. Great post.
Thanks for the complement – hope you are able to enjoy some wine with your BFF soon!
I enjoyed your post and it gave me ideas – even though I don’t like wine. Lol! I know, I know, it’s crazy. But the idea of a day date to a local place is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading – and I hope you have a beautiful day date soon!