In May, over Cinco de Mayo weekend, I hopped on the Megabus and headed to New York to spend the weekend with one of my closest friends from UMD. It was a belated birthday, engagement and pre-bachelorette celebration all in one! Early Saturday morning the Little Wine Bus picked us up around 9 a.m. and we were headed to upstate New York to start the fun!
Our tour guide Tania with The Little Wine Bus was amazing and kept the energy level going at every stop. She greeted us with the biggest smile, and birthday and bachelorette props. For each winery visit, Tania was ahead of our bus to make sure everything was set up to accommodate our group of 12. From the food spread including pizza and salad at Weeds, fresh apple donuts on our way to Brotherhood, chocolates at Brotherhood, and the fruit, cheese, and crackers spread at Palaia…Tania had us covered! We visited Weed Orchards and Winery in Marlboro, Brotherhood Winery (the oldest winery in America) in Washingtonville, and Palaia Vineyards in Highland Mills. Here are my takeaways from each winery.
Weeds
I loved the vibe at this winery and I’m pretty sure I could’ve stayed there all day listening to the live music and sipping wine. I got a kick out of the huge wine glass, and we were among great company after running into a fellow Terp.
Brotherhood
The tasting menu offered so many options, including Chilean wine (read my post about my study tour to Chile). After our tasting, I purchased three bottles of Gewürztraminer (that’s a tongue twister).
Palaia
Our final stop was very laid-back in a private room. We tasted more wine, recapped our trip, chatted with our guide Tania, and enjoyed the cheese, crackers and fruit spread.
