Winter Activities

We are well over the halfway mark of the winter season (officially 23 days until Spring!) and while I can’t wait for the warmer weather to come back, I’ve tried to really embrace winter for all that it is this year. To be honest I don’t think we’ve had a really bad winter, the grey skies and cold temps can be daunting some days but we haven’t had unfathomable snow amounts.

winter walks at Front Park

Over the last few weeks despite the cold I set a goal for myself to get outside and get in as much fresh air as I can, even if it’s a short walk it can work wonders on my mental health. Below I share some of the places I’ve gone for walks and other winter activities I’ve done and things I’d still like to do before the season is over.

greenhouse at MLK Jr. Park

Walking/Visiting the Olmsted Parks. I’m part of a new young professionals group, YPOP for Olmsted, so when the idea was tossed out there to meet up at a park and network it was a no brainer for me to participate in as many of these meet-ups that I could. Not only have I met some pretty cool yp’s but I also walked around some parks I don’t get to visit that often. Some of the parks we walked were Cazenovia Park, Delaware Park, Front Park and MLK Jr. Park.

Another place that my niece, Savannah and I visited a couple weeks ago was the Charles E. Burchfield Nature and Art Center in West Seneca, even though the trails are short we made the most of our time exploring, rolling down snow mounds, looking at the art work and Savannah got to play on the playground for a little bit.

Tifft Nature Preserve has been another great winter spot where my niece, nephew and I have visited this winter season. Great all year round, its nice to visit and explore what’s around you.

The Niagara Wine Trail - last weekend a couple friends and myself did a day trip up to Niagara County. Spring Lake Winery was great, they offer smore’s, a glass of wine or beer (or non-alcoholic drinks) and a bonfire for an hour. Tickets are $12. This was great for the snowy day that it was. We then went to Niagara Landing, they are taking reservations for tastings which is nice because it wasn’t crowded. The last place we went was Arrowhead Winery, there space is so big that it was easy to social distance yourself from the other visitors and the view out the window was pretty nice.

Things I’d still like to do before winter is over:

• Snow Shoeing at one of the parks in the area. I hear Ellicott Creek Park may be good for this, suggestions are welcome!

• Cross Country skiing (I haven’t done this since I was in high school)

• Night Tubing under the lights at Peek’ n Peak Resort

A Hot Spot at 500 Seneca - Winkler & Samuels

Wine 

Purveyors

For those that know me, they know I love wine, like LOVE wine and for those that don't know me, you just learned something new about me. I think at some point in my life I may try to make my own wine, but for now I'll just continue to educate myself on all the different kinds that are out there. Which makes a great segue into my blog post for today, Winkler & Samuels a great, fairly new business in town. 

Located inside 500 Seneca {next to Tommyrotter Distillery} Melissa Winkler a certified sommelier  has a long family history with the neighborhood where Winkler & Samuels sits. Her family previously owned and operated F.X. Winkler and Sons, Buffalo’s oldest grocery store, which stood down the street from her business for 111 years.

The best way I can describe Winkler & Samuels is that it is a top notch wine store with a lot of offerings you don't get at other local stores in town. Not only does Melissa pick each wine out, but she sorts it by region - old vs. new. Its organized making it easy to find your favorite bottle or look for a new kind, it's clean, personal and offers wine you may not see at the typical wine store in your neighborhood.

I personally love that it is so close to my work so I can stop there on my way home and I love that Melissa is there to offer suggestions or guidance based on what you like or what you're looking for. She's legit, she knows what she's talking about and won't steer you wrong. 

What's even better? Their wine cellar, located downstairs from their retail store, it costs $25 a month and gives customers their own storage for up to two cases of wine in a climate controlled room. There is more to the membership to! As a member you receive 20% off wine services, free home delivery, 20 % off wine education classes and more. 

Wine Cellar

So what's one of the best parts of owning your own wine store? One of the best parts of the business is finding new wines and sharing the experience with customers. Carrying wines that are not carried everywhere else offers a unique opportunity for customers to come in and try varieties they may have never known about. 

On tour of the private event area... Mackenzie smiling ...A man enjoying his wine sample

So why Buffalo? Because its a great place to live, its allowed Melissa to open her own wine store and the quality of life is great.

Private event area 

Another part of their private event area - under construction

What's in store for the future? Continuing to grow the wine cellar program, continuing education classes {they offer a lot, check out the event calendar here}. And if you're looking for a place to host an event, they have a great private event space, so follow along as Melissa continues to grow Winkler & Samuels 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

-B

{A special thank you goes out to my friend  Mackenzie for organizing this interview for me and coming along on the venture xo}

My purchases :) not all of these were for me, some were for a donation. 

Tuesday's Tastings...

Like we have done for the past few years, my friend Karen hosted her annual birthday wine tour on the Niagara Wine Trail this past Saturday. While we have been to all of the wineries I'm about to mention before, this time I tried to take a different approach on each place... instead of going to just drink, I observed more -picking out what I liked, didn't like, etc. about each place. While I am no wine expert, below is my review.

I'd love to get to the Finger Lakes and do a comparison of wine trails in the months ahead.

Cheers!

-B

Honeymoon Wine Trail - while it is nice and cozy with the fireplace, I won't purchase wine or tasting from this winery. After what I think was poor customer service, I decided that even if we go there I won't support a business that I think needs some attitude adjustments.

I will mention they did have an artist painting this wine barrel which was pretty cool to see, but she was set up right by the bar area making it a little crammed when groups came in for tastings.

On my top 3 wineries on the Niagara Wine Trail: Niagara Landing Wine Cellar. I love just about all of their wines {minus the chocolate one}. I love the wine bottles, the layout of the winery and you can't beat the price - $3 for 6 tastings, that's a deal to me!

Perfect idea for those couples looking for something to do on Valentine's Day weekend...

Part of the wine trail group!

So many options to choose from...

Schulze Vineyards, while I'm indifferent with this winery, I used my tastings on a lot of their red wine, but did sample the Chardonnay last which was pretty good. The only winery that uses the nicest wine glasses to sample from, the tasting room was nice and clean, along with their bathrooms.

Freedom Run, this made the top of my list of favorite wineries. Not only because I love their barn they use for private functions and weddings, the customer service was amazing. While I don't know the gentleman's name who poured are wine, he was the nicest and most informational man I've met on all of the tours I've been on. Not only was the staff great, but it was a spacious tasting room with unique seats made from wine barrels.

You can't beat the sweet and hot pepper relish and apple butter snacks they had out as well.

Becker Farms, you can't go wrong there, while I opted out of the wine at this stop I ordered a pint of the Winter Ale {I believe that is what it was called}. It was a nice stop and I love all the areas where you can walk outside.

The last stop of the day was at Leonard Oakes, while I liked a majority of their wine and the layout of the tasting room, I didn't like are pourer. I felt like she was a little rude and hurried us along. Offering not only wine, but beer flights as well I thought the flights were a little on the higher price {$8 for 4 5oz. samples}.

Niagara Wine Trail

Over the weekend we celebrated multiple friends birthday's by going on a wine tour on the Niagara Wine Trail. Well we have done these before I was on a mission to be more responsible, open my horizons and try different wines - looking for a good, dry, red wine.

Our first stop was Honeymoon Winery and while I have like this winery in the past, the last time I was there they had "not so good" customer service. This time we stopped by and while the service was better than before, I still wasn't impressed. Their Pink Diamond and Pink Catawba is delicious, but it didn't cut it for me.

The next one stop was one of my favorite winery's on the Niagara Trail - Niagara Landing. Everything from their Rosebud Gold and Rosebud Peach is ooh so good, but this time I tried all red's - the merlot, perfect, Red Rooster delish and Raspberry Rose another new favorite of mine.

{Niagara Landing}

Schulze Winery was our next stop. They had a live band setting up for the afternoon. They also had some good red wines, but I didn't feel like spending $24 on one bottle {call me spoiled, but I'm used to paying $10 at the liquor stores}.

{ Group photo time }

Making our way, our fourth stop was to Becker Farms and Vizcarra Vineyards. While I love their Cherry Cider I chose to stick to wine and tried - well you guessed it, red wines. They were good, but I think I enjoy their beers better.

The last winery on our list - I had never been to before - Leonard Oakes Winery. I was super excited to check out a new place, being on the Niagara Wine Trail numerous times before it was nice to taste and see different wineries on the trail. It had a spacious tasting room and they have an outdoor patio {to be used during the summer months}. Best of all I found a red wine {Cabernet Franc} that I purchased! Yay!

{ Leonard Oakes Winery }

After the stop at Leonard Oakes we still had two hours left on our limo, so we had the opportunity to stop at another winery not on our list, Spring Lake Winery. This to was a new winery I was never at. They offer wine ice cream and photo booth fun if you chose to pay a little more to use it. Their wine was pretty good, but had a limited selection compared to the other wineries.

Overall, it was a nice afternoon with friends and goes to show you - going to the same wineries or wine trails doesn't always mean you are going to have the same experiences as the last time.

Cheers!

-B

A place that has it all

A couple weeks ago I went on a wine tour with friends and we made a stop at one of my favorite spots that has it all ... Becker Farms. Offering wine tasting at Vizcarra Vineyards, a tasteful amount of brews at Becker Brewing, a shop that offers jams, fudge, baked goods, fruits, vegetables all while surrounded by beautiful scenery, it makes it a place to visit all year round - not just during the fall season.

Becker Farms is also known to be a great spot for those looking for a wedding venue or event space. They also offer activities such as; a concord stomp, hayrides and school tours. A place that offers a lot of variety.

Have you been? Do you like? Don't like? Let me know in the comments section below.

-B

{ A couple good apples }

Buffalo Links

 

With us approaching the last weekend in October, there are a lot of hayrides, corn mazes, haunted fortresses and other Halloween themed activities taking place this weekend and throughout the week.

Here are a list of some links to check out for you Halloween lovers:

1. A great place to go if you love wine - Tappo Restaurant offers bottles for $15 - how can you beat that.

2. 4. and 6. Going on a Hallowine Tour this weekend? Check out one of my favorite wineries on the Niagara Trails - Niagara Landing Wine Cellars - their Rose Gold is amazing! Becker Farms is another one of my favorites - I love the brewery there.

3. Like puzzles and finding your way - the corn maze in Wheatfield is always a great place to check out. Unfortunately for the 2013 season The Maize is closed.

5. Interested in spirits and ghosts - check out the Spirits of the Terminal  at the Central Terminal on Saturday from 9pm-1am.

7. Like to be scared? Check out the haunted hayrides on Sommerville St. in Ellicottville.

8. Love history and Lewiston than make sure to stop by Old fort Niagara for the Haunted Fortress Tour - a terror tour at the fort this weekend.

9. Want to take the kids trick or treating, but don't want to freeze - come to the Galleria Mall for Galleria of Treats - for a $2 fee from 11-8pm on October 30, you can stop by tables and pick up treats all while staying warm

10. Halloween Happenings at the Aquarium of Niagara takes place on Saturday. Dress the little ones up in there favorite sea creature and they get in for free!

Bases MERLOTed

This past weekend, I, along with a handful of my friends and family attended the Bases Merloted event at Coca-Cola field. Proceeds from this fun and memorable wine tasting event go to Shakespeare in the Park. What could be better then sipping a variety of different wine, spending an evening with people you care about most, being a part of a sword fight and getting to walk on the baseball field? This year, in addition to the wine tasting, a farmers market was added making it a nice overall event that is just getting bigger and bigger.  Cheers!

-B

:: My Family and Friends::

:: One of my favorite pictures from the event :) ::

Afternoon drinking, an afternoon delight...

One of Western New York's best assets are the wine trails that are so close to home. If you're on a tight budget and can't plan a vacation to Sonoma or Napa Valley you can visit wineries in the Niagara region or in the Finger Lakes. Over the weekend I participated in a friend's annual Birthday Wine tour on the Niagara Wine Trail. All 22 of us pitched in and took a limo bus (best way to take a wine tour) to the Niagara Trail. Along for the ride came drinks, snacks, sub trays, music and good company. For 6 hours we had the opportunity to stop at 5 wineries (could be more or less depending on how long you spend at each winery).  There's something about being out by the vineyards that gives you a peaceful feeling. Though you aren't in another state like California, you see the beauty in the local area you live in. Below are some pictures from the fun afternoon out. -B

For more information on the Niagara Wineries check out this link: www.niagarawinetrail.org/