This weekend my wife and I sent our daughter to G'ma and headed for Hermann for the BBQ and Berries Wine Trail and it was fantastic!  After all, that is why we bought the cottage in the first place. We live in STL and love to go to Hermann and the wineries and when the opportunity presents itself for us to get out there and enjoy an event like this we take it.

The weather was perfect, the people were fun, and the wine was flowing.  We arrived Friday night just in time to go to the Cottage Restaurant for dinner.  I had the Southwestern Chicken Lasagna, while Christy had the Brisket and we enjoyed a nice bottle of Hermannhoff Chambourcin with the dinner.  Both dished were delicious and huge, but that didn't stop us from sharing a Vanilla Custard with a raspberry topping....mmmm.

After dinner we went to one of the newest drinking establishments, The Bank.  It is located in the old People's Bank building on Schiller St. and was remodeled into an upscale bar catering to people my age and temperament (old and calm). The Blufftones were playing my kind of music, 70's & 80's classic rock, and weren't half bad.  They are a bunch of local business people, including a city executive and a winery owner, who just play for the fun of it. They love it so much that they play only for tips, which they donate to the Hermann Food Bank! If you are in Hermann and see the Blufftones, relax, enjoy, and tip well.

Saturday brought us the BBQ and Berries Wine Trail.  We started at Robller Vineyards, where they paired their Seyval with a Grilled Chicken, greens and Blackberries.  It didn't knock my socks off, but I've always been a bigger fan of Robller's events than their wine.  Next we move on to Bias Winery in Berger at which we had BBQ Porksteaks with Blueberry Medley and Strawberries and Strawberry Weisser Fieder. Not the wine I would have chosen, but I could enjoy it in the right circumstances.  Be sure to watch Bias' calendar of events, they do some fun stuff.

On to Oak Glenn.  Wow, what a view!  They paired a Chardonel with Smoked Pork Lion in a Cranberry BBQ Sauce. At Oak Glenn, we purchased a bottle of White Port to go with a Blackberry Cobbler I'm making this week.  Hermannhof, was next and is always one of my favorites.  The Pork Medallions they grilled and topped with a Mixed Berry Chipotle Sauce was wonderful and the pairing with a 2007 Vidal Blanc was perfect. From Hermannhof we went to Stone Hill for Smoked Mettwurst (I'm not sure what Mettwurst is.) in Bluberry Sauce and Dry Rose, which was pretty good.  They produce predictably good wines.  They last stop was Adam Puchta Winery. Quickly growing to be one of my favorite local wineries, with good wines and a comfortable setting. Puchta brought in Pappys Smokehouse BBQ Ribs from St. Louis and paired it with your choice of Hunter's Red or Vignoles.  What a great way to finish off the wine trial.

We were exhausted after five hours of driving and sampling wines, so we headed back to the cottage and napped before throwing some brats on the grill and eating dinner at the picnic table.  After dinner we decided to head back to The Bank to hear The Blufftones again, before moving to the Barrel Concert Hall for some Homemade Onion Rings as a late night snack.

Sadly, Sunday came next, meaning we had to head home.  We took our beagle, Buddy, for a walk and left to pick up Alex from grandma's house.

As, you can tell, we ate and drank well. But, we also relaxed and rejuvenated for the weeks to come.  I am already trying to figure out the next time we can get to Hermann.  There has got to be a free weekend before school starts, right?