Wine Tasting in a Candle Shop

What a warm and scented welcome we got as we stepped into the Hallow Candle Company here in Lincoln yesterday.  They were the gracious hosts to a wine tasting from the Glacial Till Vineyard just located in a neighboring tri-city area.

I got to the wine tasting a few minutes before my friend did, so it gave me a chance to look at all the handcrafted candles, jewelry, greeting cards and wonderful photography they have displayed there.  It is definitely worth another trip there for gift purchases.  One thing that caught my eye was a beaded chain with a tea steeper on the end where you put the candle chips in, and then hang it in your car!  Now that was a much better idea than the normal pine tree air freshener we all know way too well.  I adore local artisans.

Once my buddy showed up we proceeded to the wine tasting table.  Before I did anything else I picked up all the brochures I could (which was only three) that would give me information on this winery, and those located in Nebraska.  To my pleasant surprise, there is actually a 2011 Nebraska Wine Tour with an official passport that you can have stamped at each winery you tour.  There is also a Southeast Nebraska Winery Trail brochure that gives information on eight wineries closer to home. 

Did you know there were so many in Nebraska?  I sure didn't and am enjoying learning more about my 'backyard'.

We both tried sips of six different wines from Glacial Till, from a slightly dry red all the way to the dessert honey wine.  I'm always one to ask questions, maybe to a fault, but the wine master (that's what I'll call him) said that their on-site bees had been killed off two years ago.  And we all know that if one eats and enjoys honey, you need to purchase it locally for boosting your immune system.  Each was wonderful in their own right, but the Edelweiss was by far my favorite.  We have wine snobs, I mean, connoisseurs in our families.  So the next question was, "Do you ship out of state?"  The answer was no, but that didn't squash my spirit.  So David and Julian, you will just have to come visit us here. 

And how does one leave a tasting and not purchase something?  That's the whole intent, right?  When Sim and I left, there were three bottles of Edelweiss bagged up and ready to gift out to just the right recipients for just the right events.

So now not only is our garage a storage unit, it will now be a wine cellar.  OK, maybe not a cellar, but I have claimed a shelf out there just for this reason.

What will be the next Nebraska place to visit?  Who knows!  This last one was on a whim with only a few hours of planning.  Sometimes, those are the BEST of times.

Here is to good times, good wine, and wonderful friends.