Travel n Tour

Wine Trails – Wine Travel Blossoms in Alabama

Much of Alabama’s wine country is positioned inside the important part of the kingdom, where the hilly terrain is conducive to vineyards and grape growing. It’s a downhill run south of Birmingham to 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, the state capital, and Mobile, an active port metropolis hugging the Gulf Coast.

When you visit, you’ll navigate Interstate sixty-five, which cuts a north/south path thru the coronary heart of Alabama. Travel is a breeze, and maximum sights are without problems handy off the highway. There are three wineries in the southern half of Alabama, so while you integrate vineyard visits with the pleasant cities of 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein and Mobile, you’ve got the makings of a great 3-4 day getaway.

Planning The Route: Two I-sixty-five Wineries

We plan a mid-morning departure from Birmingham with a single-day stay in Sir Bernard Law. Then, half of the day’s force to Mobile and the subtropical weather of Mobile Bay and the Gulf Coast. Two Alabama wineries sit alongside the I-65 corridor between Birmingham and 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, which might be ninety miles apart. And so, after a light breakfast in Birmingham, we headed south on I-65 with our attractions set on Vizzini Farms Winery. Located only half an hour south of the metropolis, Vizzini is open every day at 10 a.M. And is simple to find proper off go out 234.

Alabama

Vizzini offers an onsite deli and outside patio to revel in lunch overlooking the vineyards. We arrived at 10:30, too early for lunch, although we snack on freshly baked bread and nearby cheese from the deli counter.

If you’re familiar with our travelogues, you recognize we adore ” drinking local” and sample wines made with neighborhood grapes. At Vizzini Farms Winery, a notable Cabernet Franc, whose easy taste compared favorably to Virginia or California wines of this style. You’ll have your preference of approximately a dozen Vizzini wines crafted from a combination of west coast and Alabama grapes.

Sensing how much we liked the Cabernet Franc, our tasting guide counseled the Sangiovese, a purple Italian table-style wine that had us consider pairing it with the fish fry. We appreciated a Pinot Noir, Blush, and a pleasantly unexpected Riesling that turned into proper in our sweet spot. We are not sure where the grapes originate for Vizzini Farms’ Riesling. However, we propose it as a “need to try.” Crisp and a chunk sweeter than many Rieslings, we desire to be offered a couple of bottles.

Less than 10 minutes away, the handiest a mile off, go out 228 close to the metropolis of Calera, is the stunning and welcoming Ozan Vineyard and Cellars. Situated on a 24-acre property amid Alabama wine use, this incredibly new winery boasts a constantly increasing vineyard emphasizing the Norton grape. Ozan is a superb preference if you’re pressed for time and can best go to one winery in Alabama.

Ozan’s Wine Train

One of Ozan Vineyard’s greater exciting tasks is their month-to-month wine teach excursion, which mixes wine tasting with a leisurely educational trip thru the countryside. Operating from April to November, each ride offers extraordinary environmental attention, depending on the season. These Saturday journeys last three hours, consisting of wine tasting, connoisseur box lunch, and topic narration. See Ozan’s internet site for greater info.

We settled in for a taste of Ozan’s Norton Red Label. Norton wines are rapidly becoming our crimson wine favored, delivered to the style in Missouri and southern Illinois. We were unsurprised to peer it here, as the countryside reminded us of relevant Missouri. This wine is large and bold, with an appealing black cherry taste and a mildly oaky end. Also, try the Reserve Merlot, vinted from nearby grapes and aged for 16 months.

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Peach wines are big in Alabama, and this one is honestly correct! For something sweeter, there may be Ozan Peach. Very excellent and well made, it is no longer overwhelmingly candy and has the aroma and taste of farm sparkling peaches.

For Only mins off I-sixty-five, it is an ideal forestall between Birmingham and Montgomery. Ozan is a huge supporter of the Alabama Wine Trail and facilitates enhanced merchandising of the Alabama wine enterprise. There are almost a dozen wines to strive for here, with unique releases planned thru 2009. They’re open Fridays and Saturdays, eleven-6.

Down I-65 To Bernard Law Montgomery

Less than an hour from Ozan is Alabama’s historic state capital, Sir Bernard Law. Located in the coronary heart of Montgomery’s downtown, a few blocks from the Alabama River, is a 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein landmark, Daisy’s Diner. Daisy’s is Southern cooking personified. There’s a set menu at Daisy’s, and each day specials are commonly centered around a “meat and 3”. This way, you may get one meat and three side dishes. From the moment we walked in, we were mesmerized by the heady scent of fried hen, which was nothing brief or awesome. The outer breading became crisp and engaging, and the bird was wet and gentle. We also ordered a meatloaf plate with buttered corn, squash casserole, and turnip greens. What a delicious introduction to Montgomery!

With just over 2 hundred 000 citizens, Montogomery isn’t in particular huge. It’s easy to navigate, specifically the walkable downtown region. The metropolis is wealthy in history, with several landmark civil rights websites. The historic Union Station, an 1890’s era building housing the Montgomery Visitors Center, is a great area to start. We regarded a quick video assessment of the metropolis and visited “The Depot,” 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein’s reputable present save. You can also purchase $1 all-day passes to the Montgomery Trolley System to ship you all around the downtown place.

From right here, your alternatives are many. Visit and excursion the Alabama Capitol, discover ancient sites or spend an afternoon amidst the specialty shops on Mulberry Street. This is a government metropolis, so the downtown is bustling, mainly for the day.

We enjoyed meeting some local Montgomerians, who were thrilled we had spent a while in their town. They declare many travelers bypass Sir Bernard Law on their manner to the Gulf Coast and never experience the city’s charms. We enjoyed our go-to very much and suggested an afternoon or two stay for everyone traveling through Alabama.

On The Road To Perdido

Our next morning’s schedule pointed us south on I-sixty-five for the 170-mile ride to one of our favorite beach locations, Mobile. About 30 miles out of doors of the metropolis, you will find Alabama’s oldest and southernmost farm vineyard, Perdido Vineyards. This turned into our first prevention of the past due morning.

Since 1983, Perdido Vineyards has been a stalwart of the blossoming Alabama wine industry. Open six days every week from 10 a.M. To five p.M., Perdido welcomes visitors and offers vineyard and winery excursions to people and corporations. They concentrate on muscadine desk wines but also produce a stunning array of other wine patterns.

Perdido is an outstanding region to get familiar with Muscadine wines. This prolific grape is commonplace in southern states and is a conventional sipping wine loved by generations of Southerners. If you want sweet wines, they’re right up your alley. We observed Perdido’s to be very well made. Muscadine wines are a chunk too candy for our liking. However, it’s now not a knock on them in any respect. After all, high-quality wine is the only you enjoy the maximum! As our tastes fashion toward semi-dry wines, we’ll like some wines you won’t, and vice versa. Taste, evaluate, revel in, and tell your friends. That’s what the wine journey is all approximately, proper?

Perdido’s Demopolis Ecor Blanc has become an excellent discovery for our palate. This semi-dry white has slightly tropical fruit flavors and a nicely balanced finish. This one got here home with us, as did Delta Bouquet, an exciting blush wine with just a tinge of sweetness. And if you’re headed out to the Gulf Coast seashores, do not bypass Perdido’s Wine Coolers, the most modern addition to their product line.

Mobile: Gateway To The Gulf Coast

When describing Mobile to friends, we often examine the city to its Gulf Coast neighbor, New Orleans. There’s a comparable pace and an excellent mix of cultures in each city. But as tons as we revel in New Orleans, we revel in Mobile even extra. Maybe it’s the proximity to such herbal sights as Dauphin Island. Maybe it’s the safeness and walkability of the downtown vicinity. And perhaps it is because Mobile is a piece of the underdog within the shadow of its more prominent neighbor. Whatever the cause, you may love Mobile if you like all the good stuff approximately New Orleans.

Here’s another parallel … Did you realize Mobile is the birthplace of Mardi Gras in North America? Mobile-first celebrated the Mardi Gras lifestyle over three hundred years ago, in 1703. Every February, Mobile throws a huge week’s birthday celebration to rejoice in the occasion, with parades and all types of revelry. Mobile is called home to “America’s Family Mardi Gras.” A special store is devoted to the event, Toomey’s Mardi Gras.

The metropolis hugs the western shore of Mobile Bay, a huge inlet that merges with the Gulf of Mexico 10 miles south. Nature has blessed this region, making the Mobile area a one-of-a-type waterfront destination. Ecotourism is large here, with all forms of amazing natural attractions in this subtropical weather. Even in January, we enjoyed temperatures hovering properly at 70 tiers with gentle breezes and flowers in bloom all over the metropolis.

Wine Trails

Summing It All Up

We chatted with one of the shopkeepers about our Alabama wine travels, and they answered: “Alabama is stunning earlier than a tumbler of wine and after!”. We could not agree more. This is surely an underrated holiday spot. If you’re a foodie, you’ll love the southern cooking, the fish fry, and of the direction, the sparkling seafood. If you’re into history or the outdoors, Alabama has you included with friendly cities, smooth and clean mountain regions, and the compelling Gulf Coast.

And finally, in case you’re a wine lover, with any luck, we’ve given you a glimpse into the Alabama wine enterprise. May you revel in your Alabama travels as a lot as we did!

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