Vintages Tasting Room & Wine Garden

A couple of weeks ago we visited Galesburg's Seminary Street, and wandered into Vintages Tasting Room & Wine Garden.
There were a couple of people at the tasting bar sampling wines, and as I looked past them, I remembered the quaint back room complete with bistro tables and chairs from the last time I had been in.
The tasters soon moved aside, so my friend C and I stepped up to sample the wares.
She is more of a sweet wine drinker, and even told our hostess she wanted something "syrupy sweet", which made the lady chuckle. I went straight for the reds.
First I sampled the 2005 Castillo De Fuendejalon Crianza. It was not the oaky wine I normally prefer, but it was nice.
The wine samples were poured through an aerator, which we had never seen used before, and there were crispy cracker bites on the counter to cleanse the palate between samples.
The hostess suggested I try the 2008 Dornfelder sweet red wine. I hesitated, not being a huge fan of German reds, but went for it, and was pleasantly surprised. I figured I needed to grab a bottle of that to put away for our annual fall German party. Plus, I need to get in the German mode for our upcoming trip.
C decided to try it too and liked it.
I gave my husband a ring, who was down the street at the pub with C's man and told him about the samplings. They popped over and he agreed about the Dornfelder, but also wanted a bottle of the Castillo, so I took both to the counter. Taking notice of the sign that asked for payment via check or cash if possible vs. credit cards, I broke out the rusty checkbook to help a local biz.
The wines were both in the $12.99-$14.99 price range.

Venue Art Gallery Wine Social

We popped in for the grand opening of the Venue Art Gallery Wine Social in September last year, and have been planning to visit again once an event or date caught our eye.
This past Friday we headed over to 112 N. Main Street in Washington to hear Joe Metzka play his first show at the Venue.
We headed upstairs and sampled some wines to help us select a bottle. Some of them, like the Hey Mambo red and Don Rodolfo Malbec we have had before, and we wanted to try something different.
We settled on the Plungerhead Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel, which was a nice start, paid for that and our $5 cover charge and picked out a place to sit with our friends. We chose one of the low, round tables rather than a couch. Both couches were attractive and Victorian in style, however there would have been no place for us to stash our wine glasses.
The Venue was not serving food, however you can bring some in with you from home, or pop by Lindy's Downtown Market (great cheese selection) or the C Note Pub across the street and bring something with you to gnosh on.
I really enjoyed the music, as I always do when listening to Joe play.
For our last bottle, our friends selected the Oberon Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.
My husband poured some, swirled it in his glass and took a sniff, and swore he smelled hints of caramel corn, which gave us all a laugh. This too was a good wine.
The walls of the Venue showcase art, pottery and jewelry of local artists, available for purchase.
If you're not a wine lover, they do have a selection of beers available.
The Venue is also available for private parties.