WINOS Weekend 2018

For our annual WINOS Weekend this year, we decided on a low-key weekend in Austin since Laura's  twins were still so itty bitty. We packed a lot of fun into a short amount of time, and as always, the weekend was filled with love, food, laughter, and wine.

Everybody met up at Lolly's house on Friday night, where we enjoyed a giant charcuterie board, lots of wine, and a dance party. It was an absolutely perfect night.

On Saturday morning, we got ready for our only outing. #BootieSeason

We headed downtown for a progressive brunch, starting at Walton's Fancy and Staple. It is the most adorable little place, and the avocado toast was so good!

Our next stop was Holy Roller, which was amazing. I mean...how do you go wrong with migas kolaches, fried chicken biscuits, delicious cocktails, and soft serve ice cream as a side dish?!

After all our food and boozy beverages, it was time to get comfy back at Lolly's house.

We hired a personal chef to come to Lolly's house to cook dinner. Not only was the food good, but Brittany was also super fun and put up with all our shenanigans :). 

We were too lazy to make a fire, so we cooked our s'mores by candlelight before snuggling up for a movie. It was the perfect end to a wonderful weekend.

Next year's WINOS Weekend can't come soon enough!

WINOS Weekend 2017 | Day Three

After a wonderful day of wine tasting, we spent our last day of vacation exploring the town of Los Olivos. Everything about the tiny town is absolutely lovely, from the quaint restaurants and shops, to the plethora of wine tasting rooms, to the adorable town square. All within walking distance, and not to mention the gorgeous weather.

We started with brunch at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe. Our meal was excellent, but even better was the celebrity siting of John Corbett, who was even more handsome in person. He even held the door open for us...sigh. 

Then we moved along to our first wine tasting at Zinke Wine Co. The tasting room is located in a cute little house with an expansive yard complete with various seating areas and yard games. Bonus points for good wine. It would be such a fun place to host a private event. 

It was the perfect place to enjoy National Rose Day.

One of the strange things about the tasting rooms is that most don't have restrooms, but there is a public restroom located at the church in the center of town (a very short walk from everything). I'm so glad the bathroom issue caused us to visit the church, because it was beautiful. 

For our second stop, we headed down the street to Epiphany and The Bubble Shack, which are both owned by Fess Parker and are located right next to each other. Most of the girls chose the tasting from Epiphany, but Erin and I went with the bubbles. And it was one of the few places where I purchased a bottle...the Sibling Bubblery Sparkling Grenache. So good!

After getting rid of the Stage 5 Clinger group of LA 20-somethings that we met, we headed across the street to Saarloos and Sons. We had a very entertaining private tasting with the owner, which included a cupcake pairing thanks to the fabulous Enjoy Cupcakes. 

Best. Idea. Ever.

Saarloos also had by far my favorite wine of the trip, and we all purchased some bottles.

After one more glass of wine at Carhartt, which has such a fun little back patio, we headed back to the house where we enjoyed a giant cheeseboard, dance party, lioness posing (which is clearly going to be the next big Internet photo theme), and some lovely naps.

After our relaxing afternoon at the house, we walked back into town for dinner at Bear and Star, the brand-new, and very tasty, restaurant inside the Fess Parker Inn.

After a long and very fun day, we called it an early night. 

We had to leave fairly early on Sunday to make it back to LA for our flights, but not before stopping for breakfast and coffee at Corner House Coffee. I highly recommend this adorable little spot...and we learned way too late that they also serve the famous McConnell's ice cream.

We had such an absolutely wonderful weekend filled with lots of wine, food, laughter, and love. There really aren't enough good words to describe it. 

But this blurry photo says it all...

WINOS Weekend 2017 | The House + Day Two

The House

After spending a fun day in Santa Barbara on Thursday, we drove the 45 minutes north to Los Olivos  (while having a dance party in the car) where we made a quick stop at a local grocery store for essentials (wine and cheese) before checking into our house. It is a three bedroom, three bathroom house located within walking distance to the town (which came in very handy). And it is absolutely gorgeous. 

The house was impeccably designed and curated down to the last detail. The style is California wine country chic meets Fixer Upper modern farmhouse. Both cozy and beautiful. Modern and vintage. Not to mention the fact that it boasts multiple outdoor patios. Basically my dream house.

I took a few photos, but they in no way do it justice. The ones on the listing are much better. Also, the house we rented is the largest on a ranch with multiple rental properties, and they all look amazing! I can't wait to go back at some point to stay for a whole week. 

Day Two

On Friday we scheduled a wine tour in the Santa Ynez Valley along the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail. We opted to book the tastings ourselves and hire a wine DD service to drive our rent car. This area is much more low-key than Napa, so you really don't need reservations for most of the tastings, but it was nice to have everything arranged before we arrived. 

Our first stop of the day was at Koehler. They have a beautiful property with lots of outdoor areas to sit and enjoy the wine, and the tasting was a great value with seven wines for $15.

Our second stop was Fess Parker. It is one of the more well-known wineries in the region, and the family also owns a couple tasting rooms in Los Olivos as well as the beautiful Fess Parker Inn and Wine Country Cabins. 

I think this was my favorite winery of the day. The wine was wonderful, and the grounds were stunning!

We had a private tasting on the patio. The service was great, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. 

After our tasting, we grabbed one of the picnic tables on the expansive lawn and enjoyed the lunch that our driver picked up for us from Panino. This may have been one of our best decisions of the trip. Those sandwiches were legit!

Next we visited Demetria Estate, a beautiful Tuscany-inspired venue located up on a hill overlooking a gorgeous property.

We spent a long time relaxing on their patio, sipping on wine, and playing cornhole down the hill. 

We were scheduled to visit Rancho Sisquoc for our last stop, but we were running out of time and, thanks to a recommendation from our driver, we ended our tour at Bridlewood. 

We opted to get glasses of wine instead of a full tasting, and we enjoyed them on the back lawn that overlooked the horse track. Just like the entire day, we were surrounded by absolutely gorgeous views. It was a wonderful way to end our tour of the valley.

After a quick stop at the house (we learned our lesson in Napa regarding long breaks between wine tours and dinner.), we walked to town for cocktails and dinner at Sides Hardware. 

The restaurant, which is housed in an a building that was originally built as a hardware store in 1901, had come highly recommended by several folks. The meal was amazing, and the mac and cheese was next-level good!

Due to a tiiiiiiny bit of wine consumption that day, we took some lovely photos on our walk home.

Erin's Clueless photo. 

After returning to the house, it was time for a dance party and some other shenanigans. I really wish (or maybe not) that we had video. 

At that point, it was clearly time to call it a night. 

Up Next: Our final day of the trip, which we spent exploring the adorable town of Los Olivos.