Palmer Vineyard

So on Saturday, after dealing with the aforementioned intercom interruption and a pair of wicked hangovers, Dumpling and I found that we were two members of a ten-person expedition to Palmer Vineyard on Long Island.

It was the greenest excursion ever--ten of us crammed into two tiny cars. I'm not a "car person" so I don't know what models they were, but one was a Kia and one was a Volkswagon and they were both small. Not that I'm complaining! Even squished into the back with my knees under my chin, trying without success to browse Glamour and will away my headache, I was still excited to be riding in a car.

Ninety slightly nauseous minutes later, we arrived. I'd had about five cups of water and coffee at home (the old 'flush out the toxins' remedy) and made a beeline for the bathroom, where they had this sign posted:

Ah, yes. Lovely wine. No sooner had we ordered our first samplings and sat down outside than my hangover simply evaporated. It was warm, sunny, and clear, with a nice cool breeze coming through and keeping it fresh. The vineyard is very cleverly set up with a big backyard where you can sit on the grass or at picnic tables, right next to the vines. There was live music, cheese/crackers/chips for sale, and about twelve varieties of wine to choose from.

We started out civilized, talking about the oak and the sweetness and all that crap. As the day wore on, everyone pretty much settled into whatever grape pleased them best and the sipping and nibbling devolved into gulping and scarfing. We ended up staying until about 5 or 6pm, and I can tell you that the ride back was a lot faster and quieter. I could hear all the wine bottles in the trunk clinking around, and since people were rather too "drowsy" to chatter, I got some magazine reading done (when you have seven subscriptions you have to work to keep up!).

I'm grateful to Nick and Dan (two old high school friends) for being the designated drivers. It's impossible to underestimate the importance of that. Here's a link to the Palmer website if you're local or coming this way for a visit--highly recommended! Plus you get a free souvenir wine glass with every glass of wine you purchase:

Oh and typing this up I realized I spelled "vineyard" wrong for my ESL class this morning. Fantastic. Hopefully none of them were taking notes! Teacher of the year, yes I am.