Day trip to Arrington Vineyards

Located about three hours from Memphis and 40 minutes from Nashville, Arrington Vineyards was the perfect place to spend a beautiful spring day. The property is set on 75 acres of picturesque rolling hills with plenty of space to stretch out. There are several bands that play on the weekend and the reviews online said that this place gets pretty crowded. Wanting to avoid the crowds, Eric and I took off from work on a Friday to head up early and enjoy the day.

We splurged on the AV Premier Experience which included a tour of the wine production facility and a private wine tasting paired with small bites in the Wine Loft.

Before the actual tour started, our hostess, Ana, served their Firefly Rose paired with strawberry, goat cheese, and mint.

Our first stop on the tour was the barrel house where we sampled a cabernet made with California grapes straight from the barrel. Later in the tasting, we tried the same cabernet that had been bottled to note the differences in flavor between the two. The wines here are made with grapes from California, Washington, and Tennessee.

Next, we walked over to the wine production facility to learn how they process the grapes and bottle the wine.

We ended the tour at the Wine Loft for the best part...the tasting!

As Ana poured each of the wines for us, she provided tasting notes and described the food pairings.

Upon entering the tasting room, everyone was pretty subdued. By the end of the tasting, everyone was laughing, talking, and having a great time. I don't think the generous wine pours had anything to do with it at all.

Afterward, we found a shady spot in a small grove of trees, unpacked the picnic that we brought, and enjoyed the afternoon.