Brush Creek Winery & Sunset Ridge Winery

This particular weekend was planned based on the fact that my wine stock was basically nonexistent. My friend and I decided to plan a little day trip to get away and drink some wine. I invited my husband along as the DD. It was October 5th, 2013 and we decided to head to the Dubuque area. We had planned to go to a couple of wineries south of Dubuque but one was temporary closed for remodeling. So we had to change plans but it all worked out because there was one in Dubuque, that I had mentioned in earlier posts, that did not have a tasting room when I was in the area in 2011. We started the day by stopping at a winery that I had already been to. Crimson Sunset Winery was one of our favorites so we figured, why not stop again, maybe I could convince my husband to purchase a couple of bottles. So anyway, we stopped at Crimson first and we were surprised, Lisa remembered who we where and remembered our last visit. We had a good conversation with her and sampled the whites again. I was glad that they tasted as good as I had remembered considering the last time I was there, it had been my fourth winery of the day. So we stayed for a short time and then left with a couple of bottles in tow. We had another great visit at Crimson Sunset and it remains one of my top favorites so we will definitely be returning often to their place.
Our next stop took us over to Bellevue, IA to Brush Creek Winery. At this winery, you got to sample four wines for free and then anything over four you had to pay $1 for each additional sample which was donated to the local fire department. I ended up trying five samples. I started with their Razzy Red which was one of their semi-dry wines and was a raspberry wine. I thought it was a little syrupy, tart and had a hint of acidity so it was a little too much for me. Next I tried the By the Dam Good Wine which was a semi- sweet blush. It was one of my favorites because it had a little bite with a smooth finish. Next I had their Foxy which was my favorite of all I tried at their winery. It was a light white similar to a Riesling  but it had a hint of sweetness at first sip and then a smooth finish. Next was the Girls r Meaner which I had to try just because of the name. It was quite good though and I got a light grapefruit flavor. Last one I tried was the Sweeter than Springtime which was good as well but a little to sweet for my liking and I got a stronger floral flavor. Overall it was a good winery. The owners were very nice and very helpful. They had a cute little dog running around which is always fun to give a little attention to.
Our next stop was to another winery that my husband I had already been to. We were heading to Dubuque to go to a new winery anyway so we decided to stop into Barrel Head Winery again. When we we arrived, they were pretty busy so we had to wait for a couple of people to leave before we could get samples. We got there right before closing time so we only tried a few samples and then bought a bottle of their new champagne to go.
Our last stop of the day was to Sunset Ridge Winery in Dubuque. Again, I had tried to go to their winery back in 2011. At that time, they hadn't opened their tasting room. In fact, they had just opened their winery a few months prior to this visit. So anyway, we found their new place and when we first pulled up, there was no one else there so we thought they might be closed. But we found their owner sitting in the patio area and they said they were still open so we went into the building for some samples. I believe I tried their Pinot Grigio, their Rosy Cheeks, Sweet Apple, and Sweet Steuben. I really liked their Pinot, Sweet Apple and Sweet Steuben. After having a couple of samples, a bunch of people starting coming in. We decided to try there seasonal sangria and we got a pitcher of it and sat out in their patio area.  They had a really pretty facility. The building was nice and their tasting room area was very cute. They had the patio area covered and it was a really nice setup. I got a couple of pictures of my friend and I in front of the fountain. We really liked their wines and really liked their facility. Again, we had another great day driving around and drinking wonderful wine. We made a coupe of old stops and a couple of new stops. Both new places were definitely worth the stop and I can't wait to dip into the case of wine we got between all four stops that day.