All too easily I let weekends slip by.  Not this weekend!  After photographing assignments Friday night and Saturday morning and an amazing Halloween party that evening, I asked my husband to plan a little outing for Sunday afternoon.  As it's his hobby to plan trips and culinary adventures (he's really a master planner!), he came through - much to his credit because he didn't particularly feel like leaving the house!

So mid-day he drove me through windy, narrow stretches of road in a beautiful countryside;  the sun smiling upon us and the sky as blue as blue can be.  It wasn't too far from where we live but I had never been there.  Our trip led us to Mt Airy, Md. at the beautiful Black Ankle Vineyards. This is supposedly one of the best wineries in Maryland.

For the European readers I have to explain that wine-tasting here can be a very different experience.  It's maybe a little less formal and strict, people often take a picnic and a blanket and once they have tasted some wines and decide on a bottle or two, they take it all outside to hang out.  Although there may not be the amazing caves as, say, in France,  the scenery is often beautiful, there's ample space for the children to run around and play and there may be some musicians.  It's a wonderful atmosphere.

As soon as we arrived at Black Ankle winery we loved it!  It was truly one of those times when one good thing was followed by the other and then the other, culminating in an incredible experience.  We tasted some lovely wines inside the cozy strawbale cottage and since our charming server felt bad for us because she was so busy we were even treated to some dessert wine tastings.  We then took some wine outside and enjoyed it on the patio, overlooking beautiful fields of grass and vineyards with some foliage in the background.  We admired groups of people enjoying themselves with their picnics and wines and chatted with some others on the patio.  It made us feel energized and  happy and we really didn't want to leave!