Fowl Mouth: Kentucky Day 5

The life so short, the crafts so long to learn.
Geoffrey Chaucer

Thursday:

After a breakfast at the cabin, we headed off to the wineries. We toured three. First we went to Acres of Land. They had a tasting but no tour Their wines were good but not great so we didn't buy any. The view from the bistro was, however, fantastic.

Then we went to Jean Farris. Their wines were excellent but the atmosphere in the bistro/tasting area was a little fru fru for our taste. The wines were also pretty expensive. We did talk to a couple of women from California who were visiting the area as well. We ended up with two wines from Jean Farris. Their table red, which smelled of bourbon and was really good and one of their specialty whites.

Lastly we went to Talon. That's what I'm talking about. Their visitors center was in an old farmhouse. Like over 100 years old. The floors creaked and the entrance was through the back door. The somalier appeared to be like 14 and there was one other person in the tasting room. Obviously an admirer of the somalier. When we showed up, he kinda faded away. There was a storm kicking up while we were there so we stayed a while and talked. Very pleasant. And their wines were phenomenal, and very reasonably priced. We came back with a case. I especially liked their coyote red and their blackberry. It was all very casual and laid back. Our kind of place.

storm coming in at Talon

In the afternoon, we went to Berea. This is Kentucky's premier art colony. They have an artisan's village in one area and an art college in another. We went through several of the artisan shops. One was a jewelry smith. Gastineau Studio. He obviously hadn't had many visitors that morning. We couldn't get out of the shop. Jim kept trying to talk about the jewelry making but the proprietor, once he found out I was a vegetarian, wanted to talk about food. He discussed tofu, tempe, the atkins diet, middle eastern food and on. For about 1/2 an hour. We hit a few more shops and I found some gifts for everyone at home, including a really neat stick for my daughter's fiance (long back story).

Then we toured the college. That was really cool. It was set up many years back as a way to educate poor persons who couldn't get an education anywhere else. It evolved into a liberal arts college. The tuition is free, if you work in one of the many craft shops. They make furniture, weave cloth, throw pottery and make brooms to subsidize the college so the students can go for nothing. Our guide, Jordan, was very personable. He said he could be a tour guide for the rest of his life. One interesting note. I asked him where he was from and he said a little town near Asheville, and I probably had never heard of it. Burnsville.

Well I proceeded to tell him that I was a descendant of Ottway Burns, the town's founder, and how he was a privateer and a notable statesman and where he was buried and all. He was amazed. So I hijacked the tour for a little while. Always willing to trot out the family history.

We ate dinner at Cheapside in Lexington again, as the food was so good. When we got home, they had let the cows out into the front pasture so I got pictures. The cows were so much more interesting than the horses.