Vino in the Valley

Last weekend was the weekend I’d been waiting for; the perfect fall weekend.   I’d been wanting to go to Vino in the Valley since I read about it roughly two years ago.   It is about 1.5 hours away in Wisconsin, so I figured fall would be a good time to go as the drive would be pretty with the fall colors (and hopefully that would make it go faster).  It hit 80 degrees on Sat. and off we went.  

Pretty Fall Drive!

Hey, don't distract the driver....

Vino in the Valley is pretty much what it sounds like.   A wine vineyard in a valley.    Now, I know what you might be thinking….. wine from the Midwest?   Truefully, I thought the same thing.   And I did my research.   While they do serve a couple wines from their vineyard, they also have a full wine and beer menu with the usual suspects.   

We arrived at 5:15 and got in line.  Once we got to the hostess stand, she informed us that there was a three hour wait for a table for dinner.    The only other option was to try to get a spot at the indoor bar (with only 10 seats).   Those are the only two places they serve food.   You can drink wine pretty much anywhere and they had an outdoor bar, but food was strictly in the restaurant.    We got lucky and waited out a couple that was leaving and scored a spot at the bar.   It was fun.   We ordered a couple glasses of wine and plenty of food.  

 

Meat & Cheese Appetizer Plate, at 6 p.m. we got the last one and then they ran out.  (Yes, those are Wisconsin Cheese Curds on the plate.)

Quite the feast.   FYI - We did take a lot of this home.....

Very FUN date night!

Vino in the Valley certainly met my expectations.  The food was very good and I liked the vibe and energy of the place.  Everyone was relaxed and having a good time.  I would not have been happy if we did not get a spot at the bar because there was no way I was going to wait three hours.   They only take reservations for tables of 10 or more, and that doesn’t mean that you won’t have to wait.   They have a whole disclaimer on their site about the wait.    

We followed a limo in and there were a couple of party buses in the parking lot.

I think it would be fun to get a group together to make the trek in style (or in an old bus) and not have to worry about the long drive home after a couple glasses of wine.     

Cheers!