Wine, Vineyards and More

Planning a family or other reunion in a vineyard can be a great incentive for encouraging attendance, especially, if your group enjoys good wine.  Explore Vineyards that have accommodations for hosting large groups inside or outside their facilities.  A wine tasting at a vineyard could also be an activity over the reunion weekend.  If you organize your reunion in Napa Valley, California for example, there are nearby hotels for your guests to stay.  Or, there is a fun dining and wine train excursion, the Napa Valley http://winetrain.com/events. There are various choices of themes, meals and prices from $35 pp and up.

If you just want a good wine to serve at your reunion or to use as door prizes or centerpieces, wines are a popular and fun choice.  Don’t forget, you can order your own wine labels with your school or family logo to characterize your event.

Tasting rooms will be an adventure that sparks the occasion.  Vineyards and wine tasting offer a delightful ambiance with delicious menu options and refreshing aromas.  Here are a few locations I scouted out on the Internet, but I encourage you to explore other winery venues in your area.

• Pleasant Hill Vineyards in Maryville, Tennessee is an historical barn in gardens and vineyards in the foothills of the Smokys.  The facility can accommodate groups up to 100 guests or more. They have recommendations for caterers, party rental companies, photographers, bands, DJs and florists.  Discounts are offered for active duty military.www.pleasanthillvineyards.com
• The Winnetu Oceanside Resort is located in South Beach, Miami.  Great location for family reunions with activities for all ages.  They offer complimentary Children’s Day Program, many dining opportunities, transportation, pool, fire truck rides, face painting and more. www.winnetu.com/
• Vineyard Haven (also called Tisbury), in Martha’s Vineyard has family compounds for family groups.  The Tashmoo Cottage and Hideaway has three homes close to each other on a 2-acre land. Shopping, dining and entertainment is walking distance.  www.tashmoocottage.com
• Bogati Bodega & Vineyard in Round Hill, Virginia is located in the horse and wine country. Loudoun can be a fun family reunion destination. They have venues and amenities and is a short drive from Washington, DC.  There are boutique wineries throughout their countryside.  Loudoun has thirty wineries and tasting rooms to explore.  They have five “clusters” of wineries and restaurants. www.visitloudoun.org

While you are at it, a wonderful and classy table centerpiece souvenir or prize for your event are customized wine bottle labels as shown in the photo above as part of our table centerpiece at my reunion. Check out custom-wine bottle labels on the Internet. You can purchase wine with your own event label or buy labels and apply them to any wine bottle.

www.windsorvineyards.com;  www.etchingexpressions.com; www.myownlabels.com/winelabels.