In case you haven't figured it out by now, two of my favorite things are Christmas and wine. So when there's an opportunity to combine both of those together, it's nearly impossible for me to pass up on such an offer. This weekend, Bryan and I got to do just that.
Wine Under the Lights was something we first discovered two years ago. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go last year (blame Bryan's appendix on that one), so we were excited to be able to go back this year. Hosted at Seneca Creek State Park, Wine Under the Lights features four wineries, live music, firepits, a food truck and a trolley ride through the winter lights, all housed in a large tent decorated for Christmas.
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| Bryan and I amongst the Christmas decorations at Wine Under the Lights |
This year, however, it was just two wineries, a cidery and a meadery, so they switched things up a little bit. In all honesty, the winery choices weren't top notch this year. I like Janemark wine a lot, and we've been to Orchid Cellars in the past (it sells mead and wine/mead hybrids), but the other two were mediocre. The hot cider sold was delicious, although I suspect part of the appeal was the fact that it was a bit chilly outside. Unlike other wine festivals, you only get a limited number of samples a Wine Under the Lights, eight per person. What Bryan and I did was make sure we both got different samples so we could try more wine (although with significantly smaller tastings). Even so, we weren't overly impressed with any of the wine. In fact, we didn't buy a single bottle to bring home, which is definitely a first for us. We almost never leave a winery or a wine festival without at least one bottle.
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| Bryan and I with our light up wine glasses. |
One of the highlights for me was the adorable light up wine glasses. They had a series of different colored lights in the base, and you could press a button on the bottom to get the stem to change colors. It was definitely something novel I'd never seen before. When we went two years ago, we got plastic stemless glasses with the city of Gaithersburg logo printed on it. I don't even think the glasses said Wine Under the Lights! These plastic wine glasses were blank, but Bryan gave me his, and said I could decorate both of them with vinyl, courtesy of my Cricut. I have a few ideas as to what to put on them, but I'm keeping those close to the vest until I make a final decision.
The ride through the winter lights was a blast, albeit a very cold blast (no pun intended). We rode on a little trolley through the lights, but Bryan and I were, unfortunately, seated backwards, so it was hard to see. The people sitting behind us played Christmas music on their phone, which definitely added to the festive atmosphere. It's always fun to see the winter lights, it reminds me of my childhood, we used to go see them sometimes when I was a little girl.
Overall, Wine Under the Lights was a fun way for Bryan and I to kick off the holiday season. We had fun splitting a bottle of wine there and listening to live music while watching the drunk people dance (seriously, why were they getting so drunk? They had work the next day). It was also a lot of fun cuddling on the trolley and going through the winter lights together. Our one complaint is the wineries, they weren't our favorites. Since only four wineries are there each year, it is harder to get all ones you like, as the selection is more limited. If you're looking for something fun to do with some adults to get into the holiday spirit, however, I would recommend it if you've never done it before.
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