The Stranger I Met Today

Last year, I cleaned up at a fundraising event that was sponsored by Bee Inspired Yoga.   That wasn’t why I volunteered to help decorate The Barn at Rode’s where the donation-based yoga class was hosted or why I have volunteered to help at this year’s event.  Winning two fantastic prizes was just an unexpected benefit.  Many local businesses’ got involved and were obviously proud to help Bee Inspired Yoga raise money for Living Beyond Breast Cancer to donate in memory of Amanda Menold, who had been a local schoolteacher in Salem County and courageously battled breast cancer in 2011.  The event was wonderful and raised a lot of money for a worthy cause.  Plus, I won a gift certificate donated by Bobbitt Boys Auto Repair & Towing and gift certificate for a wine tasting at the Wagonhouse Winery in Swedesboro. 

After volunteering to help with a flier for next month’s ‘Barefoot Ball’, Bee Inspired Yoga’s second annual event to raise funds for Living Beyond Breast Cancer, it dawned on me that I had not yet arranged the wine tasting.  It’s a good thing I looked for the gift certificate when I did; it expired at the end of March.  I set up the tasting and some friends and I visited the Wagonhouse Winery Tasting Room, located in South Harrison Township. 

Once in the Tasting Room, our group was greeted warmly and we looked around for a moment or two before finding seats around a coffee table.  Our wine attendant, Sabrina, came out from behind the bar and introduced herself.  She gave us the rundown of the wines we would taste, there were about a dozen, and provided background information on the winery itself.  Before the first pour, Sabrina brought us a tray with cheese and crackers and chocolates.  For the next hour, we tasted red wines, white wines, and sweet wines and nibbled snacks in between each of the five ‘S’ Steps – see, swirl, sniff, sip, and savor.  (Okay, okay, we didn’t really swirl much.)  Following the tasting portion of the day, we were pleasantly surprised by some unplanned entertainment.  A South Jersey winery trolley tour was running that afternoon and as the vino enthusiasts filled the Tasting Room, we realized that many on the trolley had probably already had a glass or two.  One woman giggled as she told me that Wagonhouse was the “second stop, or maybe third, no, no wait, second stop” on the list.  She really seemed to enjoy the Autumn Goddess wine in her glass. 

Lesson Learned

I have so much more to learn about wine!  I peppered Sabrina with questions every time she came to our table.  She was so gracious and would help us try to identify our experiences with the finish and the difference between oaked and unoaked wines.  There’s more I’d like to know about wine in general.  I  suppose I’ll have to find a wine appreciation class in the future to really quench my thirst for knowledge. 

And, if Wagonhouse Winery donates to the Bee Inspired fundraiser again, I’m definitely going to try and win another tasting certificate so I can go back because our group had so much fun. 

Incidentally, if you’re looking for more information on how to get involved with the community efforts of Bee Inspired Yoga, a yoga studio located in Salem County, or Living Beyond Breast Cancer, feel free to check out Bee Inspired’s website at www.beeinspiredyoga.com.