The Grapes Of Simsbury

It's probably not the sort of thing I should go around admitting, but I think I might be cursed. If I go someplace without first doing extensive research into the location and operating hours and little-known habits of said place, said place is very likely to be closed. This is a sort of ironic benefit for someone who writes about travel, because it forces me to do lots of preliminary work that a luckier person might be tempted to avoid. But in my personal life, it's a bit of a pain. If you hang out with me, you might find that all the restaurants in town have suddenly and inexplicably closed for lunch, or that the garden which is always full of people has just now chosen - for some reason - to padlock its gate. I don't mind it when I'm alone, because I'm used to it. But I don't like my affliction to affect the people I'm with. On the day I went to this vineyard in Simsbury, for example, I was with someone whose blog is far less aimless and random than mine.

And we were at this winery, and darn it, there should have been wine!

It was alright, though, because even without wine a vineyard is a pretty sight. And somehow until now I hadn't even been to any Connecticut vineyards besides the ones in the southeastern part of the state.

And this one was particularly pretty on a hot sunny day, even - perhaps especially - with no one else around.

The rustic character of the place seemed enhanced by its people-free state.

It was just the buildings, and the vehicles, and of course the land and the sky and the vines. And after we pondered why the place seemed recently deserted, and took advantage of the situation by taking pictures unimpeded by crowds...

We found another place, less rustic but also quite nice, with outdoor seating and umbrellas. We drank there instead, talking about blogs and Connecticut and the sort of things you might expect people who blog about Connecticut to discuss.

And took pictures of our wine.