It’s funny trying to explain to someone why you’re going to a winery when it’s for a class…I was put in this position quite a few times, but always responded with “I’m going to a winery for my super cool wine class!” People would then usually want to know more about the class, what I do for the class, and if I really drink wine for the class. Duh people!!
I had the amazing opportunity to go to Canadian River Winery, a cute little place about 30 minutes away from Norman in Lexington, OK. You can host weddings and other events there or just take a tour like I did! They are located at Highway 77 and Slaughterville Rd., which is just south of Norman. They sit on a only a few acres and have been around since 2000.
I honestly would never have gone to a winery in Oklahoma if it weren’t for this class. I just don’t have much interest in Oklahoma nor its wines. I ended up having such a good experience there, I plan on taking my Oklahoma-native boyfriend there for our anniversary!
My friend and I got there early so that we could try a few different types of wines. This was so that we could have a glass during the tour! The tour included looking at the equipment to make the wine, learning about the grapes they have in their vineyard and learning how they make the wine! Out of all the kinds we tried, these were my top 3 favorites:
(hover over photos to see captions, click to enlarge)
The Oklahoma Riesling was so delicious. I usually don’t like Riesling, so I was skeptical when trying this. It ended up being not too sweet, which is the reason I usually don’t like Riesling, it was actually very light and airy and crisp! The Chocolate Drop was unlike any wine I’ve ever tried…it straight up tasted like chocolate. I’m not the biggest chocolate lover, but for those who are this is for you!! It was just so unique I had to include it in my favorites. This was good for one sip, then I was done! The Rio Rojo was also another favorite. I love a good red and this was a little bit different than what I usually go for, but I loved it! The smell was really potent, but I couldn’t figure out what the smell was. It tasted very oaky and tannic. I chose the Riesling to drink during the rest of the tour.
Our first stop on the tour was to the vineyard. Our tour guide (who was also the owner of the winery) showed us vines that had been there for 10 years! I thought that was really cool. He even gave us a grape straight from the vine! Then, we went to the area that they make, age and bottle the wine. The owner explained that for white wine, the grapes go straight into the pressing machine to soak for six days, then it finally ends up with 11% alcohol. It held two tons! For red wines, the grapes ferment with the skin still on before being transferred to the machine to take the off the skins, seeds and stems. They had oak barrels for different kinds of wine and explained that some have been aging in the barrels for almost 20 years! Unfortunately, I did not take any good pictures of the barrels since there were a lot of other people in the room.
Overall, I had so much fun at the winery getting to taste all the wines and learning about how this cute, Oklahoma winery does its thing! I highly recommend Canadian River Winery to anyone that lives in the area because it has some amazing wine and people!
Until next wine time!
Darcy's Wine Time 