Spring Trip to North Carolina #vintuswines #yealands #ironhencafe #CambriaWines #greensboro #hopsburgerbar #printworksbistro

Early April, I gave up a few days of substituting to go see my best friend forever in Greensboro. She and I had just found each other on Facebook five years ago, and although we didn't see each other every day, each time we met, we took up where we left off. She lived in Dallas until last November! :( Boohoo!!!!!

 After Linda met me at the tiny airport, we went straight for lunch on a patio with wine! Oh yeah!

Being a lover of French wines, I chose the 2012 Domaine Talmard Macon-Chardonnay ($17), a white burgundy unmarked by any oak and bottled with a Stelvin closure to protect and enhance its flavor and character. "Complex aromas on the nose-ripe fruit characters with touches of butter and honey. Fresh attack, quite concentrated, with a slight asperity on the finish. Extremely fine wine with a future."

Linda chose the 2012 Yealands Sauvignon Blanc ($11) from New Zealand. This wine won an award in 2013 from the Dallas Morning News. It's passionfruit and guava aromas, stone fruit and herbal notes, with a distinctive mineral finish make this Sauvignon Blanc one that I would definitely buy again. It was delicious. It's reasonably priced and has many other awards-the one in Dallas made me proud because that's where I live!

Linda showed me all around Greensboro, which is quite lovely. I would live there myself! We walked the botanical gardens, the bog, the military grounds, drove through the city, saw the cute outdoor mall near her home, and ate a lot of food!

One place in particular that we dined was The Iron Hen, a farm to table eatery. Everything was fresh, local, and good!

The food was as awesome as the sign said it to be!

I had wine and water! 2012 Cambria Chardonnay ($22) from the Santa Maria Valley. Nicely balanced flavors with a crisp, fresh finish to this Chardonnay. 

We also ate at the almost world famous Dame's Chicken and Waffles one evening! I had chicken and waffles with a 2012 Acacia Chardonnay ($12). This wine has fresh flavors of peach and apple with hints of minerality leading toward a crisp finish on the mid palette.

We also ate at two other amazing places, but drank no wine. After a day of traveling to three wineries, I had iced tea from then on!

Print Works Bistro, a Parisian inspired restaurant, was top of my list as far as fine dining goes in Greensboro. Beautifully decorated with a french theme, surrounded with gardens outside, it was an elegant place to dine.

Before heading to the airport and after touring the beautiful homes and neighborhoods of Greensboro, we ate at Hops Burger Bar. Oh my goodness! This food was so delicious (but I'm sure not good for you too often!) I didn't know when I'd eat next, so I had the Hops classic hamburger, truffle fries, and iced tea! The menu is amazing. Check it out!

Well, that's my trip to North Carolina. The next time I blog will be about the wine tasting day we had.

Thanks Linda and Dan for a wonderful four days in your hometown!