Yeehaw! Nashville Girls Trip!

At the beginning of April, I got to fly down to Nashville for a long weekend with some girlfriends from high school. We took an early morning flight and got in around noon on Saturday. Upon our arrival, we headed promptly to Hampton Social for a giant shell of frosé bigger than our heads, and some delicious parmesan truffle fries. We also of course took advantage of all the photo ops.

Then we headed over to L&L Market for some shopping and enjoying the conveyor belts of cheese and charcuterie at Culture & Co.

After fueling up and enjoying a short siesta to recover from our early flight, we changed clothes and went back out for dinner and exploring. Even though we didn’t eat there, we had to make a stop at Restoration Hardware to appreciate the rooftop views and luxury furniture. For dinner we actually went to the nearby Emmy Squared for pizza.

Day 2 was for sleeping in and boozy brunch! But not before a delicious strawberry peach smoothie from The Well Coffeehouse. Post-smoothie brunch was at Liberty Common and the frozen cocktails and chicken and waffles did not disappoint.

As if Liberty Common didn’t meet our food and drink quota for the day (it did), we headed off on a one-hour road trip to Arrington Vineyards in, well, Arrington, where we popped some bubbly and built a stunning board of cheese, fruit, and sweets.

We sipped, snacked, and listened to the live music on the grass as the sun set. Does it get any better?

On the way home, we picked up some Nashville Hot Chicken and I got to try it for the first time. I typically like a little bit of spice, but this was HOT for me!

The next day, Monday, we picked up some coffee and loaded doughnuts for breakfast from Parlor Doughnuts.

Once caffeinated and riding our sugar high, we went out on a self-guided Nashville mural tour. Here are a few of the highlights:

After snapping pics in front of all the murals, we changed and went to the Fairlane Hotel to visit the rooftop pop-up: The Bouquet Bar.

The space was covered in florals from floor to ceiling, and of course offered some great city views from the rooftop patio. The floral cocktails were pricey, but there was no fee to enter the decked out bar, so it was worth it.

You can’t go to Nashville and not see live music, so after our pink, floral drinks, we went and saw The Song Suffragettes, which is a weekly show at The Listening Room Cafe featuring female artists who are trying to make it in country music. One of the ladies performing the night we were there was Olivia Faye who was on the most recent season of American Idol! Country isn’t my favorite genre, but all of these ladies were super talented and I really enjoyed the show! Afterwards, we went to Rosemary & Beauty Queen which was an old house converted into a bar!

Tuesday was our last full day in Nashville and of course we started it with brunch and strawberry mimosas at Another Broken Egg. We also realized that we’ve known each other for over 10 years and harassed our waiter asking which of us he thought had changed the most over the last decade. We got mixed reviews.

After brunch we went shopping for a while and the went to both the new and the old the Grand Ole Opry.

After grabbing photos outside both Oprys, we went to Assembly Food Hall for dinner (where I ordered hot chicken round 2 from Prince’s) and found this adorable truck full of flowers in one of the outdoor walkways.

It was a whirlwind weekend full of wine, cocktails, brunch, music, photos and catching up with old friends – the perfect girls trip getaway! Yeehaw!

Best Door County Wineries for a Girls Trip

Wine-loving ladies, this one’s for you! Get your girl gang together and get ready for a road trip to remember, filled with wine tastings, cheese samples, and Door County cherry donuts that are absolutely to die for!

Lauren recently road-tripped to Door County with some friends for a bachelorette party and we winery-hopped all weekend long, working our way up the peninsula. Our first stop was Door 44 Winery, in Sturgeon Bay.

Door 44 was an absolutely beautiful location, with a lovely outdoor patio, an expansive green grassy area to picnic or hang out with your pet (there were several dogs there!), and rows of grapevines to wander through or stop for a picture.

Lauren among the grapevines at Door 44 Winery with a bottle of wine

Lauren’s favorite wine here was the Frozen Tundra White, which is a Frontenac Gris blend with notes of peach, tropical fruits, and honey. It’s actually also one of the top 40 wines in the world, ranking among wines from France, South Africa, Tuscany, and Napa Valley! Despite this prestigious ranking, we managed to score a bottle for just $14.99. Cheers to that!

Winery number two was Door Peninsula Winery, also in Sturgeon Bay. We had so much fun tasting wines here we forgot to take any pictures, but they have an immense selection of wines (guessing somewhere close to 80!) and lots of fun fruity varietals to try! The highlight was definitely getting to taste two of their ice wines, Frostline and Cherry Frost. Most wineries in the area charges between $5-10 for a tasting, but Door Peninsula offered theirs for free and included ice wines that often are extra, even in a paid tasting. Both the Frostline and the Cherry Frost were a real treat, and we couldn’t help walking away with a bottle of the Frostline.

Our third stop was Harbor Ridge Winery in Egg Harbor. This winery had the most expensive tasting, coming in at $10, but it was probably our favorite. Their wines all have very clever names like “Gimme One Good Riesling” and “Call Me a Cab.” “Carmen’s Last Dance” was a favorite among our group, but it’s a “dangerous” one, tasting like grape juice, while somehow still having a 12% alcohol content! Be careful, or it might be your last dance too!

Lauren’s personal favorite was the Chocovine Chocolate Wine, particularly the Whipped Cream variety! It was so rich and creamy and decadent, it really takes dessert wine to the next level, and you know we had to take home a bottle of that as well.

In addition to some really fantastic wines, Harbor Ridge had an incredibly adorable patio area with private domes to sit and enjoy some wine and snacks with your gal pals.

Lauren sipping on her wine flight at Harbor Ridge Winery

Our last (but not least) stop, was Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery in Fish Creek. After all the wine at the last three wineries, Lauren decided to switch it up and go for a cherry wine slushie, along with some delicious Door County cherry donuts.

We had an absolutely amazing weekend, and if Door County isn’t on your list of places to visit this summer yet, it’s time to plan a trip!

Wollersheim Winery & Distillery Tour

I recently got to visit Wollersheim Winery & Distillery with my sister Rachel, from Roots & Rosemary. Céline, winemaker and granddaughter of founder, Bob Wollersheim, gave us a tour and shared the wine and spirits-making processes with us.

At Wollersheim, the grapes are grown locally and they do a lot of things the old-fashioned way. While sometimes it may require more time and effort, it surely pays off in the quality of the finished product.

One of my favorite parts of the afternoon was tasting some aging wines straight out of the barrel!

After the tour, Céline treated us to a delicious Wisconsin-style brandy sweet Old Fashioned happy hour. Easily one of the best I’ve ever had.

Here’s Rachel enjoying her first-ever Old Fashioned.

Wollersheim holds winery tours and spirits tastings daily so definitely go check them out and see, taste, and learn about all the amazing things going on there for yourself!

-Lauren