Snowshoeing at Thirty Bench Winery

Wine Tasting at Thirty Bench Winery

**Author’s note: Last year I participated in my first snow sport, snowboarding. It was fun. It was also a little painful. I don’t normally do snow sports, however I feel that I need to try new things and expand my horizons. PLUS, my complete ineptitude could make a great story. At least that is what I tell myself when I agree trying a new snow sport -even though I usually injure myself. **

I arrived at Thirty Bench Winery early, like an hour early. I was meeting Dave & Deb from The Planet D as we were going to be snowshoeing in the winery -our first Icewine festival activity of the day.

I have never, in my life, snowshoed. Never. However when I heard that Thirty Bench Winery was holding a snowshoe event in the winery, I couldn’t resist. How many people can say they have gone snowshoeing in a vineyard? Now how many people can say they went snowshoeing in a vineyard and tasted wine?! Yeah, now you know why I just had to do it.

The snowshoes were lined up in the snow. It was a gorgeous day. The sky was a clear blue. The sun was shining, and the air was cool. It was the perfect day to go snowshoeing. Especially since this would be my first time.

I sat at a picnic table and let Adrienne strap the snowshoes to my UGGs, giggling over the fact that I had used duct tape to cover a hole in the toe of my left boot. The snowshoes felt snug as I stood up and took my first steps. I felt awkward and weird. The front of my boots were strapped in, but the heel moved freely. I tend to walk with my feet sticking out slightly, so having big snowshoes strapped to my feet was an adjustment. Not a big one. I don’t walk like a penguin or anything. But, snowshoes are big and if I wasn’t careful I would trip and fall.

As we started down the first row, I began to feel a slight tightening in my ass. Then, I felt the slight tightening become more pronounced. “Uh, why does my ass hurt?” I asked to nobody in particular. The ground wasn’t that bad and there wasn’t a lot of snow. Obviously it’s been awhile since I’ve used my ass muscles (Too much info? I don’t even know what it would mean to have toned ass muscles).

Freshly fallen snow dusted our first wine tasting table.  Instead of wiping it off, our guide, Janine, simply placed the glasses on the table and poured the wine. As she poured, several of us took a few minutes to snap photos of ourselves with the antique door hanging from a tree branch just off to our right. It sounds odd, but it was seriously cool. I love it when people use antiques in gardens and forested areas.

Deb, SpunkyGirl & Dave

The wine was white and crisp. Dave, Deb and I were busy taking photos while the rest of the group drank.  When we were finished we didn’t have time to be leisurely. I sipped my wine and set off for the next tasting in the middle of the vineyard.

“You can go down any row you want” Adrienne stated, “The ones with the branches in the middle have just been trimmed.” I thought about it for a moment and chose a row without vine branches. It seemed like a wise choice. No branches, no falling. Makes sense, right? What Adrienne failed to mention (or what I failed to hear) was that the rows with no vine branches had been tilled, making the ground very bumpy and uneven. Can you sense where this story is going?

I clumped (I am aware that this is not the proper use for this word, but I’m using it this way) down the row. My snowshoes gripped the ground, but I felt unsteady. The group was far ahead, but I didn’t really worry about it. I relished in the quiet. Looking at the bare vines making neat rows in the distance. Lifting my legs was a challenge. My ass didn’t hurt anymore, but my thighs were starting to feel it. It was a good burning feel though, and I quietly coached myself as I walked. Dave & Deb were lagging behind as well, but not due to lack of fitness. They were busy filming for their snowshoeing video. I was just awkward and slow.

I don’t know how it happened. I think I was distracted and not paying attention. One minute I was clumping down the row, with Deb beside me and the next minute I was falling. Yes, falling! Believe it or not, I fell, while snowshoeing, in a vineyard, with hardly any snow on the ground. I think i tripped over myself. Thankfully I didn’t take any vines down with me!

Deb helped me stand back up again, and we were off. Well, Deb and Dave were off. I was clumping at a slower rate. It wasn’t the burning in my thighs that I was feeling. It was the tension and pain in my groin that had my attention. Now, who in the hell falls will snowshoeing and pulls their groin muscle?!

By the time I made it to the second wine tasting, the group was finished and ready to move on, and Dave and Deb were busy filming. Meanwhile, I was in pain. I could barely walk. I was aware of the fact that I could take my snowshoes off and walk back, but I didn’t want to wimp out half way through. No, I wanted to be a sadist and keep going. After all, what kind of story would this be if I wimped out and walked back in my boots!

I’d like to say that I became one with the pain, but it’s not really true. I cursed the pain. The next row I clumped down was covered in trimmed vine branches. I figured it would be better than a tilled row. I was slow and methodical as I tried to move my legs higher to avoid getting tangled. The vineyard was quiet and being last gave me a chance to enjoy the solitude. Sure, I was slightly injured and in pain, but I was still enjoying myself. I was snowshoeing for the first time, in a winery and tasting wine!

The last half of the event was slow and even more painful. I filled Deb and Dave in on my wee injury, but I kept going. Thankfully the ground was normal again and snowshoeing wasn’t as difficult as before. As we neared the end of the event I gave a quiet thank-you. Walking without snowshoes would still be painful, but not as much as walking with them. I walked around the side of the winery Boutique and joined the rest of the group at the picnic tables, sat down and loosened my snowshoes. It felt good to get them off.

We sat down at a picnic table and chatted about the experience while sipping on hot Wild Mushroom soup, nibbling some bread, and sipping red wine, as well as a glass of icewine. It was an absolutely lovely experience. One which I would do again in a heartbeat!

If you’re thinking of going to Niagara for the Icewine festival on a weekend, give snowshoeing at Thirty Bench Winery a try. The cost is $30 per person. The snowshoeing runs from now until February 26, 2012.

Did you find this post interesting?

Join the SpunkyGirl Monologues community on Facebook! I’d love to hear about your travel plans, thoughts about posts, travel tips, advice and questions. Feel free to post a link to your blog, or share a travel photo.

Travel doesn’t discriminate. Anyone can travel. You don’t need to cross the ocean to have real life experiences. You can have them in your own backyard if you’re open to them. Be fierce. Be spontaneous. Explore. Discover. Learn. Share. Repeat.