Cheers. Drink up.

Friday was a flurry of fun. At the last minute I found myself with a ticket to the Winnipeg Wine Festival. The evening had a very fun throwback to high school kind of feel. I got a ride to Amara's house and found her putting the finishing touches of her make-up on, with the radio blaring Flo Rida. We discussed shoes and Veronica Mars. Amara's husband, Christian, was picking up their friends, Gwen and Chad. Once all together, we walked down to the corner of the street and waited for the bus to pick us up.

We sat at the back. I was on the very back bench and despite my cute, 1 1/2" black, open-toed heels, my feet didn't quite reach the floor. Later in the evening they would be blistered, sore and tired, but while having so much fun, it was like they didn't touch the ground the whole night.

The festival is the second largest of its kind in Canada. This year it featured over 585 wines from over 115 wineries. Inside, it was nothing glamorous to look at, but I literally wanted to drink it all in. I had no strategy. My first sip was a rookie mistake--I tried a sparkling white that hadn't had a chance to chill yet. From there I hopped around from booth to booth, sometimes following the lead of my friends, sometimes just sampling on a whim. I favoured the reds but when I wanted a change I would throw in a chardonnay or a Riesling. And when my tongue was feeling overwhelmed I visited the bread station. I think it only took 90 minutes before my head was swimming.

Jill: Look! That one is called Trius (pronounced try-us, according to Jill), it's practically an invitation!

Amara: I think that's supposed to be Tree-us.

Nope, I'm sure it's try-us. And I think I will!

It was fun, probably some of the best fun I'd had in a good long time.