Just when I think summer is winding down, someone comes up with a new activity.

This weekend, my friend asked if I was down to go wine tasting, and while I’m not big on drinking, I do love an aesthetic moment, so of course I was down to go sip wine in the countryside while looking out over the picturesque landscape.

It was my first time going wine tasting so I did not know what to expect. Was it going to be outdoors or indoors? Were we going to be standing, sitting or walking around? How many glasses of wine were we going to try? In the end, I decided on an outfit that accounted for the unknown. Something that’d work indoors, outdoors, standing, sitting, working around, spillage.

I also looked up some tips beforehand and here are a few I found helpful.

• Wear comfortable shoes. Sandals preferably, especially as you might want to take a walk through the vineyard.
• Carry a small purse. This one wasn’t particularly applicable as we were seated anyways, but regardless, a small purse or a slim shoulder tote is the way to go.
• Go safe with the lipstick. I did a lip stain to be on the safe side, but a smudge-free lipstick works as well.
• Skip the strong perfume. I wore my most muted scent and sprayed my dress an hour before I was ready to go, so it’d be dried down by the time I wore it. And then I got there and forgot to do the whole swirl-sniff-sip-savour routine; rookie mistake, but if you plan to be cultured and have the full experience, best to not have any stronger smell interfering.

We arrived late so by the time we got to the winery, the other half of my friends had already sampled their own wines and were just relaxing and enjoying the outdoorsy view. They recommended what they had, and I cannot tell in good faith what wines we drank because, one, I’m not a wine person, and two, I literally just went with the flow.

The sample they chose had three wines (one red, and two whites) and the attendant did a bit of explaining on how we were supposed to drink them, and a bit of history on why the red was being served with dark chocolate.

We ordered a charcuterie board and baguettes (pretty much the only food items on the menu), more wines, another charcuterie board, several baguettes, talked and talked, and someone must have kept the wine coming.

My favourite was the red wine. It had a sweet taste, and it was supposed to taste different after we ate a piece of chocolate, but I thought it tasted the same.

The middle white was so sweet it tasted like a fruit drink, my least favourite, but the third white (my second favourite) was mild and medium sweet.

I wish I knew what I drank, and could explain in more detail, but this will have to do from my layperson’s POV.

We practically drank and dined till closing time, and then took a stroll into the vineyards.

It was beautiful.

How was your weekend? What did you do?