When Phillip and I took our anniversary trip to Florence, Arizona, we saw a handmade sign in front of a house that just said “winery” with an arrow.
Obviously, we had to investigate.
It turns out the winery in question was not, as the sign seemed to suggest, in someone’s backyard, but a totally legit operation down the street. The Windmill Winery was quiet except for a few donkeys, and it turns out the tasting room is closed on Mondays. We moved on with no wine and only a little whine.
The scene was very different when we were back months later. Even though it was early Sunday morning, people were already bustling around and a DJ was spinning. The winery was hosting the Dionysus Dash, a 5k run for a charity that Phillip’s work supports.
After the runners were done running and we were done running the raffle booth, we got to visit the barn for a special tasting set up for the event, then say hi to the donkeys and chickens and check out the lake and the outside of the actual tasting room.
Maybe one of these days we’ll actually visit during regular hours and go inside.
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How lovely! I love visiting wineries. Fortunately, we have quite a few only an hour or so away.
Pretty — it looks like a beautiful place to have a drink.
Agreed!
My first thought when I read this was: Did you and your husband run to tell everyone you were spending your anniversary in Florence & leave off “Arizona”?! Nice piece… I’m a runner. That’s how we are… any excuse for a 5k! Seriously, sounds like a great event. Thanks for sharing with everyone.
Ha! Not exactly…Florence, AZ is only about an hour away from us, so it was kind of an impromptu day trip. I don’t think I made the Italy connection until we were already there. But I *did* have some fun with that ambiguity in a blog post about the trip: https://www.travelcraftjournal.com/florence
It seemed like there were a lot of first-time 5k-ers there, so maybe the wine was an incentive for them to give it a try! :)
That looks AMAZING! I love the Dionysus Dash concept. What a beautiful place, I hope you return again and go inside. Thanks for sharing such gorgeous pictures, I am vicariously soaking up the sunshine.
Thanks! I hope so too!
What a cool idea for a charity race! Great pictures too, Stephanie. I wonder if there are any Dionysus Dashes in New England… think I need to do some Googling. :D
Thank you! I don’t know a lot about the Dionysus Dash, but I know they have them other places, and I believe they benefit a different local charity every time. Let me know if you find one out there!