It’s the only place I drink tea and wine at the same time. The Winery was where I first discovered sachet pyramid tea, and I look forward to sipping it whenever I’m back. I usually don’t order wine because it tends to make me feel tired, but Sweet Mountain Laurel is different. Light, sweet, with a fresh grapey taste, I can drink it like well water.

Last year, we knew we were in the right place to celebrate Easter in style when we saw the orchid colored orchids in the Winery lobby and were greeted by the familiar Floyd faces of people we know who work there. This year the faces were still familiar and friendly and the orchids were white. The Chateau Morrisette Restaurant, which once housed the whole winery, is where Joe and I celebrated our wedding with our family and community. A few years later, Joe worked as a timber framer on when the new Winery building was being built.

We had worked preparing the garden all morning and were ready to be pampered. I had quiche with a perfect pastry crust, garden and pesto pasta salad, bacon, and home fries. Joe had lamb with all the fixings. Once we were full, I took a deep breath and let the warm glow of wine take hold while my eyes soaked up the sun drenched room full of people wearing bright Easter colors.

A big draw of the Chateau Morrisette Easter Brunch for me is the desserts. It’s the reason we started the Easter Brunch tradition. I was sad not to have any kids doing Easter egg hunts anymore. Seeing and sampling the desserts at the buffet table was like seeing what the Easter Bunny brought for me. This year the Winery Easter Baker put a smile on the face of the girl that lives in me.

~ Colleen Redman is a writer from Floyd who blogs daily at looseleafnotes.com. Her writer’s bio can be found HERE.