Tennessee may not be your first thought when someone mentions Wine Country, but – truth is – our state has 29 wineries.  Sounds like a summer road trip to us. When you visit a winery (or a whole bunch of wineries), the temptation is to treat it like a giant cocktail party. Whoopee ... so much wine, so little time!  Just line 'em up.

Maybe we should re-think this approach. First off, it's not very respectful to the winery folks. On top of that, it's a lot of alcohol in a short period of time – even for those of us who practice daily. Because we've had a little experience sipping our way from tasting room to tasting room, we came up with a few tips to help keep your wits about you during your winery tour.

• You don't have to taste every wine at every winery.  You and your friends can sample different wines and compare notes.  If one of you finds something really special ... well then, go for it.

• You don't have to polish off all the wine you're served. That's what the dump bucket is for. The winery personnel won't be offended.

• You can taste the wine, then spit it out in the dump bucket. Even though your Mom probably told you never to spit, professional wine tasters do it all the time.

• Drink lots of water. It mitigates the dehydrating effects of the alcohol.

• Eat along the way. Start with a good breakfast. Then snack throughout the day.

Begin your trip planning with a guide to Tennessee wineries available at http://www.tennesseewines.com/wineries.htm.  We keep it handy in the glove compartments of our cars – just in case we get thirsty while driving the roads of Tennessee.

Cheers!

Barbara and Beverly
The Saucy Sisters

The Saucy Sisters are wine and spirits experts with a twist. A twist of humor, that is, that they use in their books and in their live performances.  Their next Brentwood appearance is “Wine Tasting for Floozies” at Durego on Friday, July 22. For more information, call 615-925-9586. You can email them at Saucies@SaucySisters.com or find them at www.SaucySisters.com.