Cheese, Wine, and Beer Tour “Due” x2
Saturday, April 27, 2019, just another day and a great opportunity to spend time with friends and enjoy some Cheese, Wine, and Beer while having some “Fun With Cars”. It all sounded great, a nice drive on fantastic Wisconsin back roads. There was just one little problem, Mother Nature stepped in. Now this isn’t something new and when you put on a tour / rally in early spring you have to anticipate less than ideal weather. We’ve had our share of tours on rainy days and we’ve done fine, but this was different. We had been watching the weather reports from several sources. Everyone was different, you couldn’t pin down one forecast as the correct one. I had been raining on and off all week and then the dreaded S-word showed up in the forecast, SNOW! Again, the forecasters were all over the board, we didn’t know if it was going to snow early, or late. Could we get the tour in and beat the snow? We just didn’t know.
Participants were calling as well, “is this going to happen”, “I’ve got summer tires on my car, if it snows I can’t join in”, and “the Corvette is staying in the garage, I’m bringing my SUV”. Like I said, we’ve dealt with rain, flooded roads, and windy cold days, but this was a new one for us. On Friday morning the day before the event the decision was made — pull the plug — cancel the event. We were unable to dial in the weather report, we wanted to run but the safety of our guests is paramount, we’ll just have to reschedule the event. E-mails were sent out to everyone notifying them of the cancelation, refunds were issued, all that was left was wait and see if the weatherman was right. On Saturday the weather was terrible to say the least, the rally master John Sutton went to the start point just in case an entrant missed the cancelation e-mail and thankfully no one showed up. On John’s return trip home he encountered near whiteout conditions which under-scored our decision.
The tour was rescheduled for June 29, 2019, using the same route and destination points. All of the hard work was done, we just needed cars. By time the tour day drew near we had thirty-six cars entered, but with three cancelations and another three no-shows the tour hit the road with thirty cars. The weather was not a factor this time, sunny and warm, (rather hot by the end of the day) but very nice overall. There were three recommended stops on the tour allowing participants to sample and pick up cheese, wine or beer.
The first stop was at the Spring Brook Cheese factory 12805 N Spring Brook Rd, Davis, IL. This stop was not what anyone would call awe inspiring. It’s a cheese factory, no store front, just a shipping and receiving dock, with a desk and a scale. You pick what you want from the list of available cheeses, they go into a walk-in cooler and bring out wedges and rounds of cheese. All of the cheese is made at the factory or supplied by local cheese makers, reports from everyone that stopped said the cheese was great, but the prices were fantastic. (If you’re looking for good cheese and something to do one day this is highly recommended). While we were at the cheese factory one of the owners was outside washing his brand new Plum “purple” Dodge Challenger Hellcat. This car alone was a high point of interest, at least with half the people stopping to pick up some cheese.
The second stop was at The Grumpy Troll Brew Pub 105 S 2nd St, Mt Horeb, WI. As the tour rolled into Mt Horeb just at lunch time many decided to stop and grab a bite to eat and try one of their craft beers.
The last stop was at Bailey’s Run winery N8523 Klitzke Rd, New Glarus, WI. The winery is new to the area just west of New Glarus and was an extremely nice venue. They have their tasting bar where many, including members of our tour were lined up to sample the wines, they also have a kitchen offering small plates and appetizers to enjoy during a visit. The planned stops provided many opportunities on the tour and the end point provide yet another choice for everyone.
“The Firehouse Pub” 10670 Main St., Roscoe Illinois was the endpoint where everyone met in a private room to share stories of the tour, have some drinks and food from the menu, and enjoy everyone’s company.
Overall the event was a huge success, with everyone enjoying the drive, the stops, and the day. Yes, Mother Nature tried her best to interfere but we prevailed. There have already been several conversations about what to do on the next tour. Should it be a loop tour like this one where we end near the start point, or should it be a destination tour?
Keep watching this site for our next G.O.A.T.S event. We hope you can join us.
