Tea at Trianon: St. Michaels Winery

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, January 17, 2013

St. Michaels Winery

Wine-tasting on Maryland's Eastern shore.

People often sail or motor into St. Michaels for dinner or a weekend to enjoy the charm of the small Eastern Shore boating town. Landlubbers come by car or bike, traversing the streets on a hunt for historic landmarks or unique souvenirs, while enjoying the sails and hulls in the background. No matter how they arrive, visitors to this tourist mecca will be happy to find St. Michaels Winery, a peaceful oasis of oaken barrels and copper-topped tables that welcomes wine lovers.

St. Michaels Winery is located in the front of the Old Sewing Factory Building on Talbot Street. A neighbor to Eastern Shore Brewing, the winery offers daily wine tastings that need no reservation and cater to groups wishing to have a genuine local experience. Talbot County’s only winery, St. Michaels Winery boasts a wine list of twenty, handily broken down into three categories—dry whites, dry reds, and sweet wines. (Read entire post.)