This weekend I had the wonderful pleasure of being included in the 11th annual Wild Women’s Wine Weekend – and I had a blast!

Normally this fabulous group of ladies meets in Hermann, MO to tour the bajillion (okay, maybe only 70 in that area) wineries – including my favorite local vineyard, Stone Hill. This year, however, they kept it close to home and visited three local (KC-area) wineries. This made it much easier for me to go join the fun.

The group at Holy-field Winery in Basehor, KS

I was a little worried about attending since I didn’t know most of the women and I’m not good about meeting new people on my own, especially women. But, I knew one of the hostesses from long ago through work and a newer friend was at the first winery stop so I felt more at ease meeting the others. Personally, I do better meeting men than women, just my own nature, but I thought it was time to step out of my comfort zone a bit. And, I figured, if I wasn’t comfortable after the first stop, I just didn’t have to go back for the rest.

On the schedule for the day was Holy-field Winery in Basehor, KS, Amigoni Urban Winery in Kansas City, MO, Ladoga Ridge Winery in Smithville, MO and then dinner @ Conrad’s in Liberty, MO. I skipped Amigoni in favor of stopping home to watch the Royals – only to find out the ladies had been able to get it on a TV at the winery. Dangit!

Spoils of the day

I won’t go into detail about the wineries we stopped at – that’s not my real point of this post. However, I did enjoy the tastings, although both places I went seemed full and crazy busy. I also think the women running the tastings could tell I was clueless and didn’t really have time for explanations. Nothing against them, I just needed a better understanding of what to expect and how these things worked. But, I did taste (and purchase) some new wines and even some wine-filled chocolates so that part turned out well. I’m drinking a glass of the Holy-field Kaw River Rhine as I type this (forgive any typos, please…)

My deconstructed Wild Women t-shirt

What really made the day memorable for me was the women I was there with. There weren’t many of us but we seemed to have an amazing, eclectic mix of ages, personalities, and interests. I found myself in unusual conversations, at ease with each of the women I met. Whether we were talking one on one or in a small offset or the full noisy pack of us, it was a day of sharing, growing and, of course, drinking. People knew we were definitely a “group” based on our great pink t-shirts (I “Flashdanced” my tee a bit with a few cuts from the scissors while I was watching the Royals).

What I noticed about each of these women, from the youngest to the oldest, was how comfortable they all seemed in their own skin.

And how gracious and sweet they were to a newcomer in their midst. I never once felt out-of-place, unwelcome, or disparaged with these women. If they ever judged my clothing or my cleavage, my hair, my makeup or the words that came forth from my mouth, they never let me feel that.

The group at Ladoga Ridge Winery in Smithville, MO

Usually in a group of women, I feel the once overs, the disapproval of my overt sexuality, the immediate competitive feeling even when I’m not remotely interested in being competitive. I truly felt none of that on this day – I was free to be the confident, outspoken, goofy, sexy, amazing woman that I am. These women encouraged and inspired me to accept myself just as I am simply by being their amazing, sweet, and confident selves. And I’m proud to consider every single one of them a new friend.

I am so happy I stepped outside my comfort zone and took this chance. I’m already looking forward to NEXT October…maybe we need to do this again sooner!

XO – T.

PS – completely off-topic but I had to share. I’m not a little dog person. Like…ever. But this little girl just about changed my mind. SO CUTE!

Halo, my new fluffy little puppy friend