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04 June, 2009

Foodie Friday...or...Brunch at a Chateau and Winery!

Today I am taking my friend to this beautiful chateau to celebrate her retirement! We are going to tour the grounds, check out the gift shop and have brunch! Want to come along?



And since we will be having brunch, I will be joining our dear Gollum, Michael Lee, at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday! I don't seem to cook much any more, so this is a perfect photo op for me! Be sure to head on over to her blog after this to see some wonderful dishes from our fellow bloggers!



Now...where are we going? To France with a stop in Burgundy?



...or maybe Bordeaux?


Or how about Napa Valley?



Can you guess where we are? We are in Braselton, Georgia, at Château Elan Winery and Resort! Can you believe it?



It is a beautiful resort with a wonderful chateau. See the French flag in the middle? Ooohhh...lots of frenchy stuff here! I'm going to have fun!!



There's a winery and a vineyard...



...with little grapes coming along, getting ready to be harvested in the Fall. See them?



There's even a fountain with a very happy grape-squishing woman in the middle. I wanted to take off my shoes and climb in, but I resisted! Maybe next time!




Brunch is served in the atrium of the adjoining hotel and spa. Isn't it gorgeous?




Of course, there's lots of fresh fruit...




...with the best blueberries on Earth, hands down! My favorites! I ate my fruit so quickly that I forgot to take a photo of my plate!



There's also a selection of pastries...



...croissants with ham and cheese...



...bread pudding with a yummy sauce...



...and proof that we are in Georgia...biscuits and sausage gravy. They have the best anywhere! Only in the South could a chateau make such a claim!



And final proof of our location, y'all...grits! Their grits are wonderful...so creamy! Yum! All we need is some butter!




They also have an omelette station. That's what my friend is having. I'll be doing Dr. Atkins after this, so I don't want any eggs today. I'll be eating lots of those soon enough! lol




Here's her plate! The O'Brien potatoes are soooo good! She loves bacon! Me, too!




And this is mine...er... a truck driver's who was sitting nearby and graciously allowed me to photograph his plate! lol Yep. That's right.



After brunch, we decided to have a look around. There's a wine bar where you can sample the wines that are made at the chateau. Hmmm...too early for that. You can also tour the winery if you like.



How about the gift shop? Let's go check it out!




Of course, they have a selection of their own wines...



....as well as all sorts of frenchy things, like these grapey and roostery items! You know I loved this!! I actually resisted, though, and didn't buy anything! Can you believe it? I wish I could say that we followed this up by spending the afternoon at the spa, but...$$$. So I guess I'll just head home to Spa Plate Addict! lol



Well...that's it! I hope you enjoyed our visit to Château Elan! Please be sure to swing by Gollum's to check out her beautiful blog and to continue your gastronomic tour of blogland! Thanks for dropping by! See you next time! A la prochaine!

41 comments:

  1. You're right -- I bet you could have fooled us all into thinking you had flown to France for lunch --- except I guess the grits would have given you away! Looks like a lovely way to spend an afternoon - there are several wineries around here that we keep saying we'll explore someday....maybe soon.

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  2. I loved it. When are we going back!?

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  3. Wow, just wow. What a gorgeous place. And what a great place for a special celebration. I love that fountain, but it keeps reminding me of the old I Love Lucy episode when she was stomping grapes! Sorry, my mind works in some strange ways sometimes lol. And I must admit that my plate would look just like your's, oops, I mean that nice truck driver's! What a great post, I can't wait to go back. Hugs, Kat

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  4. What a lovely way to celebrate your friend's retirement. How sweet.

    A truck driver, ay? (wink-wink)

    Fabulous photos... each and every one of them. Gotta love Georgia!!!

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  5. I had no idea such a lovely chateau is located in Georgia! Yummm, the buffet looked so delicious & the gift shop had some adorable treasures. I'm not sure that I could have resisted the measuring spoons. ☺♥☺ Diane

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  6. What a gorgeous place! It does look like France, doesn't it? I wish we had something like that here too but I am so glad you showed it to us, Debbie....Christine

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  7. Debbie, all I can say is WOW!!...on the chateau AND the breakfast!! You're making Georgia look REALLY good!! :-) L~

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  8. Debbie, I thought this was in France at first! You fooled me! Oh, I think that is just a neat, neat place to visit, and I am loving the fact that so many Southern states now have vineyards. Someone featured one the other day in Outdoor Wednesday, but this has the added benefit of a chateau that's really amazing.

    When I was young, my grandfather loved to make homemade elderberry wine, and it was potent! ;-) LOL! Anyhow, it makes perfect sense that there would be grapes that can grow in Southern vineyards.

    That breakfast looked mighty good, and I am a big grits and eggs fan so I would have been in heaven. That was so sweet of you to treat your friend for her birthday!

    I'm leaving tomorrow for Cecelia's dance recital on Saturday so I won't be participating in Foodie Friday, but I'll try to catch the others before the day gets away from me. Loved seeing your post.

    Great pics and lots of fun!

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  9. Oh Debbie...beautiful!!! Georgia is gorgeous...especially when it is pretending to be France;)!!! Leave it to you to find such a stunning place to have lunch!!!

    Your photos are amazing...each and every one!!!

    Enjoy the day!!!
    XOXO
    Cathy

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  10. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And look at all that food!

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  11. Hi. thanks for visiting and leaving such nice comments. I think it's a Northern Flicker Woodpecker. They're the only ones that feed on the ground. He was digging around the stump in the photo... picking bugs I suppose. I'd never seen one before - very colorful bird!

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  12. Debbie, le petit voyage était absolument parfait! Et ton explication était charmante. Les "biscuits (pain) américains" (comment dit-on?) - oh là là - je pense qu'il y avait des calories qui se jettaient de l'ordinateur sur moi! à lundi (je voudrais encore un sandwich "blt"!) Linda

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  13. Oh my! Who would have thunk it??? Its gorgiferous. Right in the middle of Georgia! How beautiful. What a great treat for you and your friend. I bet the Frenchy shoppe made you nervous b/c there were so many pretties. LOL

    Thanks for sharing...loved the tour. Maybe next time you can treat us all to massages. LOL

    Hugs, Barb

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  14. Wow Debbie, that is some place. It really does look so frenchy. I loved all the gorgeous pictures of all the beautiful chateaus. I will just take the whole tour to all the various ones with you next time. lol The food looked sooooo good. I think I am really hungry. I wanted his and her plate. Loved the tour. Hugs, Marty

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  15. Thanks for stopping by! I'll keep checking back and hopefully you'll see what I've done to that little $5 cabinet. Here's the location of my vineyard/winery day blog from Nebraska. Nothing like yours!
    http://cindykasten-keepingitsimple.blogspot.com/2009/05/im-still-blue-but-making-best-of-it.html

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  16. Debbie I loved your visit to the winery and spa... and the food.. makes me soooo hungry for some good southern food... I guess that means I have to cook it 'cause they don't make it like that here in Texas... especially the grits.. they don't do grits in Texas..at least not like southern grits!

    Ricky and I try to visit a winery in each state that we visit... so far, so good... the only things we ever purchase are wines... and a wine glass, since most winerys sell etched wine glasses with their logo...

    Now we know which one we'll want to visit when we're in Georgia!

    beautiful post as always. Have a joyful weekend! Dixie

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  17. Your post makes me wish I were in Ga. It has been years since I was there with family.
    Everything is so beautiful.
    I can just taste that biscuit and gravy about now.

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  18. I am officially jealous!!! Everything looked so beautiful!!! :)

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  19. wow what a fun place...bet you had a good time..

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  20. Oh Debbie, what a beautiful, dreamy place! And the food looks pretty dreamy too. Did you say that is Southern France cuisine? You are so funny. That plate didn't look like a truck driver's plate to me. As we went through the buffet line, in my head, my plate was overflowing! laurie

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  21. Chateau Elan is beautiful and it is about 3 miles down the road from me. How fun that you went there with your friend and had a good time.

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  22. Deb, loved the truck drivers plate, hubby would have been in hog heaven. What a gorgeous surroundings. It really does look like something in Napa, for sure. I love traveling with you, You always make it seem like I am actually there with you. Now that is some good writing my friend. Hugs Kathysue

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  23. Hi Debbie...

    Just read the sweet note that you left for me...thanks so much for coming by and for your sweet comments!

    Ahhh...to be in France again!!! Girl, my favorite is that little place in Bordeaux!!! I sure enjoyed the tour of Château Elan...it's fabulous, isn't it!!! I would love to visit there! Ahhh...what scenery! And the chateau is gorgeous! Sure looks like you had fun! Girl, you crack me up...asking if you could photograph the truck driver's plate! hehe!!! So cute!

    Have a wonderful weekend, my friend!
    Love ya,
    Chari
    PS...sure am enjoying your pretty French music!!!

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  24. Looked like France or Napa to me -- what a wonderful place. And the brunch . . . my word, that did look good!

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  25. What a grand day that must have been! It is a beautiful spot. I loved the chanticleer plates. Thank you for sharing this beautiful spot with us. Have a wonderful day.

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  26. Deb,

    You just seem to have the MOST fun!! And you had me fooled too, I thought these were pictures from France!

    This looks like a wonderful place to stay (and I would HAVE to stay~logistic wise). I have to agree about your grits down there in Geogia. I had them every morning when my hubby and I visited Savannah in April. I don't even bother with them here~they will never be the same. Sigh... I am glad you had a great time with your friend. I enjoyed the tour!

    By the way, I have been a little slow with my visiting but I did scroll down and read your weeks posts. I love what you are doing with your door wreaths! I'm inspired! As I was reading, I glanced up and saw that I still have my Easter egg wreath on my door!! LOL!! Need to get to Hobby Lobby!!

    Have a great weekend, Debbie!

    xoxo
    Jane

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  27. ummm, what a great post. I love a good wine...and all the foods looked great.
    xo bj

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  28. This is a great destination. I would definately go there if I didn't live so far away.

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  29. Ok Debbie I have to do something like that even just to see the grapes! I love grapes! You sure had lots of fun there!

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  30. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. I absolutely loved your photos and commentary--and the food looks out of this world good.
    Have a GREAT weekend, dear lady.
    XX 00

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  31. I had my eye on all the fruit. Well I really wanted the wine, but because of stomach issues, I will stick with the wine.

    That was just such a great post...thank you

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  32. I'm already retired, but I do have a 'milestone' birthday coming up this year. I would love to go to brunch here to celebrate! Thank you for the delightful tour...Nancy

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  33. Oh Debbie, thanks for inviting us along on this yummy adventure. This place looks absolutely fantastic!! You can eat, drink, shop & relax all in one stop. I sure could use a trip to the Château Elan Winery and Resort!

    I hope you have been doing well. I have not had much blog time lately, which I have really missed. May is my busiest month at work, and it has really consumed me. Then coming home to do yard work next thing you know it is time for bed!! I am just so excited it is Friday, yeah!!!

    I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and thank you so much for stopping by to say hello.

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  34. Hi Debbie,
    this was so much fun, I am glad you took us along! That truck drivers plate looked awfully yummy, LOL, and I am so proud of you for resisting, I know how hard that can be! I hope you have a lovely weekend and have you been to Savannah much? I want to go, it looks so fab. Hugs, Cindy

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  35. Applause! Well done, Debbie!...Oh my, how this heart yearns to return to the lovely french countryside!

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  36. Looks like you have been really enjoying yourself. Wish I was there to party with you. A spa day...in my dreams!

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  37. WOW, Debbie, This place is gorgeous. I am going to tell my daughter and SIL about it...maybe they will take us there.

    As for your question, turbinado sugar can be found at the grocery and is known as "Sugar in the Raw".

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  38. Debbie, Thanks for your comments and visiting my site. At first glance, I thought "How is my Latin going to help me out here?"
    Lovely pictures and lovely blog.

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  39. That is awsome about your dream!!! I'm flattered! LOL :-)
    Still in the abyss of cleaning and cleaning! I hope to then be able to just REEEELAX!! Love ya! L~

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  40. Hi Debbie, how I wish I could have tagged along! Loved all your pics, imagine a winery and resort in one!

    PS - loved the shot of the breakfast plate with the country biscuits and gravy!

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  41. I too love this place!

    BTW I love your kitties too!

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Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment! I appreciate my wonderful readers!... Debbie