He likes Gray's Anatomy; I like Grey's Anatomy. But we both like vino!

The scientist

The media queen

About as close as I come to a lab. Not exactly McDreamy, is he?

Devin and I are pretty different individuals. He's an athlete who always pushes himself and strives to better his health. I'm a retired "athlete" with little ambition to exercise. He's a science guy with a love for physi-bio-chema stuff and all the big words, Bunsen burners and bacteria that come with it. I chose a slightly more creative route of newspaper ink, airwaves and B-roll footage. It's Gray's versus Grey's. He's a bungee jumping wannabe skydiver, and I'm a tall girl who gets pretty freaked if I look down from 10 feet up.

You get the idea.

But, thankfully, we do have some common interests. We're both photographers, which I believe is one of the first topics that helped start our friendship nearly five years ago. We enjoy writing, our lovely (sometimes vicious) cat, cooking together (he cooks, I chop a few veggies), impromptu road trips, etc.

We've also rubbed interests off on one another. Devin wasn't a coffee drinker before he met me; he's now the one to start the coffee maker in the mornings and takes half of the pot in a huge Thermos. I didn't ride motorcycles or watch people race bicycles before he introduced me to Elkhorn Valley Cycling. Now I'm daring brave enough to take photos of the cyclists from the back of the motorcycle. The point of all this has to do with what we did this weekend.

The amazing vino from our 4th anniversary earlier this year.

Devin has also introduced me to wine, and that has become one of the great loves we share, whether to celebrate another year together, to share a bottle with friends or to pair one with a meal. We went on one of our random little adventures on Saturday and decided to visit a couple vineyards we hadn't seen before. Devin gets to drive his motorcycle, I get wine at the end of the journey. Everyone's happy.

We had only been to two wineries together a couple years ago - Silver Hills in Tekamah and Cuthills in Pierce. Both were great events with music and excellent wine samples. And tasters got to keep the glasses after, which we decided we would collect. It would be our "thing" and a nice memory of experiencing something new together.

I sought out two wineries that were fairly close to Omaha. We traveled to Nehawka's Slattery Vintage Estates (near Weeping Water), and I highly recommend the venue. The tasting room is welcoming and well-designed. We had a great time. If it wasn't 100 degrees, and if our motorcycle kickstand hadn't been sinking into the asphalt, we may have looked around more at the vineyard and outdoor entertaining area.

It was here that we found out about Vintage Nebraska: A Wine-Inspired Journey. It's pretty incredible that nearly 30 wineries have popped up in this state. We never knew! Along this journey, for each vineyard/tasting room you visit, you get a stamp on your passport. The goal is to get to 15 of them before the end of the season for a chance to win Nebraska wines. Sign us up!

Wineries, here we come!

Now do you think Devin wants to just stop at 15? Ha! Do you know Devin? Truly, I don't blame him; I want to experience them all, too. So, we plan to take our motorcycle all over Nebraska, even clear to the Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming borders, to taste what this state has to offer.

Watch out, Iowa, you might be next on our itinerary.

On the way back to Omaha, we checked out the winery we passed in Springfield, Soaring Wings, which is expected to have its own beer on tap next month. If anything, this place has a gorgeous view. It was pretty unfortunate that they were out of power (thus no well water) when we visited, but we can say we've been there and collected our glasses.

We're definitely looking forward to checking out more wineries, and I'm thankful it's an inexpensive option to have during the weekend.

Here's to a swirl, a sip and a simply enjoyable way to spend a Saturday or Sunday. *Cheers*

Checking out the grapes during a wine tasting at Cuthills Vineyards.