If any of your wine drinking friends or relatives have expressed an interest in learning more about the noble grape and how it goes from a vineyard anywhere in the world, to bottle, to your local merchant, what to look for and...
Read MoreFor fans of nature, recreation and outdoor adventures, New Zealand ranks at the top of many travelers’ lists. The country has a spectacular array of beaches, mountains for skiing, camping areas, wilderness trails, kayak rides on...
Read MoreThe challenge with plotting your wine adventures around Paso Robles is narrowing the field from among the growing ranks of quality wineries seemingly on every hilltop and secluded canyon or hillside along the curving backcountry...
Read MoreIt has been some five years since we last cruised into Paso Robles and stopped by its town square for a luncheon break to plan our adventures among some 110 local wineries. We had first visited in the 1970s when the area around Templeton and Paso …
Read MoreWhen identifying the key elements that make fine Pinot Noir anywhere in the world, growers and producers of the best wines tend to start with enraptured discussions of their sense of place ??? the spot in the world, region, vineyard, hillside and …
Read MoreTouring many fine wineries in the Paso Robles area. One new find, Kukkula, which means ???high place??? in Finnish. More photos and notes later.
Read MoreIn the two previous postings on wine adventures into the 9,000-square-mile Willamette Valley, Oregon???s largest American Viticultural Area (AVA), we covered the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay clones used to make their best Pinot Noir (Dijon clones) and …
Read MoreTucked away in the Sierra Foothills is one of the more concentrated tasting adventures in California or anywhere else: the town of Murphys, with 24 tasting rooms within easy walking distance along a one-mile stretch of Main Street. The wines carry…
Read MoreAs with any other major wine growing area, touring in the 9,000-square-mile Willamette Valley, Oregon???s largest American Viticultural Area (AVA), is best approached selectively and in small chunks. In our misspent youth when tastings were free, we…
Read MoreFor fans of the grapes of Burgundy and wine-related travel, the Willamette Valley is worth discovering before the crowds arrive. The 150-mile long and 60-mile wide valley is Oregon???s largest American Viticultural Area (AVA). It has some 200 wineri…
Read More