Browsing: Wine Tours

Now is the time for wine and nature lovers to rejoice; not only do Sussex vineyards produce beautiful wines, they also provide opportunities to sample, tour the vineyards and meet the Vintners.

Fizz On Foot, who offers guided walk and wine tasting tours, combine the great outdoors with walks through great British wine country. From a one-day buffet lunch and wine-tasting tour to a four-day, several vineyards trek, you’ll see the spectacular Sussex countryside as …

Read More

Visitors in the Seattle area looking for a quick getaway might want to check out Whidbey Island, one of the most scenic and accessible destinations in the Pacific Northwest. Within an hour of leaving North Seattle, travelers can arrive on this island via a 20-minute ride from the Mukilteo ferry landing.

Upon debarking in Clinton, visitors should start their travels at the town of Langley. Pick up a cup of coffee at Useless Bay Coffee; …

Read More

From Cabo San Lucas to San Jose del Cabo, hotels and restaurants are showcasing wine and spirit experiences.

If your liquid memories of Baja, Mexico are limited to cheap tequila shots or six-packs of Corona, it’s time to return to Los Cabos and kick it up a notch. To match the sophistication of its vibrant farm-to-table culinary scene, a number of resorts and local restaurants are creating bespoke opportunities for guests to experience and learn …

Read More

Napa Valley in California; Tuscany in Italy; The Rioja region in Spain; and….Michigan? While the aforementioned destinations are top of mind as a wine lovers paradise, don’t overlook this lesser known but beautiful hidden gem just 90 minutes out of Chicago.

All up and down the southern shore of Lake Michigan are more than a dozen individual wineries often set on lush grounds offering a number of varietals. Some tasting rooms are private and require …

Read More

Baja California’s raw beauty and stunning contrasts draws visitors year-round. Most common is the entry point at Tijuana, just south of San Diego. While convenient to accessing the area’s coastal towns of Puerto Nuevo, Roasarito and Ensenada, the border crossing is large and somewhat confusing, and drivers need to be quick on their toes to catch the right road out of town. Coming back into the United States this crossing can be a nightmare, with …

Read More

This one looks delicious, I thought as I swirled the wine around in my glass and took an indelicately large slurp.

“Ah yes, a definite aroma of diesel and a lingering taste of salami. Is that normal for a Malbec?” I wondered as I eyed its odd neon hues.

“No,” my partner said, “but the sommelier did advise us not to try wine tasting on the pavement.”

We couldn’t resist, though. The tables outside …

Read More

The Victoria Falls Safari Club is the ultimate in lodge accommodations. Each of their sixteen club rooms and four spectacular suites have private patios and uninterrupted views across the bushveld. It’s all a potent mix of African wilderness and history seamlessly blended with exotic luxury, complete with a private check-in and butler service.

From the lodge’s lobby you walk into a quarry-tiled hallway showcasing an African-styled chandelier made from fine honey-coloured strips of hide. It’s …

Read More

Driving from Parma, navigating a winding mountain road to Tuscany, I came across Castello di Compiano, a medieval castle embraced by fortified walls and built atop a rocky outcrop of a mountain village. The castle’s jaw-dropping views across the Taro River and the Apennines mountains make it one of the most spectacular locations in northern Italy.

Its origins are uncertain but archaeologists claim its existence dates back to the first century. In its life Castello …

Read More

Toulouse is the birthplace of Concorde, the Ariane Rocket and home to Airbus. It also boasts sixteen-hundred boutiques, a thousand restaurants and a myriad other gourmet finds which demand further investigation. Which is why, upon arrival at Toulouse Blagnac Airport, I made my way to the prestigious Victor Hugo market, famous throughout France for its gourmet stalls and where I was told, I would definitely to find something new to like.

Across the street from …

Read More

I’m not advocating necessarily waking up with a glass of “vino tinto” (red wine) with your scrambled eggs and jamon…Although that isn’t out of the question in this area where wine flows often more freely than water.

La Rioja is in Spain’s far north, just below the sunny shores of San Sebastian and nestled between the popular towns of Bilbao and Pamplona. The towns and villages in this area are quiet and sleepy, with the …

Read More

Almost everyone agrees: some very tasty wine comes from Spain. As a Barcelona resident with “localvore” tendencies, I mostly buy bottles from nearby Emporda, Priorat and Penedès. Of the three, Penedès is the most established and also closest to the city, making it an effortless option for a wine-tasting day-trip.

When locals think Penedès, they think “cava.” Cava, if you haven’t been lucky enough to sip it yet, is like champagne but from Catalonia. It’s …

Read More

In northwest Italy, Piedmont (Piemonte in Italian) is home to some of the country’s best wines. And truffles. And food. Some might say this area bordered on three sides by the Alps is a little slice of heaven. It’s hard to disagree.

Encompassing more than 25,000 square kilometers and featuring fantastic foodie towns like Alba (home of the Slow Food Movement) and Turin, Piemonte is everything people come to Italy for. Lush, rolling hillsides are …

Read More

Argentina is a county of unparalleled beauty, from lush pampas, filled with grazing beef (or cows, depending on your view), to the crisp beauty of the lakes, mountains and glaciers of Patagonia, to the arid and largely indigenous desert of the north. Its tourism has long been that of exploring the country of the gauchos, the vibrant city life and the scenic landscapes, but I put to you that there is, for the sophisticated traveler …

Read More

Though best known for their colorful Carnival, Aruba has all kinds of cool festivals, annual events, and visitor-inclusive celebrations happening all year round!

Though Carnival lasts for three months, it really doesn’t matter when you visit Aruba as there are all kinds of gala events going on all year-round. And you need never worry about the weather for outdoor festivals: Aruba is outside of the hurricane belt and boasts a balmy average of 85 degrees …

Read More