On our second trip three years after our first we had a better idea what we wanted to do. We wanted to do more than walk vineyards, learn the process and taste some wines. We wanted to visit boutique wineries, spend some time on the ground, like overnight, and actually talk with one or more winemakers about what they were doing and learning about wine making. We intended to buy some of the wines we couldn’t find in the US, but our plans would change as we went along...
Friends visited Chile on a wine tour. They told us about the great time they had and the guide who made the trip special for them. We nodded and took the card of the guide, but gave it no more thought. We were thinking of a return to Italy, our favorite place to visit when my spouse ‘discovered’ inexpensive flights to Santiago, Chile, direct from DFW where we live. We took a chance, bought the tickets and contacted the guide by email...
What can I say about Bellagio? It rests on the promontory that juts out where the two legs of Lago Como meet. What was surprising is that it is in the foothills to the Alps. Mountains rise on all banks, severely limiting the amount of housing and shops. While not a large community, shops and hotels dot not only the shoreline, but climb up the hillside so you can look out over the lake in different places...
A wedding took us to the Italian Riviera. Our hotel, the Santa Margherita Palace, describes itself as “a design hotel, combining the new luxury trend with Riviera traditional style, in the city center of Santa Margherita Ligure, just a few steps from the beach and harbor, 5 km from Portofino.” This is a tacit admission that Portofino is where everyone wants to be, but can’t because it is so small. And that is why Portofino is the attraction and not Santa Margherita Ligure – exclusivity...
A trip to northern Italy for a wedding brought unexpected opportunity. The wedding was to be in Portofino, but we decided to go in a few days early and stay a few days after. A flight into Malpensa – Milan would bring us to areas of Northern Italy such as Piemonte and the Lake District that we had not explored. The area south east of Torino instantly came to mind as a possibility. Thinking of wines from that region the classic names all came to mind: Borolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Barbera. The Langhe produces wines we enjoy and often look for when shopping for that one wine that will inspire a meal in a way that no other can...