Tag: Wine Travel

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Sonoma County Airport Upgrades to Make Flying into Wine Tasting Easier

January 19, 2012 at 8:32 AM | by | Comments (0)

One of the best slices of the nifty fifty is getting an airport upgrade, and if everything goes through as planned you’ll soon be flying right into California wine country—get your corkscrews ready. Officials in Sonoma County are kicking around an idea to upgrade and update things at the area’s airport, and hopefully that’ll bring in a few more flights. Right now there’s just one option thanks to Alaska Airlines, so that means your weekend of wandering through the vineyards usually starts by driving from San Francisco or Sacramento.

In total it looks like they’re thinking about spending around $84 million—give or a take a few bucks—on all the improvements and expansions at the Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport. The board of supervisors has already approved the spending, but it sounds like there’s a few more stamps, seals, and signatures needed before the hardhats and bulldozers arrive on site. The final decision is expected within the next week or so, and then it might just be full speed ahead.

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The Who, What, Where, and Why of the Air New Zealand Wine Awards

November 16, 2011 at 10:46 AM | by | Comments (0)

Harvest may be over in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but south of the equator they’re headed into spring, and in New Zealand, that means it’s time for the Air New Zealand Wine Awards, the biggest, most prestigious wine competition on the country. And yes, it’s sponsored by an airline.

6.5 MILLION GLASSES OF WINE

We’ve already explained just what makes Air New Zealand’s wine program so unique—including the fact that the airline takes its role as an ambassador of all things New Zealand very seriously, leading its top brass back in 2004-2005 to make the decision to serve only New Zealand wines (except Champagne and Port) on its planes, and that it serves over 6.5 million glasses of NZ wine a year, making it the largest single server of New Zealand wines in the world.

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Wish You Were Here: Off-Season in France's Rhône Valley

Where: France
October 13, 2011 at 3:05 PM | by | Comments (0)


Look at the quality of that light. It doesn't get any better.

Our "Wish You Were Here" series is less intended as a bragging ground for us Jaunters than it is meant to inspire our beloved readers to follow suit and trek to the gorgeous places we feature. But you'll have to let us crow a little bit with the latest installment.

After spending some quality time in France's Rhône Valley over the weekend, where temperatures hovered in the 80-degree range, we were tempted to start poking around for property and leave city life behind for good. Check out the quality of light in this photo. This trip revealed so many breathtaking sights we had to remind ourselves to breathe at certain points.

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Sicily Wine Commercial Does Its Job of Making Us Long for Italy

Where: Italy
September 23, 2011 at 2:38 PM | by | Comment (1)

We occasionally run into these situations, where a commercial for some product reminds us that beautiful people in Italy are having a lot more fun than we are. Last time it was this insanely fun commercial by Italian vermouth company Martini, which was filmed in Croatia but still retained its Italian ethos. This time it's a commercial by Italian winemaker Tasca d'Almerita, which looks like something that could have been produced by an Italian tourism board. Except it's better.

The video is titled "A Glass of Sicily, and Adweek tells us that there's an Itanian "viral media company" behind the 80-second production. That explains, at the very least, how a commercial for a wine maker ended up with an interactive map on Flickr, though not why it was filled with photos and videos that are functionally travel advertisements for Sicily. Again, if they didn't get at least some money from an Italian tourism board they got ripped off. It's a gorgeous commercial.

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Damn Good Gouda: Go Cheese Tasting at Amsterdam's Historic Reypenaer Proeflokaal

Where: Singel 182, Amsterdam, Netherlands
August 11, 2011 at 4:18 PM | by | Comments (0)

Welcome to Amsterdam Week here on Jaunted! Each day, we're coming at ya with a Double Dutch of features: two stories on a city (and its airport) that stuns with its beauty and nearly overwhelms with everything there is to do. Got any Amsterdam tips of your own? Share with us in the comments!

Not gonna lie. Sometimes all we want out of life is to sit down and eat a block of cheese...wine would also be nice. In Holland though, cheese is not simply "cheese," but a lifestyle where even casual foodies pay attention to the producers.

Enter Reypenaer Proeflokaal, a store and cheese tasting room in the heart of old Amsterdam, where Ron Pieters—a master of cheese and spirits—instructs those who pay 12.50 Euro for a class on the finer points of six traditional Dutch cheeses (and their proper wine and port pairings). Ron wants you to know what it is you're eating, and to know how properly to savor it when you've chosen well and paid plenty.

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Drinking from the Roots of the Andes in Chile's Cachapoal Valley

July 6, 2011 at 9:45 AM | by | Comments (0)

This week, Jaunted Special Contributor Eric Rosen continues his worldwide wine wanderings south of the equator in the Andean foothills of Chile, visiting some of the biggest names in its famous Colchagua and Rapel Valleys. So start looking for a bottle of Carmenere in your grocery store, and join us as we taste through the wines of Chile. Salud!

Yesterday we drank at a breakneck pace through the famous wineries of Chile’s Colchagua Valley. We spend today tasting at a more leisurely clip in one of Chile’s newest wine regions: the Cachapoal Valley.

· A Valley By Any Other Name…
To call Cachapoal (pronounced cah-chah-poh-all) Chile’s newest wine region, though, is a little misleading since it’s actually a part of one of the country’s other famous appellations, the Rapel Valley. However, the conditions here are distinct enough from the rest of the Rapel thanks to its proximity to the Andes and its lack of maritime influences from the Pacific that it was given its own denomination.

Thus, it’s well known for producing rich red wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon and some of the country’s most prized Carmeneres. The nearest major town is Rancagua, notorious for a bloody 19th-century massacre during Chile’s war of independence.

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Skipping Out on Santiago for Casa Silva in Chile's Colchagua Valley

July 5, 2011 at 12:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

This week, Jaunted Special Contributor Eric Rosen continues his worldwide wine wanderings south of the equator in the Andean foothills of Chile, visiting some of the biggest names in its famous Colchagua and Rapel Valleys. So start looking for a bottle of Carmenere in your grocery store, and join us as we taste through the wines of Chile. Salud!

Don’t get us wrong. We love Santiago cosmopolitan charms, but when we head down to Chile, we like to get out of the city as soon as possible and head to the hinterlands to taste one of the country’s most famous exports (no, not copper): wine.

That’s why, on a recent trip, we started tasting from LAN’s sommelier-assembled list as soon as we boarded our flight, then when we hit the ground, we headed an hour-and-a-half south from Santiago to the country’s famous Colchagua Valley, focusing on the area between the two major towns of San Fernando and Santa Cruz and stopping at some of the biggest names in Chilean winemaking along the way.

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Three Excellent French Brasseries Found Inside Airports

June 23, 2011 at 10:00 AM | by | Comments (0)


Cafe Rouge at LHR T4.

What food do you reach for before hopping on a plane? For many, it's hearty (burgers, pizza, pasta), snacky (chips, candy, chocolate) or healthy (sushi, salads, granola), but what about Frenchy? Don't walk through your next airport terminal so quickly, or else you may miss some of the most interesting airport cuisine out there. Yep—we're talking about French Brasseries.

It's rare to find them, but when you do, we recommend stopping in for some Moulet et Frites, frogs legs, or just a simple Café au lait. Here's three great French Brasseries found at major airports:

· Cafe Rouge at London-Heathrow Terminal 4
Reminiscent of the classic Orient Express trains, Cafe Rouge at T4 is lengthy but thin, with clean lines and subtle art deco touches. Like a proper brasserie, its position makes it ideal for people watching, a sport made all the more intriguing by the fact that you're still before security. Someone awaiting your arrival could always pop up here for a Croque Monsieur and eavesdropping on tearful farewells. Plus, it's open from 5am clear until 10pm. Honorary mention: Chez Gerard in Heathrow's Terminal 3.

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Australia's Other Wine Regions: Margaret River

June 3, 2011 at 12:45 PM | by | Comments (0)

When it comes to Australian wines, there’s one big-name, bewitching, badass behemoth that gets all the attention: Barossa. But this week, Jaunted Special Contributor Eric Rosen takes us on a tour of a few of Oz’s lesser known wine regions, many of which are within a few hours of the continent’s major cities. So drop that bottle of Shiraz and join us as we take a tour of Australia’s “other” wine regions.

For the final installment in this week’s look at Australia’s other wine regions, we travel to the far corner of the continent to visit what has to be one of my personal favorite places of all time: Western Australia’s Margaret River.
Never Heard of It?
That’s okay, I kind of want to keep it that way since this place is so special, not to mention remote. It’s located about 3 hours southwest of Perth, so it’s literally the end of the earth, with nothing between you and Africa but an uninterrupted stretch of Indian Ocean.

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Australia's Other Wine Regions: The Clare Valley

June 2, 2011 at 9:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

When it comes to Australian wines, there’s one big-name, bewitching, badass behemoth that gets all the attention: Barossa. But this week, Jaunted Special Contributor Eric Rosen takes us on a tour of a few of Oz’s lesser known wine regions, many of which are within a few hours of the continent’s major cities. So drop that bottle of Shiraz and join us as we take a tour of Australia’s “other” wine regions.

Today we’re visiting a region in South Australia that’s actually adjacent to the Barossa: the Clare Valley. Like the Barossa, the Clare is pretty close to Adelaide (between 90 minutes’ and two hours’ drive), and known for producing world-class variations of a particular varietal. Unlike Shiraz, this one’s a white wine that most folks think comes only from Germany and Austria. That’s right, Australia makes Riesling, and much of it comes from the Clare Valley. There’s even a Riesling Trail you can bike there, so grab your breathalyzer and saddle up, because we’re going wine-tasting.

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Australia's Other Wine Regions: Yarra Valley

June 1, 2011 at 12:41 PM | by | Comments (0)

When it comes to Australian wines, there’s one bewitching, badass behemoth that gets all the attention: Barossa. But this week, Jaunted Special Contributor Eric Rosen takes us on a tour of a few of Oz’s lesser known wine regions, many of which are within a few hours of the continent’s major cities. So drop that bottle of Shiraz and join us as we take a tour of Australia’s “other” wine regions.

Today we start in one of Australia’s premier wine-growing area: the Yarra Valley in Victoria. This is also one of the country’s most accessible wine regions since it lies just 45 minutes northeast of Melbourne, and can make for a great trip lasting anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

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Drink Up at These Five Upcoming US Wine Festivals

May 12, 2011 at 4:06 PM | by | Comments (0)

Summer is the best time to kick back with a glass of wine—heck, even a bottle of wine. There's just something about pairing a great pour with the warm weather. Luckily, there's a slew of wine festivals that will give you the chance to get boozy alfresco with some of the best bottles in the world.

Prepare to get buzzed at these five upcoming wine festivals.

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