Traveling to Italy to vinotrip has been one of my dreams. I expected to visit the more well-known regions of Piedmont or Tuscany for my first wine tasting trip to Italy, but Lombardy was calling. I had heard of Franciacorta for sparkling wines, Valtellina for it’s Nebbiolo and Oltrepo for its Pinot Noir, but I had no idea how absolutely …
There are many fun ways to use the VINO! card deck. Check out the versions detailed below. Solitaire: 1 player: Remove the Somm cards and bonus cards from the deck, leaving only the picture cards (119). Place the card deck face down. Take a bottle of wine, put it in a blind tasting bag and try not to look at the …
Marla Kane is a seasoned educator and an avid wine lover. She is a Wine Marketing Consultant for Artisan Wine Group and is a contributing writer for vinotripping.com.
Champagne: We expected about an hours drive to Reims, and when we arrived we found the city to be a bit drab. We checked in to our really different hotel, Grand Hotel Des Templier, and headed out to see the center of it all, the avenue where all of the big champagne houses are… Taittinger, Veuve Cliquot, Ruinart…. The area …
Burgundy: I had been warned I may see things I couldn’t unsee in Burgundy. I wasn’t sure what that meant, and my imagination certainly played out the possibilities before we arrived, but overall we had a great time. It was about a 5 hour drive from Bordeaux, so we got on the road early. The drive was easy and beautiful. …
St. Emilion – We drove by the cutest city, all up a hill of limestone. The ancient city still stands and it is laced with cobblestone streets and little shops and cafes. The city is built on this limestone hill. The area was once underneath a great sea, and so the soil is limestone with shells and fossils. We learned …
The next morning we breakfasted and bid goodbye to Erwan, jumped in the car and headed up the Medoc towards the ocean. We arrived at Chateau Fieuzal and were greeted by Annabelle Denis, their Chargée de Communication. Annabelle has worked at Fieuzal for years. They had sent her to intern in Napa the previous year, so her English and her …
The Cite du Vin is located in the city of Bordeaux on the bank of the river. The design was architected to look like wine swirling in a glass and it is a beautiful building. The exhibits were really interesting, all based around understanding wine, its history and enjoying wine… without actually having a glass in hand. There were many, …
Planning: I always do intense internet searching for any trip. Through searching, reading about tours, blogs, trip advisor and other reviews, I found castles where anyone can spend a night and it’s reasonably priced for such a special venue. Tip: If you email or call properties directly, often times they will give you a better rate than online. You may …
Day 1 & 2 Paris and the Loire Day 1 – Paris and beyond: I am turning 50 this year, the BIG birthday!!! I wanted to ask for a really special trip for my big birthday. I wanted it to be something out of the ordinary, and something I have dreamed about for a long time. It wasn’t so difficult …
In search of an emerging wine region? Love good food, and exciting regions shaping the quality of fine wine, food and travel? Look no further than Oltrepo Pavese, Italy. Oltrepo Pavese is a region 45 minutes outside of Milan, sandwiched between Piedmont and Emilia Romagna. Both of those regions are known for specific wines throughout the world and for a …
My favorite annual wine conference is finally here! And this year it is in Northern Italy!!! There are over 350 different varietals in Italy over 20 growing areas Lake Garda is the home to many incredible wines Tuscany is NOT the only fine wine region in Italy Italian wine making is 4000 years old I will be tasting/sharing about many …
I don’t know about you, but my passion for wine has always been wrapped around travel and experience, the highlight of the back story, romance and glamour that is in a swirl of a wine glass. That beautiful sensual experience of sipping, learning, thinking, and ultimately, a little buzz, drew me to the experience of wine and to the promise …
People say that when you turn 50, you enter the “give a F*&* 50” phase. And so it has become for me, and no-where more prevalent than in my wine purchasing behavior. It’s an attitude of freedom, freedom to do whatever I want. And since social interactions have become so highly coveted post covid, I want my time to be …
What does is a Sommelier and where can you find a great professional to hire? I see many posts from people looking to hire a Sommelier. It seems like a simple enough request, right? Well…. It’s not quite as easy as you would expect. It’s important to think through how you want your evening to go and what you want …
by Marla Kane Colonia Las Liebres Bonarda Classica 2019 from Mendoza, Argentina is made with organic grapes, no oak, and costs about $10 a bottle. That’s what I call a trifecta! Even better, the aroma of olives enticed me when I stole a sniff while it was decanting. Being olive-obsessed, I was drawn immediately. This bonarda is an inky dark plum color with a maroon …
You say Left Bank, I say Right Friday night we covered red Bordeaux. I talked a lot about the wine and the region, having spent a week in the region last July and having created my own itinerary through extensive research. I am sharing information below that I didn’t have time to cover in the live tasting, but is important …