The Thornton Winery in Temecula, CA is home to one of California’s longest running concert series. In fact, this year is the 25th anniversary of the Champagne Jazz Series. As you would expect, this summer’s lineup features some of the biggest and most popular of today’s Jazz performers (Dave Koz, Spyro Gyra, Kenny G, George Benson, Chris Botti, Boz Scaggs, etc.) I’ve enjoyed at least one concert at this intimate venue each of the last three summers and have been inspired by guitar god Lee Rite

Ooh, ooh, ooh -- how I love discovering underappreciated wine regions.  The next best one just might be (it certainly gets my vote)Santa Barbara County’s Santa Rita Hills. Located about 30 minutes from Santa Barbara, think Highway 246 off the 101 Freeway and the cities of Buellton, Lompoc and Los Olivos.  Total acreage is 30,720 acres.  About 2,500 acres are planted in wine grapes. The appellation is spelled Sta. Rita Hills on the  wine labels so as not to step on the toes of the Santa Rita wine

Rivers of wine streamed down craggy roads lined with grape vines and surrounded by mountains. At Casa Lapostolle, 350,000 bottles shattered as scores of oak barrels rolled off their rackings. It was February 27, 2010, in the Colchagua Valley (right) Chile’s main wine region. An 8.8 magnitude earthquake had just rippled in from the coast where a tsunami had caused considerable havoc. With tremors lasting 90 seconds, the earthquake turned out to be among the country’s most destructive—third only t

To fully appreciate a wine is to be intimately familiar with its geographical origins and vinicultural heritage. Wines from France's Roussillon region certainly exemplify this truism. Vineyards are surrounded by 3 mountain ranges yielding wide topographical variety and soils with the Corbières to the North, the Pyrenees with Mont Canigou to the West, and the Albères to the South while to the east ocean and mountains meet below on the Pyrénées-Orientales…widely referred to as an amphitheater to t

Sweet wine, traditional wine, the best contribution wine magazine, some wine promoter and even wine software, where else would you imagine you can find the whole thing about wine, none other than in Wine Country Tour, California. This Northern California region is considered as world-renowned wine-growing region in the United States. The Golden State has been producing wine nearly more than 200 years, since the days of the early Spanish missionaries. From Mendocino to Santa Barbara, California b

You really can't get more family-run than Conway Family Wines...Chris and Ann Conway along with their 5 children Gareth (President), John, Sally, Tom (VP Business Development), Gillian (VP Communications) all share ownership in the winery producing a tasty trio of Deep Sea varietals. Being small scale and tight knit allows them to use sustainable agricultural and vineyard practices not only to produce great tasting grapes but to effectively preserve their historic Rancho Arroyo Grande property.

Exploring a dynamic portfolio of wine is always rewarding, but when you add in unsurpassed hospitality offered by the winery owners, assistant winemaker and informed staff, you know you’ve arrived at Barrister Winery.  This charming winery, tasting room and entertainment center is located in an old warehouse within the historic Davenport art district of Spokane. In fact, this winery is perfectly situated in a hundred year old brick and massive wooden beam structure, once a car dealership storage

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Barili Cellars of Washington State

Sometimes “smaller is better” when it comes to crafting limited amounts of premium wine. Serious wine lovers and connoisseurs are focusing their palates towards small producers who craft superior wines in small lots, using old world techniques, with limited non-commercial technology. Barili Cellars in downtown Spokane, Washington is one of those artisan venues who create “rare treasures of bottled delights.” A visit to their u

Who doesn’t dream of tasting some of the best wines in the world in the very vineyards where the grapes are grown? Whether you’re a wine connoisseur, a wine lover or simply wine-curious, you’ll find that there’s something for everyone in these European wine regions.

Loire Valley, France

The Loire Valley, with its magnificent châteaux and gardens, is one of the most beautiful parts of France. It is also one of the country’s most diverse wine regions, producing all types of wine: red, white, ros

Lying north of Venice, amongst picturesque towns with ancient churches, castles, with vineyards taking up just about every square foot of land, is the Prosecco wine region, source of the wonderful sparkling wine that is served everywhere in Italy. A beautiful spot where we begin one of our Italiaoutdoors Bike the Wine Roads Italy bike tours, Prosecco has been produced for over 10 centuries in the foothills of the Marco Trevigiana, running from Valdobbiadene to Conegliano in the province of Trevi

Who would know that there are still some wine regions and vintners in France that American’s don’t know enough about? I do now, and soon you will too. I got an intriguing email on a Monday evening asking if I’d like to come meet one of the most influential and visionary French vintners -- Gerard Bétrand – on his turf – in the South of France., and by the way would I like to attend his annual Jazz Festival while I was there? The catch was… I would need to drop everything and hop on a plane in 24

So what do you get when you take a handful of diverse people like chefs, photographers, investment bankers,  hippies, actors,  financiers, studio drummers, brew masters, wine importers, engineers, developers, and an attorney-- place them on land in the gnarly limestone hills west of Paso Robles… and let each one craft their own unique vision of the perfect wine experience?  Well, in short, you get the Far Out Wineries group, and it is my recommendation you start planning your trip now.

When I fi

                                                                         Mendoza Winery

Located in the Andes mountain range of Argentina, Mendoza is a year-round vacation destination. Renowned globally for being the capital of Argentina's wine making industry----especially the renowned Malbecs---Mendoza is also a center for skiing in the higher peaks during July, August, and September. The annual Vendimia wine festival in March is the highlight of the year with festivities for all ages and a spe

Nova Scotia is so much more than I expected. It’s a delight to the senses, a city that speaks to the soul. I went there to learn about the wines, and came home with a wider appreciation of their dynamic and intriguing mix of heritage and culinary mastery. It’s such an easy trip to get there, you should definitely think about adding it to your “must travel to” list. I am glad I did.

Flying into Halifax to start my seven-day trip with seven other writers was easy. The airport is small and easy to n

I love visiting emerging wine regions with small lot, family-owned wineries that just don’t seem to get the press they deserve. So it came to be that my friend Ginger and I left fast paced So Cal and headed north two hours to Ojai. What’s that? You didn’t think Ojai had a wine region of its own? Yes it does, thank you very much. Read on as I introduce you to an incredibly unique 2-day wine tasting trip—Ojai Style.

First stop was the by-reservation only Noble Oaks Vineyard & Winery. Located in a p

David Vergari ~ The Legacy Man

I'd like you to meet the newest member of the Thornton Winery (Temecula Valley,CA) family, winemaker David Vergari. I set down for a meet and greet with David this week and what I found was a smart, outgoing, engaging man who unselfishly shares his time, talent and skills with those that cross his path. My sense of it is that we have a "Legacy Man" here. One that has a thoughtful idea of what AVA he's come to, what his tools and trials will be , and what his legacy

by Jordan Simon

Despite its bodacious beaches and historic towns, New York State’s Long Island still cruises medium to low on the travel radar. Most Americans — even many New Yorkers — who know anything about the largest island in the U.S., flaring out from the Big Apple like an enormous forked tongue, think: NYC bedroom communities, then beaches (Fire Island, the tony Hamptons).

But how many appreciate that not only does New York State harbor the country’s oldest continuously operated winery