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When wine connoisseurs Linda Kissam and Tom Plant invited me to a wine tasting and food pairing, I was thrilled to attend and the experience exceeded my already high expectations.  Linda and Tom had some special wines for us to taste and we were all encouraged to bring dishes that would go with our assigned wines.  Our group is called the Occasional Wine Council and meets “on occasion” to taste and critique wines along with food prepared by the participants to match specific wines.

Our goal is t

Who said you couldn’t enjoy some exquisitely-tasting wine for under $40?

Tourists who are intending to do tourism in Portugal generally complaints about scarcity of reference materials. However, there is information about tourism in Portugal that are scattered around the web in small blocks especially when it comes to Porto Portugal attractions. It is not easy to switch from one website to another to gather as many information about Porto Portugal attractions. Nevertheless, there are of course some websites and blogs that publish useful information just about tourism

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

I arrived early at the Mohegan Sun WineFest, right at the front door leading to the Grand Tasting Room before the first glass was even touched. I was on a mission. This year, with event program in hand, I committed myself to roughing out a game plan for the day ahead. With approximately 50 tasting tables & pavilions each with multiple vintages to pick from, 10 chef demonstrations on the main stage, additional special events like the Elite Grand Cru Tastingalong with food booths, various liquor &

'Tis the season for tasty accessible sparkling wines! You need not be a purist and only settle for Champagne to celebrate with the bubbly. Cavas and Proseccosare a great start for party wines to toast a grand occasion with hors d'oeuvres, or to finish off an opulent meal with dessert.

But there are many other low to mid-priced sparkling wines that are just begging to be enjoyed. One great example is Trapiche's Extra Brut made from a blend of 70% Chardonnay, 20% Semillon, and 10% Malbec. These gra

I'm always impressed when a wine visually reflects its terroir. You actually begin getting to know it just by pouring. My most recent instance of this was when I tasted Santi Moscato Montedoro 2010. Santi Moscato grapes are grown in Italy's Trentino region on foothills of the Dolomite Mountains. The word “Montedoro” is derived from the golden hue reflected on the pointed spires of these mountains at sunset.

Upon first taste, this wine has enough sugar to lull you into the assumption that it can o

Muscadine is a type of grape mostly indigenous to the Southeastern United States but also found from Delaware down to Georgia and as far west as Texas. Not only do they grow best in humid climates within this region, their distillation into wine is exclusive to this area as well. The first European settlers in America were introduced to Muscadine by the Natives. Sir Walter Raleigh is considered the first in 1584 and the “Mother Vine” is still living today on Roanoke Island, North Carolina.

Also k

BUEGay Great Wine Capitals announced the “Best of” winners

19 companies from Mendoza, Argentina, were awarded for their excellent performance in the field of wine tourism. The winners of each category are published below.

Mendoza, Argentina, dressed up to present the 2012 “Best of Wine Tourism” awards, which gathered important provincial authorities and local business people.

50 nominees, with their wine-tourism related projects, participated in this contest. Wineries, hotels and restaurants, among

Some people like to bring a little comfort from home on vacation – like a pillow.  Others want to know their TV shows will be available for them to watch while on vacation. Still others want to leave home behind altogether to learn all new things and broaden their horizons.  This Wine Diva wants to bring her favorite wines with her on vacation AND  learn about new exciting  food and beverage combinations.  Where did I do that?  On a Holland America cruise to Alaska.  Buckle up babe, this ain’t y

Portugal’s Precious Port Wine Trail

The Port Wine Trail begins in the only place legally  authentic Port can begin, in  Oporto, Portugal’s second-largest city, and a three and a half hour train ride north from Lisbon.

More importantly, it’s  the gateway to the Douro Valley’s prized Port wine vineyards. ()

The valley is really spectacular,  a “must see,” and certainly a absolute destination for any  lover of Port.

The hills are carpeted with terraces of grape vines that rush and fall away, down  tow

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

  As a frequent traveler between Los Angeles and San Diego, I've watched the "sleepy" little town of Temecula, in fact the entire Temecula Valley, transform into a thriving wine community.  Thornton Winery is a centerpiece of Temecula Wine Country, best known for fine champagnes.  But it's also a destination in itself, and for 22 years has been home to one of California's most successful jazz & wine "pairings."  The 8/7 show in the Champagne Jazz Concert Series featured keyboard favorite Keiko M

by Denise Mattia

IN VINO VERITAS

Finally there’s a Spanish wine that suits most palates.  Branded Tapeña, it’s a clever combination of the Spanish word Tapas (TAH-paz), foods to share, and peña, a slang word for a group of close friends.

The grape comes from the Tierra de Castilla region in the heart of Spain, an area that’s highly regulated by the Denominación de Origen (DO) appellation system.  Offering two reds, Tempranillo and Garnacha, a white, Verdejo and a Rosé, Tapeña wines are now availa

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

OK, this will border on being a relationship advice column. Those who know me will say that I am the last person to ask for advice. I respond that every dog has its day.

I have discovered the perfect gift for your special person. If this can't get you out of the doghouse, then it is over.

Near Buellton, at Highway 246 off the famous California Highway 101, is a road going into the beautiful La Purisima Hills. At the top lives a persevering woman that established from nothing the Gypsy Canyon Viney