Winos - er, oenophiles - and beer lovers unite! Here we go galavanting after the grape and the hop, and there are of course scores of fetching - and sometimes surprising - countries & regions to choose from. Cheers!
The wine country around Solvang, southern California
Fess Parker Winery And speaking of vineyards, Solvang is also surrounded by more than 125 wineries producing some of the world's best vintages and many accepting visitors for tours and tasting; among of the most popular are half-century-old Firestone Vineyard, Fess Parker Winery (above, founded in 1988 by the actor famous for playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone on TV in the 1950s and 60s), and Sunstone Winery, in business since 1990 and with an enphasis on environmental sustainability. read…
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Giacomo Vico, Burlotto (Piemont), Castello di Poppiano and Il Pogiolo (Brunello Beato) in Tuscany. Looking forward to it and would be happy to report about my experience if interested.
Florida's Wine Country
Just about any day of the week in South Florida, you can find a shop hosting a wine tasting -- if traditional wines like Pinot Grigio and merlot are what you're looking for.
But if you're looking for tastes that are outside the mainstream, Schnebly Redland's Winery in Homestead serves wines made of tropical fruits -- carambola, mango, guava, passion fruit, lychee, avocado and the like.
``All our wines are grape-free,'' boasts one of the servers at Schnebly's tasting bar, pouring a taste of a sweet-ish wine made from carambolas.
Most of the wines are on the sweet side, but they're not cloying and are more complex than the sweet jug wines you'll find at the grocery store. If you take a sip and roll it on your tongue and think it tastes of guava, that's because it is made from guavas.
Peter and Denisse Schnebly farm more than 100 acres of tropical fruit orchards in southern Miami-Dade County. They started making wine from the blemished or overripe fruit that they couldn't sell, and in 2005, began selling the wine. Now they produce about 40,000 bottles of tropical fruit wines a year.
The winery opened a new tasting room two years ago and offers tastings every day: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $6 for a glass and tastes of five still tropical fruit wines, $7 for the ``special tasting'' of dessert and sparkling wines. Any time you bring back the glass, you get a free tasting.
The grounds also have coral waterfalls and large tikis where you can picnic or sip wine; the winery markets the location for weddings and other events. On some Friday evenings, Schnebly hosts Cool Summer Nights, with live music (next one is Aug. 28, with the band Pacific Rhythms).
Schnebly Redland's Winery, 30205 SW 217th Ave., Homestead; 305- 242-1224; www.schneblywinery.com.
I am off to Italy in October and will be visiting Piedmont - around Alba and Nieve) and Tuscany -Montalcino. I have been working with some Brunello producers for years and can't wait to be out in the vineyards
Also, I was in Valencia, Spain recently -- an area which has been coming up in the world, wine-wise -- and was introduced to high-tannin Monastrell (called Mourvèdre in France). While I can claim to be a connoisseur, I was impressed -- and so were the wine writers I was with.