Rüdesheim is a wine town.  Surrounded by vineyards and perched at the banks of the Rhine River, it is spectacular to see. For two nights, we sat on our hotel balcony watching the boats pass and the sun set over the water (and a ridiculous amount of trains, tracks and barges rumble past–the Rhine is, [...]

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“The production of this wine is a milestone in my life as a wine-grower and marks a break with the variety-over-Terroir dominance under which the Alsace region has suffered so greatly for the past 100 years.” – Jean-Michel Deiss While most of the winemakers of Alsace make single-variety wines from single plots of land, Domaine [...]

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I’m addicted.  Unique to Austria, heuriges are informal dining & drinking venues usually attached to a winemaker’s house.  Traditionally, only their latest vintage of wine is served; the food is cold and includes breads, soups, sausages and salads all homemade on the premises. You will find them all over the country, with some bordering on [...]

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On a sunny day this April, we made our way to the château of winemaker, Nicolas Joly*, in France’s Loire Valley.  What transpired was the greatest navigational nightmare I’ve ever fallen prey to.  After hours of being squawked at by a maniacal GPS device, we finally rolled up to his estate…this video documents our day [...]

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There is a strange, new law in Austria: Any one who does NOT eat Wiener Schnitzel with a glass of Gruner Veltliner on their first night in the country, is to be dragged from their hotel and flogged publicly in the town square. Luckily, we had advance notice of this law.

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At Filistron restaurant last night, the following quote appeared on the menu: “Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever” – Aristophanes, 5th century BC And, yes, for those observant ones in the group, that IS the Parthenon in the background of this picture. Greece, [...]

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After sailing between islands, tromping over a volcano, swimming in a hot spring and eating fresh calamari straight off the grill, nothing satisfies like a cool glass of Assyrtiko. At least that’s what I always say…

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Santorini is mind-bogglingly beautiful…kind of like Tattoine, but on top of a volcano.  Still searching for the Mos Eisley Cantina… But, in the meantime, the German Sekt waiting in the fridge was a nice touch.

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Our last night in Italy, and after lugging it around for a week, we cracked this beauty.  Wise before getting three hours of sleep before catching a taxi at 5 am? Did I mention this is a fuckin Super Tuscan?!  Come on, people!

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Ordered a glass of white wine for lunch.  The woman plopped down a new bottle.  Most Audacious Waitress award?  Or just good service?

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A cliffside table, a plate of smoked swordfish, a mezzo litro of vino ligure da tavola & my lady. This is what it’s all about.

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After a three-hour drive south, followed by a half-hour bus ride, a two-hour train ride, and an ascent up four flights of stairs, we opened the window on this… Now it’s time to gets bottle of Cinque Terre DOC Bianchi for the fridge and let the chilling begin.

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Yes, Dave, the Veal Carpaccio & Truffles with a nice, cool glass of Arneis will be fantastic.  But there WILL be consequences.

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Today marks our 1-month anniversary on the road.  Staying in for the night with a wee spread of Piedmontese vittles.

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It rose out of the lagoon. Sometime around the 4th or 5th century, a resilient group of people had been pushed to the brink.  Exhausted and worn thin by constant foreign invasions, they decided to relocate to the marshy islands far out on the water. And thus, Venice was born. And the most magical city [...]

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