On the Sideways Movie Trail: A Wine Tasting Tour of Santa Barbara

Far from home, in the Macedonian capital city of Skopje, the American wine-lover’s flick Sideways was providing background fodder at a wine event. For a second, Shawn and I thought we’d been whisked back to the United States, until we spotted the Academy Award winner’s subtitles written in the Cyrillic script, an alphabet made even more foreign afterContinue reading “On the Sideways Movie Trail: A Wine Tasting Tour of Santa Barbara”

Tasting Central California: A Paso Robles Wine Tour

Six decades ago, my grandparents and their then-eight children piled into the family car and drove to San Luis Obispo from Minnesota. My grandfather was to begin a teaching position there. Though the family’s chapter in San Luis Obispo (SLO) ended up being a short one (frankly, I don’t know how they bid farewell toContinue reading “Tasting Central California: A Paso Robles Wine Tour”

A Long Weekend in California Wine Country: Getting a Taste for Napa and Sonoma Wines (Part 2)

Note: This is part two of the series, Long Weekend in California Wine Country. Click the image for part one. 

A Long Weekend in California Wine Country: Getting a Taste for Napa and Sonoma Wines (Part 1)

“I should like to spend the whole of my life traveling abroad, if I could anywhere borrow another life to spend afterwards at home.” William Hazlitt There seems to exist a syndrome among international travelers and expats. They’ve visited the world’s most far-flung destinations, but haven’t seen much of what their home countries have toContinue reading “A Long Weekend in California Wine Country: Getting a Taste for Napa and Sonoma Wines (Part 1)”