This is our on-the-ground introduction to the New Zealand wine scene, focused on the South Island regions of Marlborough, Central Otago, and Nelson. It includes recommended wineries, a wine cottage experience for the romance bucket list, and an insight into how wine tasting in New Zealand can be more frightening than jumping off a bridge.
Can you spot the vineyards in the distance?
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Filed Under: New Zealand, Pacific, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
20 Comments | 24 April 2013
Up until our recent travels into the heart of port wine country, and despite countless glasses of the stuff under my belt, I was still tempted to consider port as a heavy drink that was quaffed by older British men with a cigar after a pot roast dinner.
Then we traveled deep into the Douro Valley in northern Portugal, the epicenter of port wine. And there, things opened up to me. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Panorama, Portugal, Wine by: Audrey Scott
12 Comments | 3 October 2012
Maybe you’d like to visit wine country in Argentina. You’ve heard about Mendoza, but you wonder: How to I go about wine tasting and touring wineries there? The options are many, but if you’d like to have a meaningful, enlightening wine tasting experience and an awesome time, here are a few tips on how to do so without blowing a ton of cash.
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- Patagonia: Hitchhiking the Wild West of Argentine Wine
- Red Rocks and Wine Tasting: Cafayate, Argentina
- Wine Tasting in Mendoza, Argentina: Going Beyond Malbec and Loving It
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
21 Comments | 26 January 2011
Red rocks and desert. Doesn’t sound like the right conditions for a wine region, does it?
The name Cafayate, another of Argentina’s winemaking regions, doesn’t quite have the same ring as Mendoza. But there’s something about the sandy soil — good for irrigation control and filtering – that finds expression in the local grapes, including the local white wine varietal of choice, Torrontes. Continue Reading »
- Patagonia: Hitchhiking the Wild West of Argentine Wine
- Red Rocks and Wine Tasting: Cafayate, Argentina
- Wine Tasting in Mendoza, Argentina: Going Beyond Malbec and Loving It
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
18 Comments | 14 January 2011
Has anyone ever told you how lucky you are regarding something for which you’ve worked so hard? Even when they’re trying to pay you a compliment, it stings a bit, doesn’t it?
After a visit to a family winery in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia this past October, I imagine that’s how winemakers sometimes feel.
During a weekend crush event at Bickel-Stumpf winery, we helped pick the season’s Cabernet Sauvignon. We enjoyed the blazing autumn sun, we ate heartily, and we tasted far too many wines. And like any roundly fulfilling experience, one of life’s lessons was reinforced along the way: the best in life is often less about glamour and more about hard work, mettle, and passion.
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Filed Under: Europe, Germany, Wine by: Daniel Noll
8 Comments | 18 November 2010
Have you ever read about or quaffed a famous wine and wondered how it was made? The terrain where the grapes were grown, the hands of the winemaker, or the transformation the wine has undergone from harvest to dinner table?
These were just a few of the questions piquing our curiosity about the great wines of Tuscany during our recent visit there. So we paid a visit to several wineries to get a feel for the land, the people, and the craft behind the great wine traditions of this region. Open the panorama below for a clue on how Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy’s most prestigious wines, is made. You’ll find two important components: a charismatic winemaker, and large Slavonian oak barrels.
Panorama: Learning about Brunello di Montalcino at Capanna Winery
For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.
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- Panorama of the Week: Pienza, Tuscany — A UNESCO Site Worth Getting Married In
- Eat Your Heart Out, Tuscany!
- Life Lessons from A Tuscan Wedding
- Panorama of the Week: The Makings of a Great Brunello di Montalcino
- From Hilltowns to Harvest: Tuscany in Autumn
- Accommodation Italy: Participating vs. Spectating
- Maremma: Hidden Tuscany (an Audio Slideshow)
Filed Under: Europe, Italy, Panorama, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
6 Comments | 11 October 2010
This is the first in our series about wine in Argentina. Next up: Cafayate, Mendoza, and how to choose a bottle of Argentine wine.
Patagonia: the home of otherworldly landscapes, uplifted granite, glaciers, unrelenting wind, and the toughened skin of a Pinot noir grape. At the region’s northern reaches, where fabled mountains yield to desert flatlands, there are wineries.
We couchsurfed and hitchhiked our way to find them, and when we did, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had them virtually all to ourselves.
Adventurers, read on. For those of you interested in the details of do-it-yourself wine touring in this area, read Patagonia Wine Tasting, a How To. Continue Reading »
- Patagonia: Hitchhiking the Wild West of Argentine Wine
- Red Rocks and Wine Tasting: Cafayate, Argentina
- Wine Tasting in Mendoza, Argentina: Going Beyond Malbec and Loving It
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Travel, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
11 Comments | 16 September 2010
When you hear “German wine,” what comes to mind?
For many it means “Riesling, white wines, sweet.” With the help of VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) and their 100th anniversary celebration, we aimed to better understand what German wines are all about.
The roster: 200 of Germany’s best wineries. The backdrop: 70 of Berlin’s trendiest art galleries. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Germany, Panorama, Wine by: Daniel Noll
4 Comments | 10 September 2010
While the people of Tarija, Bolivia will keep you hanging around, it’s the wine – surprisingly drinkable and made with grapes grown at an elevation of 6,000 feet — that Tarija is best known for.
Continue Reading »
- Tarija, Bolivia: It’s About the People
- Tarija, Bolivia: The Lowdown on Bolivian Wine
Filed Under: Bolivia, Food, South America, Travel, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
9 Comments | 15 December 2009
Ah, Austria. We could wax artistic about Vienna’s museums, poke fun at the people in period outfits selling classical music concert tickets, tell stories about Euro 2008, or tempt you with impressions of Viennese coffee houses and flaky apple strudel.
But what fun would that be? You can read about that in the New York Times Travel Section, Conde Naste Traveler or any other travel magazine.
Instead we’ll share how, with the help of an Austrian friend and an unplanned turn of events, we discovered the real Austria in the country’s Weinviertel (Wine Quarter) about an hour outside of Vienna. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Austria, Europe, Humor, Travel, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
2 Comments | 23 July 2008
