Lifestyle

This story originally appeared in ATOD Magazine. A Brand New Way to See Some of the World’s Most Beautiful Places Planning a trip to a wine region can be daunting. Where should we stay? Where should we eat? What wineries should we visit? Are there other activities we should explore? How do we get around? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a curated experience in wine country where anything you want to do will be customized and planned for you? We agree. So luckily, we happened upon a brand new personally curated experience with a company called BeautifulPlaces. BeautifulPlaces is the first “villa company” in the world that focuses on epicurean luxury travel to wine regions and beyond. Whether you want to immerse yourself into a local community, take a cooking class, hire a private chef, or visit a winery, they can make it happen. The pinnacle of the experience is the accommodations. The collection of villas range from large chateaus to contemporary homes to mountaintop retreats. Pick a place – California, Caribbean, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Austria, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Thailand – and let your journey begin.
21 March, 2017
Karaoke and cocktails - sounded like a fun thing to do with friends. So a group of us headed to Koreatown to check out the newest karaoke bar in town, The Venue. We wandered around the large office building on Wilshire Blvd at Normandy, looking for The Venue. As we passed the notorious karaoke bar, the Brass Monkey, we wondered if perhaps it had changed names. But we finally found the nondescript entrance heading into the basement of an office building. We walked down a stairwell and entered The Venue. While the outside looks like a typical office building, the space is impressive. Past the check-in station, there is a large low-lit dining room with plush leather seating and a full bar. The Venue is not your typical karaoke bar. It is sophisticated, contemporary and offers a full menu of food and drink.
16 March, 2017
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

After spending a few days tasting wine in Central Virginia, I was already impressed by the quality of wines being produced by winemakers in both the Monticello and Shenandoah Valley AVAs.

Aromatic yet acidic viognier, velvety cabernet francs, as well as albariño, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, petit manseng, petit verdot are all being made with success. And, while anyone who had tasted Virginia wine in the past might remember thinking, “I’ll drink the white wines, but the red wines…nope,” that is changing.

There is a quality revolution happening in the mid-Atlantic and that was the theme this year at USBevX, a conference and trade show dedicated to helping drive the quality reputation for eastern and midwest wine and beverage producers, when they hosted the second annual conference in Washington, D.C. in February.

Winemaker Gabriele Rausse, who has been called “The Father of the Modern Virginia Wine Industry,” was one of the first to plant vinifera in Virginia. He came to Virginia from Italy and was quoted in the feature documentary “Vintage: The Winemaker’s Year” as saying that when he arrived in 1976, it was a dark landscape, a somewhat primitive situation and he did not have much hope. But, “Everybody was against it so what can be better than the challenge of what they say you cannot do.”

Today, there are 250 wineries in Virginia; there are 50 producers on Long Island; there are 75 wines in Maryland. There is wine in Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and beyond.

14 March, 2017
This story originally appeared in ATOD Magazine. You might be shoveling your driveway right now or sitting by a warm fire sipping hot chocolate and dreaming about a far-off destination so we decided to do a little recon. Where did we end up? Athens, Greece and now is the perfect time to visit. Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. It was also at the heart of Ancient Greece and is home to the Acropolis and a slew of 5th-century BC landmarks. Whether you are a history buff or heading off to an island, Athens is a routine stop during any trip to Greece. So. we wanted to give you plenty of reasons to go in winter and spring rather than wait for summer (when everyone else is there and the weather is hot and sticky!) The late winter/early spring months have average temperatures in the mid to high 50s°F and sees less rain and more sun than other winter months. In other words … ideal.

WHERE TO STAY

09 March, 2017

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. Sojourn Cellars in Sonoma, was started in 2001 by friends Craig Haserot and Erich Bradley who shared...

08 February, 2017
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. Learning about the wines of the world can be an overwhelming endeavor at times. There are so many countries that produce wine. Then there are all the regions within each country, not to mention the thousands of grape varieties.
Just when we get comfortable with the grapes and areas of Napa and Sonoma, then perhaps France, Italy or Spain, more regions are becoming prevalent in the U.S. market. Now we can find wines from Greece, Portugal, Georgia and beyond. And there is so much to learn. Greece alone has more than 300 indigenous varieties and more than two dozen wine regions. What do you know about Greek wines?
Here are some questions:
26 January, 2017
This story originally appeared in California Winery Advisor. Los Alamos – One Single Block Offering Days of Fun The town of Los Alamos is one block long. As you drive through the single main street, it will seem like you have entered an old pioneer town. It is almost like a movie façade. But look closely and you will see storefronts for wineries, restaurants and antique shops. This tiny town is a wine country destination. Los Alamos was a former stagecoach stop on the edge of the Santa Ynez Valley. A twenty-minute drive north of Solvang, Los Alamos was a sleepy town until a decade ago when refugees from Los Angeles arrived. Music industry, entertainment industry and fashion industry executives left their hectic city lives for the calmness of this little town. The town that used to be called “Los Almost” is now sometimes called “Little Los Angeles.” Los Alamos has also attracted young winemakers/entrepreneurs to set up shop there as the town, for the time being, is an affordable destination with unlimited potential.
24 January, 2017
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
It is a new year and the vines are dormant. In regions across the West Coast, much-needed rain is falling. But on the East Coast, the vines are buried under snow. As I see friends post photos of being in the snow, I am reminded about my visit this time last year to Loudoun County in Northern Virginia where I went to explore the wines. loudoun-county-virginia-1
There are approximately 250 wineries in Virginia. Loudoun County is considered the wine region of Washington, D.C. Located one hour outside of the nation’s capital, Loudoun is home to more than 40 wineries. The first vines were planted in 1981 and the region has exploded since. Loudoun County is divided into five distinct geographic sections – northern, western, southern, central and eastern. salamander-resort-and-spa
For my exploration of Loudoun County, my home base was in Middleburg in Southern Loudoun at the Salamander Resort and Spa. In the middle of horse country, this luxury retreat sits on 340 acres and includes 168 rooms, a 23,000-square-foot spa, equestrian center, culinary garden, cooking studio and restaurants.
19 January, 2017
This story originally appeared in California Winery Advisor. Urban Wine Tasting Napa, Sonoma, Santa Ynez Valley, what these places have in common is that they are wine regions. What they also have in common is that they are in close proximity to cities – Napa and Sonoma to San Francisco and Santa Ynez to Santa Barbara. While a trip to wine country is always welcome, these days you do not have to leave the city to go wine tasting. Both San Francisco and Santa Barbara offer urban wine tasting experiences, featuring the wines of the neighboring wine regions but with the convenience of being in the city. SANTA BARBARA Santa Barbara Wine Country is forty-five minutes north of the city of Santa Barbara. With Los Olivos, Solvang and the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, as well as all the estate wineries, there is plenty of wine tasting to be done in the area. But over the past few years, many of the wineries have been opening wine tasting rooms in downtown Santa Barbara, also known as “the American Riviera”. While there are no vineyards downtown, the proximity to the Pacific Ocean is appealing. With a unique range of tasting rooms in the city of Santa Barbara, your entire visit can be focused on wine or can be interspersed between eating, shopping and hanging at the beach.
13 January, 2017
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