Because of the pandemic, every trip and cruise I had scheduled got cancelled for the rest of 2020. It has been at least 6 months since I’ve travelled outside of the Houston area. So we felt like a long weekend in Fredericksburg would make up for some of the experiences we’ve missed out on this […]
Wine Tourism
Hungarian Wine via Budapest
When my friend Sarah asked me to join her in Budapest, Hungary at the tail end of a work trip, I said yes! She wanted to visit a wine region or two, and I was game for pretty much anything. I had heard about Hungarian wine but hadn’t tried it until she gave me a […]
Discover Valdichiana at ICCC
I may be less than 10% Italian, but I LOVE Italian culture: the food, the wine, the fashion, the cars and scooters, the people, the history, and especially visiting the country. I was invited to attend Discover Valdichiana at Houston’s Italian Cultural and Community Center hosted by Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Texas for an evening […]
A Visit to Hambledon Vineyard near London
Last month I checked a thing off my bucket list: visiting an English sparkling vineyard/winery! We visited Hambledon Vineyard near Portsmouth and Southampton, about an hour train ride from London. We enjoyed a tour hour tour and tasting, and it was one of the most, if not THE most, comprehensive tour and explanation of the […]
How I Pack My VinGardeValise DIY Inserts
Usually when we take road trips to Texas wineries, at some point we have to ask for a box to keep our bottles from rolling around the trunk or floorboard. But now that I have a VinGardeValise Petite wine suitcase (holds 8 bottles), which has been great for transport and to keep the wine pseudo-insulated from the Texas […]
Celebrating the Harvest at Messina Hof
It’s always a pleasure visiting Messina Hof in College Station (just northwest of Houston). I’ve been a huge fan of Texas wine for over a decade since I started my wine journey driving around the Texas Hill Country with printed maps from Yahoo and a car full of my college friends. Though my mode of […]
Niagara Trip Report (Part 2: Wine)
A guest blog post by Tracy Continued from: Niagara Trip Report (Part 1: Waterfalls) Day 3 – Exchanging Waterfalls for Wine On Sunday, we scheduled a wine tour of Niagara-on-the-Lake and were thrilled to temporarily escape the massive crowds surrounding the Falls. We booked a private tour with Wheelz Niagara (https://www.wheelzniagara.com/packages/private-day-tour-with-niagara-region-hotel-pick-up). Bernie picked us up just before […]
Niagara Trip Report (Part 1: Waterfalls)
A guest blog post by Tracy The idea of visiting Niagara Falls had been thrown around many times over the years but, for some reason or another, had always gotten pushed aside in favor of other destinations. However, last November, my boyfriend, Steve, informed me (quite out of the blue) that he’d taken it upon himself […]
Enchanted Rock Trip Report: Camping, T. Rexing, & Wine Tasting
Twice a year a couple of my friends and I, all of us geoscientists, teach geology for Texas Parks and Wildlife Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. Occasionally we auction a hosted trip to Enchanted Rock and wine country near Fredericksburg with proceeds benefiting the Friends of Texas BOW non-profit organization. This is the trip report from last spring’s hosted […]
A Malbec Horizontal Tasting
Recently I was encouraged to reconsider malbec as a more nuanced wine than previously thought. Not all malbecs are grown and made the same, so why would we expect them to taste the same? And why hadn’t I thought of this before? My geology and wine loving friends and I got together to explore four […]