Giving the Gift of Wine Here’s a great list of suggested wines as gifts for the holidays, with different price points to match your budget.  This very informative gift list is written by Sheri Sauter Morano, Spokesperson for Wines of France. While out running the other day, my friend Jill ...

There is another side to the Champagne region which offers a different experience and deserves equal attention from visitors who are truly passionate about champagne. This is the world of artisanally-produced grower champagne. While the large champagne houses buy the majority of the grapes they ...

Natalie MacLean gives a fresh perspective on breaking the rules when pairing wine and food. You really can drink wine with just about anything, according to a new web site devoted to food and wine pairings. Zinfandel with your Tex-Mex? Not a problem. A little Chardonnay with your fried chicken ...

Fake Wines: How Bordeaux Producers are Beating Imposters In recent years winemakers have been paying increased attention to wine bottles. Why? to better protect against fake wines. As the value of Bordeaux’s top wines continue to rise so does the danger of counterfeiting. This leads the ...

Chateau du Trignon: Gigondas Wines I only had a half day to spend with Olivier visiting estates, so I knew that we had to maximize our time together. I wanted to get two distinct impressions of terroir in the Southern Rhone Valley, and Olivier set up visits and tastings at Chateau de Trignon ...

Hotels in Avignon France During my short stay in Avignon France for the wine and culinary tourism conference, I managed to see and/or experience six hotels in the region, most in Avignon, with a couple outside of Avignon. Here’s a brief recap of some hotels to help you get a feel for ...

The Popes Palace in Avignon, Private Experiences and Tours In Avignon, at the Popes Palace, we continue our wine and culinary tourism conference, and today is dedicated to meeting as many wine and culinary tour suppliers as physically possible in one day-under one roof. The trade show is ...

Chateauneuf du Pape, Chocolate, and Chateaux We heed the early morning call and start our day at a local chocolate factory.  The business has been around for several years; this is a new venture which combines a learning element to chocolate making. I start with wine and chocolate pairings ...

I’m spending a week with other travel professionals for a wine tourism conference in the Cotes du Rhone around Avignon.  We were a group of 25 or so professionals specializing in wine and culinary tours, many from Europe or the far East.  This gave for a very interesting mix of ...

To help introduce French white wines and champagnes, the French Embassy on October 4 hosted a Taste of France showcase of wine, spirits and fine foods, with informative cultural and travel highlights also featured. The presenters were very knowledgeable, patiently answering queries from experts ...

Bordeaux Wine Region- Day Two Post written by Jeremy Howard Our second day in the Bordeaux wine region started with a trip north to St Estephe and the unclassified Chateau Haut-Marbuzet. This winery, which dominates the tiny hamlet of Marbuzet, is something of an enigma.  It sits on the same ...

Subject: Bordeaux Wine Tour Bordeaux Prestige Wine Tour: The Medoc, Pauillac and St. Julien appellations I feel like a princess. Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron is an exquisite property, and my petit group of 8 people has private use of the entire place during this week of wine touring. Each ...

Wine Tasting: Why do we taste wine instead of just drinking it? To better appreciate its qualities, to assess whether the wine is drinkable (like when the waiter pours a little of the wine you ordered into your glass for you to taste at a restaurant), and to be able to identify typical aromas ...