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Category: Travel

ACORN Winery & Alegría Vineyards

Unique and Delicious Field Blended Wines This post is a 5-minute read. Before heading out to California for our wine excursion, I researched wineries that I wanted to visit. ACORN Winery caught my attention because they specialize in field blended wines. I was so excited that they made it onto our itinerary.  Yes, I really geeked out on this post. But this is what I love about wine. It can be so much more than fermented juice. Side Note: Field Blend Field blend means that the vineyard from where the grapes are harvested includes multiple grape varieties interplanted together. The…

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Tasting Lodi Wine – An Overview in Two Days

Sorry that I have been incommunicado, but we went to Northern California Wine Country. If you follow us on Instagram, you may have seen some of our social media posts. Just know, we were hard at work exploring, learning, tasting, and more tasting of wine from Lodi, Sonoma, Napa, and Suisun AVAs. We traveled with friends and fellow wine writers Amber & David Burke of Wine Travel Eats and Allison Levine of Please The Palate. This trip would not have been possible without them and the countless others that set us on this journey. In eight days, we visited 36…

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Bistronomy by Nico – Born from Pandemic

Charleston has a new french bistro and it’s a great new addition to our food scene. I have been twice and can not wait to go back. It’s called Bistronomy by Nico. There is a story behind it, so indulge me. After you read this make your reservation. We all know that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on families and businesses across this country.  Hundreds of thousands have died, millions sick, and businesses everywhere have closed – many for good. Restaurants and bars have been hit especially hard due to the social and sharing nature of those businesses. With time…

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Tasting at High Country NC Wineries

This is the second of two posts from our weekend getaway in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Today, we will focus on the wine tasting experiences at two of the seven wineries in the area. As a refresh… We chose Banner Elk Winery and Grandfather Mountain Vineyard and Winery because they were recommended, and they both claim area “firsts.” Banner Elk Winery established the first commercial winery in the area. And Grandfather Vineyard and Winery established the first vineyard in Watauga County, NC. Tasting at Banner Elk Winery It is actually Banner Elk Winery and Villa as there is a house…

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Banner Elk: Chill in the Mountains

It has been almost two months already since we returned from my birthday weekend in Banner Elk, North Carolina. With all of our wine trips and personal vacations canceled, we had to get something on the books where we could be “distanced and safe.”  And a cabin in the woods outside a small mountain town seemed like the right answer. Gary and I, along with another couple, spent four nights and five days chilling, drinking wine, and sitting by the fire. Banner Elk: The Cabin We chose this cabin after seeing our friends/neighbors post about staying there over the summer.…

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The Wine Shop of Charleston

* New Ownership * As most of my Charleston following know, Gary and my journey creating this blog, our in-person and virtual wine tastings, and now our wine concierge services started when Gary began his three-year stint working at The Wine Shop of Charleston. We recommended and sent many of you there to purchase wine. If Gary was there when you came in to shop, or it was one of the previous owner’s good days, all was grand. But if it wasn’t, many of you had an unfortunate encounter with her that left you bewildered or annoyed.  Thus you found…

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Getaway to the Mountains – Part 2

I ended the last post here. If you missed the previous post, you could get caught up here. If not, let’s get on with the weekend getaway. Burntshirt Vineyard – Our Second Stop Since we went to a brand new winery first, it only made sense to go to an older established winery next. Burntshirt Vineyards is one of the older wineries in this region of western North Carolina and currently holds the distinction of being the 2020 North Carolina Vineyard of the Year. Burntshirt Vineyards got its name from Burntshirt Mountain. According to their website, “Mountain lore has it…

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GetAway to the Blue Ridge Mountains

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we, like everyone else, had to cancel all of our vacations, work trips, and weekend getaways. It did not matter where we were going. It just mattered that we were getting out of town. But for months which feels like years, we stayed home for the benefit of society as much as for ourselves.  This past weekend we were supposed to be on a New York City getaway with seven friends to wine, dine, and see a couple of Broadway shows. That, of course, did not happen. We have been diligent about mask-wearing, hand…

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