Encircled by miles of neatly planted vines that seem to stretch to the horizon, a large realm of the senses is overwhelming while lingering in Napa’s historic Bennett Vineyard with legendary winemaker Mark Herold.

This installment of Three Things About Bordeaux is courtesy of Richard Carroll; writer & author at Traveling Boy. 1. Question: What are some of the “things” or activities that the people of Bordeaux do for fun? Answer: The Bordelaise, active and vibrant, enjoy wine tasting in one of the world’s great wine growing regions such as Saint Emilion or Pomerol. Dining at sidewalk tables …

Story and photographs by Tom Weber Have you ever glanced across the room in a restaurant and seen someone at another table engrossed in a business lunch? The poor frontline employee is talking frantically on an iPhone with someone back at the office while simultaneously crunching sales projections on an iPad as his/her regional manager, waiting impatiently, strums his/her fingers …

There is nothing better in a travel-foodie blogger's life than to receive an invitation to attend a special event involving a knife, fork, spoon and wine glass. I scored such an invite several years ago from Bottega S.p.A., an award-winning Italian estate built inside Villa Rosina, a renovated and expanded 19th century manor house surrounded by ten hectares of just-picked vineyards, in tiny Bibano di Godega di Sant'Urbino, just 45 km (27 mi) north of La Serenissima, Venice.

Wandering the hilly, narrow cobblestone streets in our home base of Montalcino, Italy, a Medieval city of interlocking passageways, steps and alleyways curving around and through and behind and beyond the main square, I reminded myself I was walking through history spanning eight hundred years. Stopping for lunch, I ordered a glass of the house wine. A bottle arrived at …

For 85 days, between March and June of this year, my wife, Orna O’Reilly, aka Chef Double O, and I hunkered down inside Villa Allegra, our little bright-white house with Santorini-blue shutters tucked inside the Valle d’Itria just outside of Ostuni, as Italy imposed a nationwide lockdown of biblical proportions to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Elsewhere I wrote about a more formal Monterosola red wine tasting but their whites simply lent themselves to an informal late summer brunch . . .

At a time when COVID-19 keeps us from traveling overseas, I enjoyed some travel vicariously by reading about a vineyard in Tuscany while tasting some of their organic wines. While it was a poor substitute for actually walking the rows, smelling the breeze blowing over the 25 hectare hillside estate, and touring the cantina, the experience was improved by tasting the wines.

I’ve stayed in lots of luxurious and unique hotel rooms around Southern California, but I’ve never stayed in one that sits amongst lush vineyards. That is until this past weekend when I experienced South Coast Winery Resort & Spa.

What do Americans want when it comes to Bucket List travel? A group from Provisional Living wanted to find out not only what’s on those lists, but why and how they got there... Travel advisors are well-equipped to handle just about anything travel-related. But what happens when an unforeseen travel nightmare occurs?