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?

We spoke to some solo women travel experts who shared their top safety mistakes to avoid when traveling alone... In Strasbourg’s Hôpital civil, a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape would be prescribed for bloating, while a Côtes de Provence rosé was used to treat obesity... Take a tour of six slightly obscure French destinations with a surprising number of gastronomic restaurants.

While visiting the coastal town of Bermeo, one of the oldest towns in the Basque Country of Spain, I received a most unusual invitation to dine with friends of friends. It was unusual not just because it began in a seafood market or ended in a mountaintop bodega. No, this was a rare invitation to dine at one of the Basque male gastronomy societies.

For many, kirsch is simply a sharp-tasting liqueur that recipes require in a pot of fondue. For the Swiss it is their national drink. For me it was an excuse to tour the Dettling Kirschwelt distillery. To be honest, just the hour-long boat ride from the city of Lucerne to the idyllic village of Brunnen on Lake Lucerne would have been worth it.

Dedicated Loudoun County winemakers, working with the rhythms of time and the vagaries of Mother Nature, have created an overwhelming revelation for visitors to Washington D.C. For those in the pursuit of pleasure, Loudoun County, a short 25-miles to the east of D. C. is a leisurely laid-back alternative from the chaotic rush and jumble of the big city where vineyards and horses combine to create a lifestyle to envy.