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.

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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.

Just as the early morning sun had penetrated the Adriatic Sea’s marine layer, my driver arrived to take me to the Venice airport for my flight home to the U.S.   PortoPiccolo proved to be the ideal location to end my journey of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Located minutes from Trieste, devoid of Roman roads and medieval streets, the upscale seaside resort was the perfect venue to simply relax and reflect about my exploration of Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.