Dr. Liz Thach, MW

How Viral Food Trends Are Reshaping Wine Tourism

How Viral Food Trends Are Reshaping Wine Tourism. Photo Credit: Pexels.com Contributed by Hannah Brooks: Wine tourism traditionally centers largely around tastings, cellar tours, and vineyard views. While those experiences are still central to the industry, traveler priorities are shifting, with social media allowing people to choose their holiday destinations based on the latest TikTok, YouTube and Instagram food trends. According to Skyscanner’s guide to fashionable foods and travel, travelers are looking at specific factors such as the variety of ingredients, dishes and drinks when picking the perfect place for a foodie holiday. Dining and enjoying good quality wine is [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-05-17T12:43:22-07:00May 17, 2026|

Treasury Wine Estates and AI Innovation

Penfolds Winery in Australia, Part of Treasury Wine Estates. Photo Credit: Treasury I have long been a fan of the wines produced by Treasury Wine Estates. These range from Beringer in Napa Valley where I learned to fall in love; to my overnight stay at Matua vineyard in New Zealand, and two fabulous tastings of Penfolds Grange at Penfolds Winery in Australia. Therefore, it was exciting for me to conduct this interview with Adele Felsch, GM of Marketing Strategy & Insight, for Treasury. She shared with me all of the exciting innovations they are doing with the assistance of AI [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-07-13T17:47:37-07:00April 28, 2026|

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Wine Tasting Trip To California

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Wine Tasting Trip To California. Photo Credit: UnSplash (Contributed by Harriet Martin) If you’re a wine enthusiast who’s lucky enough to be visiting California, you’re in for a treat. Renowned for its world-class wines and stunning vineyard landscapes, the state is a dream for wine enthusiasts. With over 6,000 wineries, stunning national parks and 840 miles of pristine coastline to explore, there’s a dreamy wine tasting trip for everyone in this sunny paradise. Here, we take a look at how to get the most out of your wine tasting trip to California. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-09-14T13:19:49-07:00April 21, 2026|

Why Celebrating With a Magnum of Sparkling Wine is So Special

Why Celebrating With a Magnum of Sparkling Wine is So Special When selecting a special champagne or sparkling wine for a celebration, consider that there is both power and prestige in offering a magnum of celebratory bubbles, rather than the average-sized bottle. At 1.5 liters, or double the size of the traditional 750-ml bottle, a magnum is designed to serve 10 to 12 glasses and therefore is ideal for a larger gathering. Originally crafted for French royalty to serve at events, banquets and celebrations, the larger format signals elegance, luxury and magnificence. In fact the word, magnum, is based on a [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-01-25T12:02:40-08:00January 25, 2026|

Gruet Sparkling Wine From New Mexico Paired With Green Chile Cuisine

New Mexico Green Chile Dishes Pair Well With Sparkling Wine I have visited Gruet winery in Albuquerque, New Mexico on several occasions, and it has always been a delight. Recently I was able to interview the Gruet winemaker, Carrie Gurule, via Zoom. She also shipped me a variety of Gruet sparkling wines to try, and we had a wonderful conversation about which of the wines paired best with New Mexico green chile cuisine. “I have all of my mother’s handwritten recipes for New Mexican dishes,” Gruet Head Winemaker Carrie Gurule told me in a recent Zoom interview. “And they pair [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-01-25T11:51:23-08:00January 25, 2026|

Organic Wine & Food Dinner at Stanly Ranch Auberge in Napa Valley

Stanly Ranch Auberge is a New Luxury Resort in Napa Valley. Photo Credit: Stanly Ranch As one of Napa Valley’s newest resorts (2022), the Stanly Ranch Auberge Collection is making a splash with a focus on fresh, organic foods paired with local organic and sustainable wines. A perfect example was a recent wine and food pairing dinner at The Grange, their outdoor dining area surrounded by a sumptuous chef’s garden filled with rows and rows of delicious, fresh, organically grown vegetables. Featuring the organic wines of Quintessa Winery, the dinner was limited to 40 guests (including non-resort guests) and began [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2026-01-25T12:05:17-08:00October 30, 2025|

A Sparkling Visit to Domaine Evremond in Kent

I just returned from an exciting 5-day tour of the English Wine Region, located about an hour's drive south of London. Did you know there are now 212 wineries in England, and the primarily focus on making sparkling wine, due to their cooler climate and chalky soil! Below is a description of my visit to Domaine Evremond, a new winery that just opened in April of 2025. Our Group Visiting Domaine EVREMOND in Kent, England Domaine Evremond: A Franco-English Sparkling Wine Dream Realized Patrick McGrath welcomed us warmly to Domaine Evremond, introducing the team that has brought this pioneering winery [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-09-21T11:07:50-07:00September 21, 2025|

Experiencing the Wines of Drama in Northern Greece

Ktima Nico Lazaridi Winery in the Drama Wine Region of Greece This summer I had a chance to go on a wine tour in Northern Greece and was blown away by the high-quality of the wines, the delicious foods and the beautiful mountainous scenary sloping down the sea. One of the wine regions I visited is called "Drama," and is the birthplace of the wine good, Dionysus (also called Bacchus by the Italians). Read more about my experience below. Dramatic Mountain and See Views In Drama Wine Region of Greece We were all very excited to experience the wines of [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-09-21T10:50:08-07:00September 21, 2025|

How To Plan a Multi-Course Champagne Dinner

Champagne Is Very Versatile to Pair With Many Foods - Even Steak! Photo Credit: Pexels.com Recently I attended a 13-course dinner in Chicago where every course was paired with a different champagne or sparkling wine. Even the steak course! I was amazed, so I spoke with the chef and sommelier and discovered some great tips so you can create your own multi-course champagne dinner. Here are some suggestions for a 4-course dinner, but feel free to expand! Why Champagne and Sparkling Wine Pairs With Food So Well Many people don’t realize that champagne and other types of sparkling wine are [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-09-21T10:27:09-07:00September 21, 2025|

Think Champagne Doesn’t Go with Steak? Laurent Perrier and Alinea Say Think Again

Champagne Does Pair Beautifully With Steak. Pexels.com Many people believe that champagne can only be paired with appetizers or dessert, but Laurent-Perrier believes that champagne can be paired with any food, including steak. To prove this point, they recently organized a multi-course dinner at the 3-star Michelin restaurant Alinea in Chicago. Working with Jon Leopold, Wine Director at Alinea, the Laurent-Perrier team crafted an eye-opening and mouthwatering feast, featuring nine different champagnes paired with thirteen different courses, including Wagyu beef. During several breaks in the 4-hour dinner, Oliver Vigneron, Chef de Cave for Laurent Perrier, explained to the guests in [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-09-16T16:04:18-07:00September 16, 2025|

Wine Trends in British Columbia

A retro pour of predictions — with a BC twist. Contributed by author, Julian Park, and republished here with permission. For more information, please contact Julien at julian@bcwinetrends.com In 2016, Dr. Liz Thach MW published a list of “Hot Wine Trends” that aimed to capture the future of wine consumer behaviour. The industry was bracing for a sparkling boom, boxed wine battles, and a love affair with Sauvignon Blanc. Almost a decade later, we’ve pulled the BC data, opened a few bottles, and checked which of those prophecies aged well — and which were more fizzle than sizzle. Spoiler alert: some [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-08-08T12:52:16-07:00August 6, 2025|

How Your Wine Preferences Change Over Time

Have Your Wine Preferences Changed Overtime to Sweeter or Drier? (Pexels.com) Think back to the time when you first started tasting wine? Where were you? Who were you with, and more importantly, what types of wine did you prefer the most? There is plenty of research confirming that consumers have different wine preferences based on their genetics, with hyper-sensitive tasters preferring sweeter and less tannic wines, and tolerant wine consumers craving larger tannins and higher alcohol wine (see Hanni & Utermohlen). However, there is also a long-held belief in the wine industry that as consumers age, their taste preferences change [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-07-18T11:03:30-07:00July 18, 2025|

Margo Van Staaveren as New Director of Winemaking at Beringer Winery

Margo Van Staaveren, Director of Winemaking at Beringer Winery in Napa Valley Beringer Winery holds an important place in my wine journey, because it was the place that I fell in love with wine. A friend had brought me to Napa Valley for my birthday and we did a tour and tasting at Beringer. I will never forget standing on the porch of the old historic Beringer house, looking out at the vineyards, and having one of those "ah ha" moments. Surrounded by friends, laughter, and a delicious taste of chenin blanc in my glass, I knew that wine would [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-07-10T10:33:18-07:00July 10, 2025|

Dinner At 3-Star SingleThread Restaurant with Bricoleur Vineyards Wines

Wine and Food Pairings at 3-Star SingleThread Restaurant in Healdsburg, CA. Thach Though it was expensive to pay for the 9-course tasting menu at 3-Star Michelin restaurant, SingleThread, in Healdsburg, California, sometimes in life you just have to splurge. Besides dining at a 3-star Michelin isn't only about the food and wine, it is also like getting a front-row orchestra seat at both the ballet and theater, as well as attending an art gallery. This is because the servers seem to dance around the table in a ballet of grace as they bring new dishes and change out cutlery, plates [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-07-11T09:03:14-07:00July 10, 2025|

A Visit to Promontory Winery in Napa Valley

Visiting Promontory Winery in Napa Valley. Thach Driving up to the massive iron gates of Promontory Winery set upon a hillside about Napa Valley was an intimidating experience. However, once inside the gates, we were welcomed by Will Harlan and the rest of the afternoon was a magical visit as we learned more about his vision for the future. The Story of How Promontory Winery Was Established In the early 1980s, before Will Harlan was born, his father, H. William (Bill) Harlan, was hiking in the mountains above Napa Valley and stumbled upon a hidden valley. It was isolated and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2025-06-15T03:18:56-07:00June 15, 2025|

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