Wine Travel Stories

In-depth Tales of Winery Visits Around the World

Lunch in Bolgheri and Amazing Visit to Tenuta dell ‘Ornellaia

Jan. 9, 2013 - The road to the small town of Bolgheri is lined with ancient cedar trees that give it a very royal feel. A small castle near the entrance enhances this feeling, and the tiny streets with small shops and restaurants complete the fairytale atmosphere. Lunch at Bionda Maria Societa After our tasting of Sassicaia at Tenuta San Guido, the bus dropped us off outside that town walls and we walked into town in search of a restaurant. One of the first we saw was Bionda Maria Societa where the owner stood on the doorstep and beckoned us [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:53:28-08:00February 15, 2013|

Beautiful Bolgheri by the Sea and Tasting Sassicaia

Jan 9, 2013 – We checked out of our hotel in Siena early so we could drive 2 hours through the Tuscan countryside to Bolgheri by the sea. Linda, our tour director, considered asking our bus driver to take the longer route via freeway to avoid the chance of people getting car sick again on the very twisting roads through the hills, but in the end everyone voted that we take the faster and more winding route past the ancient hilltop town of Volterra. The drive ended up not being as bad as we feared and we arrived at Tenuta [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:53:48-08:00February 12, 2013|

Lunch in the Hilltop Town of Montepulciano and Visiting Poliziano Winery

Jan. 8, 2013 – It only took about 10 minutes to drive from Bindella Winery to the outskirts of the beautiful stone wall surrounding the old section of Montepulciano. We wandered through the narrow streets, tempted by the many shops with cheese, wine, other food, and Italian leather purses and housewares. We stopped to have lunch at the famous Café Poliziano where I had a steaming bowl of the winter Italian soup made with kale, bread, and other vegetables. It was delectable with a warming glass of Vino Nobile. The view from the café is also stunning, with a panoramic [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:54:06-08:00February 6, 2013|

A Foggy Day in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Wine Region – Visiting Bindella Winery

Jan. 8, 2013 – Siena was shrouded in fog when we awoke, and though we were hopeful it would dissipate later in the day, it never did. Our first winery was Bindella, which is located in the hills outside the town of Montepulciano. The view of the surrounding countryside and the hilltop town in the distance would have been spectacular except for the very thick white fog that cloaked everything. Our hostess, Francesca, apologized profusely but no one can control the weather, and in some way, the drifting fog through the winter vineyards and tall green cedars made the whole [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:54:24-08:00February 5, 2013|

Arriving in Siena and Enjoying Hotel Chiusarelli & Restaurant Bagoga Grotta di Santa Catarina

(Jan. 7, 2013) - We didn't arrive in Siena until around 9pm that evening but it was impressive to drive into the night lit city and see the ancient walls and our hotel, an old Italian villa, with welcome lights shining through the marble pillars that fronted the lobby. Hotel Chiusarelli is housed in a beautiful old neoclassical villa built in the 1860’s. In addition to the lovely entrance with a charming garden, it is graced with high ceilings with frescos, lovely arched doorways, and has a nice breakfast room downstairs. The memory of the smell of home-made hot croissants [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:54:46-08:00February 4, 2013|

A Very Warm and Heartfelt Visit to Fuligni Winery

(Jan. 7, 2013) - The sun had just set as we left Casanova di Neri Winery to drive the short 10 minute distance to Fuligni Winery. The sky had turned to a lovely orange and the tall cedar trees were dark silhouettes against the sunset colors. Unfortunately as we wound our way down the hill, we missed the sharp left turn into Fuligni and had to go to the bottom of the Montalcino hill before we could turn the bus around. Then once we arrived, the bus was too large to enter the narrow driveway without scrapping against the long [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:55:04-08:00January 29, 2013|

Visiting Casanova di Neri Winery – Home of Award Winning Brunellos

Jan. 7, 2013 - Our appointment at Casanova di Neri Winery wasn’t until 3:30, so we enjoyed a leisurely lunch in Montalcino without being rushed. However, we ended up being late for our appointment because as the bus was heading down the hill towards the winery, we encountered a funeral procession with a priest and a cop leading it. The cop refused to let us pass, so we had to follow the procession for 20 minutes until they finally turned in the opposite direction. Viticulture Practices at Casanova di Neri Pier Luigi met us at the winery door and immediately [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:55:29-08:00January 25, 2013|

Visiting Montalcino – Hilltop City and Bastion of Brunello

Jan. 7, 2013 – As we left Florence to drive the 1.5 hours to Montalcino, the fog was just lifting from the city, and as we crested the hilltop with the bronze statue of David, we could look back and see all of the red-tiled roofs and domes of Florence gleaming in the sunlight. However the blue sky was short-lived as we headed south into Chianti Classico and the fog shrouded the bus again. It was only as we climbed the last twisting turns of the road into the small hilltop town of Montalcino that we burst out of the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:55:49-08:00January 21, 2013|

A Free Sunday in Lucca – City of Red Tiled Roofs

Jan. 6, 2013 – Since the 6th of January is an important religious holiday in Italy, we did not schedule any winey visits, and instead provided a free day. Many members of our group took the train the Venice, but Janeen and I decided to go to Lucca. We had both been to Venice before several times, but the city of Lucca was still unknown to us. I awoke rather hungry, as we didn’t eat any dinner the night before. We had decided to eat large lunches, and just have cheese and wine for dinner for the remainder of the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:56:06-08:00January 16, 2013|

Badia a Coltibuono – An Organic Winery in an 11th Century Abbey

(Jan. 5, 2013) - Before arriving at our 2:30pm appointment at Badia a Coltibuono, we stopped in the small town of Radda where Janeen had made a reservation to eat lunch at La Botte di Bacco Restaurant. This turned out to be one of the best meals of my trip. Lunch at La Botte di Bacco in Radda We started with a glass of local vermintino and a fresh salad mista. They served this with a big basket of mixed breads, including a very delectable mini-fried bread, which were addictive and hard to stop eating. In general, I usually do [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:56:26-08:00January 14, 2013|

Visiting Castello de Verrazzano in Chianti Classico Italy

Jan. 5, 2013 – The next day, we boarded the bus at 8:45 to drive to Chianti Classico and our scheduled visit with two wineries. On the bus, I provided a brief overview of the DOCG regulations for this region, including the mandatory 80% sangiovese rule with the remainder 20% up to the winery where they can use other grapes such as merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and the traditional caniolo and colorino. As of 2006, white grapes are no longer allowed in Chianti Classico red wine. We also reviewed the production method of the famous dessert wine of the region, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:56:45-08:00January 13, 2013|

Arriving in Tuscany and Walking Tour of Florence Italy

Jan. 3, 2013 – Our group of 28 California wine professionals left San Francisco at 7:30pm on Swiss Air Flight to Florence with a 2 hour stop-over in Zurich. Though a long flight with over 12 hours of flight time, Swiss Air was quite generous in giving us two meals and plenty of Prosecco as well as a house white and red wine. Everyone was quite excited to be going on a 10 day wine tour of Tuscany. We were met at the Florence Airport by our EF College Tour Guide, Linda, who efficiently loaded us on a bus and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:57:13-08:00January 12, 2013|

The Flourishing Missouri Wine Industry and Visiting Stone Hill, Home of the Norton Grape

Oct. 28, 2012 – I am in St. Louis for two days preparing to embark on a Mississippi River Board cruise where we will celebrate the Historic Wineries of America. As part of the pre-cruise outings, we spent an afternoon driving about one hour west of the city to the small town of Hermann, home to some of the oldest wineries in Missouri, including the famous Stone Hill Winery that I have wanted to visit for years. According to the listing on the Missouri Wine Roads app there are around 120 wineries in Missouri. They were primarily settled by German [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:57:32-08:00December 16, 2012|

Wine Judging Trip to Blue Mountains of Australia and Lillianfels Resort

October 2012 - During the second week of October, I was honored to be invited to participate in the Sydney International Wine Competition in Australia with 12 other wine judges from around the world. Two of us arrived on the non-stop flight from San Francisco to Sydney on Sunday morning at 7:30am and took a taxi ($15 with tip) to the Mercure Airport Hotel where they had reserved a day room so we could shower before meeting the rest of our group at 10am. We then boarded a small bus and drove the 1.5 hours into the Blue Mountains and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:57:50-08:00November 14, 2012|

Average Vineyard Worker Wages in South Africa – Emerging as a BRICS Country

Sept. 2012 - Several times throughout my wine trip to South Africa I asked winemakers the average wage they paid their vineyard workers. The answer was it depends on the region, as well as whether or not the workers have housing and benefits on the property. In terms of regional pay differences, it appears that Stellenbosch pays the highest wages at 170 Rand ($21) per day for a basic vineyard worker who does not live on the estate. Wineries in Cape Point and the Constantia region said they paid 120 – 150R per day ($15 - $18). In Swartland I [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:58:09-08:00November 11, 2012|

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