Wine Travel Stories

In-depth Tales of Winery Visits Around the World

How Many Wineries Are There in the United Kingdom Now?

Though I’ve visited the UK more than 15 times, including a semester abroad at Oxford during my junior year at university, I still haven’t had a chance to visit any of the British wineries. Such a trip is definitely on my bucket list. Believe it or not, there are now 124 wineries in the UK! In the meantime, I was fortunate enough to have Joe Towner, who is assisting in promoting the UK wine industry, contact me about a new information source for wine lovers – a guide to UK wine. It is available at the following link and includes [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:40:50-08:00August 30, 2013|

Wines of Quebec and the Exquisite Vandal Cliché Grape

This past week I attended a French Immersion class in Quebec City, Canada and stayed with a local family to insure I was “immersed” in the French language. It was a very pleasant experience, and I had the opportunity to visit several wineries and taste wines made from the unique Vandal Cliché grape, which was developed at Laval University in Quebec. Quick Facts on Canadian and Quebec Wine There are over 600 wineries in Canada, with the majority clustered in the Niagara Peninsula area of Ontario and the sunny lake region of the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. However, Quebec [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:41:13-08:00August 6, 2013|

Excellent Tour and Tasting at Henriques & Henriques Winery on Island of Madeira

(June 2013) - We arrived at the aging cellars of Henriques & Henriques Winery around 12:30 and spent a delightful two hours exploring the barrel rooms and tasting more than 20 amazing Madeira wines. Though the still wine is fermented elsewhere on the island, the historic cellars are located in Camara de Lobos, a suburb of Funchal near the ocean. Currently the 3rd largest producer on the island, and the only winery to own 11.5 hectares of vineyards (28.6 acres), Henriques & Henriques was founded in 1850 by Joao Joachim Henriques, but today is co-owned by CEO Humberto Jardim and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:41:40-08:00July 3, 2013|

Operations Tour and Tasting at Barbeito Winery, Island of Madeira, Portugal

June 2013 - Our appointment to visit Barbeito Winery was scheduled for 10:30am, and Paulo drove his SUV expertly around the many twists and turns on the narrow road to the hilltop location. The CEO and winemaker, Ricardo, greeted us and we started the tour at the grape reception platform. As the tour progressed, we became more and more impressed with Ricardo’s energy, passion, and innovative spirit. Barbeito produces around 170,000 liters of wine per year (around 19,000 cases), including a variety of third-party labels such as the famous Historic Series. Ricardo said they purchase all of their grapes from [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:43:57-08:00July 3, 2013|

Three Days in Madeira – Not Enough Time

In June I was fortunate enough to spend three days in Madeira – well, really 2.5 days because our plane landed at 1pm on Monday and we had to be at the airport to leave at 1pm on Wednesday. Madeira, a wine island in the middle of the Atlantic off the coast of Morocco, and owned by Portugal, is a place I’ve always dreamed of visiting. Now I’ve decided I must go back sometime and spend at least a week on this enchanted isle. Flying to Madeira from Lisbon My friend Lupe and I flew from Lisbon on TAP Air [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:44:15-08:00June 28, 2013|

Pairing Madeira Wines with Food – Amazing 5 Course Meal at Chalet Vincente in Funchal

(June 11, 2013) - We enjoyed a 3.5 hour lunch at Chalet Vincente, a charming restaurant near the ocean in Madeira’s main city of Funchal. The menu was impressive, custom ordered in advance, and served with both Madeira fortified and still wines which accompanied traditional Madeira dishes. Appetizer: 5 year old H&H Sercial with Marinated Octopus and “Bolo do Caco” (Madeira Bread, unleavened with garlic) First Course: 5 year old Barbeito Verdehlo with Tuna simmered in a Tomato & Onion Sauce Second Course: Still Verdelho Wine Terras do Avô with "Espada Preta" (Black Scabbard Fish) lightly battered in a local [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-19T00:08:53-08:00June 13, 2013|

Buying Wine in Moorea, Bora Bora & Tahiti

May 2013 – My husband and I decided to celebrate our anniversary in the Tahitian Islands on an 8 day/6 night trip. The reason it was 8 days is because the non-stop flights from Los Angeles to Papeete only fly at night, so we spent two nights trying to sleep on a plane, and the other 6 nights sleeping in beautiful resorts. Naturally we packed some wine to take with us – 3 bottles – but quickly discovered that we should have brought more, or purchased it in duty free as we witnessed many other people doing. This is because [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:46:15-08:00June 12, 2013|

Wine and Food in Hilton Head and Savannah Georgia

One of the items on my husband’s bucket list is to play golf on Hilton Head Island, so when I was able to get a good deal on a weekly condo rental there recently, we jetted off to the South Carolina island covered with long white sandy beaches, swaying palms, pink azaleas, and oak trees dripping with lacy moss. He was happy because he was finally able to play Harbour Town golf course with the famous red and white lighthouse on the 18th hole. He also enjoyed the challenge of Sea Pines Ocean course, Palmetto Dunes and Shipyard. I was [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:46:41-08:00June 4, 2013|

Costa Rican Cuisine, Wine & Ecotourism – Living the “Pura Vida”

March 13, 2013 –This past week I enjoyed my first visit to the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Though better known for coffee than wine, since I was in the country to present a paper on the wine supply chain at the NBES academic conferences, I was naturally curious to learn about the types of wine available in Costa Rica. Therefore I made it my mission to investigate wine lists and store selections during my stay. Monkeys in Costa Rica Chilean Wine Dominates, Followed by Argentina and Spain After visiting six restaurants, three grocery stores and four wine shops, I [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:52:51-08:00March 20, 2013|

Enjoying a Slow Food Feast in San Minato and Visit to Falaschi Butcher Shop

Jan. 10, 2013 – After leaving Bolgheri the evening before, we arrived back in Florence rather late and checked into Hotel Donatello. This is a beautifully decorated hotel with ornate furniture and draperies in the rooms, but rather tense and unfriendly service. Its upside is a location that is within easy walking distance of downtown Florence, the Duomo, and the railroad station. We awoke the next morning to our first raindrops of the trip and were grateful the rain had waited until our last day to arrive. As it turned out, it only sprinkled during the morning, and dried up [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:53:07-08:00March 1, 2013|

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|

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