No, I’m not in Hawaii, this is San Giuseppe al Lago in the southern Alto Adige.  The Bassa Atesina is the largest and warmest of Alto Adige’s seven viticultural zones.  It seems incongruous that we would be eating lunch outside in the foothills of the Alps, but the region gets warm influences from warm winds coming off Lake Garda to the southwest.  As the crow flies, it is about 40 miles away. 
In the morning, we stopped in Termeno, the home of the aromatic gewürztraminer.  In the Alto Adige, gewürztraminer is …

The Trentino Alto Adige covers 13,500 hectares, 11,100 of which are controlled quality (DOC) wines.  On the way north from Verona to Trentino, one is struck by the steeply rising Dolomite mountains on both sides of the highway along the Adige River.  Only about 15% of the land is cultivable, most of it to grapevines and fruit trees. 
The region produces about 1.2 million hectoliters of wine, 70% of which are red wines such as the light-bodied Lagrein and Teroldego.  Whites consist of  aromatic varieties gewurztraminer, sylvaner, muller thurgau and moscato, and …

Verona 77 degrees, Napa, California 78 degrees forecast.  I love travelling to Europe in the spring, volcanos notwithstanding.  The weather is glorious and last night, warm enough to dine comfortably outside at 9:00 pm.
Veneto is known for its ancient cities of Venice to the east and Verona to the west.  It is the largest region for controlled origin (Denominazione di Origine Controllata/ e Garantita aka DOC or DOCG) wines in Italy by volume with about 1.7 million hectoliters produced annually.  Its famous appellations include the white Soave, Italy’s most exported white wine, the …

In name and in place, the Chappellets own the real Pritchard Hill. Charles Pritchard was a real man who in the 1870’s first cultivated this difficult terrain about four miles up the eastern mountains from the Oakville floor. In 1873, he reported about 2,000 vines planted and by 1881 there were 15,000 vines on 15 acres (History of Napa and Lake Counties), about the right density of planting for dry-farmed vines on well-draining and shallow slopes. Pritchard’s farmstead was known in those times as “Pritchard Hill.”    
Pritchard Hill is not in …

 Arriving at Ceja Vineyards on a cool spring morning, one is struck by the impeccable landscaping – just one of many signs that the Cejas take pride in their work. Ceja was founded by Amelia and Pedro Ceja, Pedro’s brother and winemaker Armando Ceja, and his wife Martha. Ceja produces about 10,000 cases of wine a year from 115 acres of prized vineyards in Carneros and Sonoma Coast that reflect both the cooler terroir of these appellations and their own personal styles.  
The wines are elegant, medium-bodied and show fine restraint …

Oenotri, Downtown Napa’s latest restaurant, combines the essence of Southern Italian simplicity with the purity of local ingredients.  On a recent Wednesday night, the restaurant was packed by 6:00 p.m. and buzzing with energy.  The casual venue is modern and spacious, with re-habilitated wood tables and an open kitchen.   In Oenotri, owners and chefs Curtis Di Fede and Tyler Rodde have created a restaurant that will appeal to locals and visitors alike.
The menu is very focused, featuring authentic Southern Italian flavors achieved the traditional way,  with wood-fired oven, house-made salumi, pastas, oils and vinegars and the freshest local …

This is not a wimpy, token ‘hike’, this is serious, get out in the fresh air, earn that gourmet dinner type of hike over the large and beautiful estate of Kunde Family Estate in Kenwood, Sonoma Valley. And for those of you who love to travel with your dogs, this hike is made for the both of you. Jeff and Roberta Kunde have always enjoyed walking their dogs on the property and decided last year to invite visitors to join them. The hike begins in the morning and lasts for about three hours, …

With its long history, distinctive terroir, leadership, and international recognition for quality, Stags Leap District is one of Napa Valley’s premier appellations. The Stags Leap area was being farmed as early as the 1870′s by Terrill L. Grigsby who owned 257 acres of land at the desirable foothills of the valley, 80 acres of which were dedicated to grapevines.  Grigsby was one of the valley’s largest vintners and earliest settlers “identified with the growth and prosperity of the valley since the first” (History of Napa County). In 1878, Grigsby was in the process of …

Nautilus pinot gris from Marlborough

New Zealand is a new World wine region with a cool climate.  There are over 77,000 acres of vineyards in New Zealand with 2009 production of 205 million liters.  Because New Zealand has a relatively small population, over half of the wines are exported.  New Zealand covers a distance of 1,000 miles from 34th to the 47th parallel across two islands, with the South Island being generally cooler and drier than the North Island.  On the South Island, New Zealand grows  the majority of its signature aromatic white grape varieties such as …