Portugal

Our visit to Portugal--nine years in the making--was truly fantastic, as evidenced by the fact that I was unable to edit my photos down to fewer than seven. We started off in Lisbon, headed to the Alagarve beaches, and finished up in the Alentejo countryside. We enjoyed amazing meals, with plentiful fish in the Alagarve and pork in Alentejo, and breathtaking scenery everywhere we went. Portugal remains surprisingly undiscovered, which meant that fewer locals spoke fluent English (not a problem for us, since we were traveling with our friend Andre, a native Portuguese speaker) and prices--even in euros--were quite reasonable. We stayed at a converted monastery in Beja and explored many old churches throughout the country. The highlight for me was a visit to a winery in Alentejo, where we tasted some excellent wines and olive oils--none for more than $20 per bottle--in a gorgeous setting. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a repeat invite from the Mouras next year!

Wine Tasting in Sonoma Valley

We finally decided to take my Aunt Kathy up on her longstanding offer to show us the best that California Wine Country has to offer. Sonoma certainly did not disappoint. We made the most of a full Monday of wine tasting and had all the tasting rooms to ourselves. The small, intimate wineries were a fantastic backdrop for consistently delicious wines (as a local, Kathy knows all the best spots--and everyone knows her!) We especially enjoyed Soda Rock and Hawkes, but Williamson was the best of all--they had a great selection of small plates to complement the wines and friendly Australian winemaker/owners who joined us for lunch. 

Adventures Down Under Part 7 - New South Wales

Our final Australian adventure was a road trip through New South Wales. We spent a day wine tasting in the Hunter Valley, which is famous for its wonderful Semillon. The Sebel Kirketon Park served as an elegant home base in the Hunter, and we had one of the best meals of our entire trip in the hotel restaurant. We especially loved Ivanhoe vineyards and the very knowledgeable sommelier there. For a break from the wine, we sampled the delicious wares at an olive oil shop. From the Hunter we moved on to gorgeous, mystical Katoomba and the Seven Sisters rock formation (only three are still standing!)

Argentina - part 2 - Wine Tasting in Mendoza

Ok, my new married/homeowning lifestyle has distracted me from completing my Argentina postings. (Though we have hosted a couple of successful evenings at the new digs and I am quite proud to have updated a bathroom, with a little help from hubby.)

Wine tasting in Mendoza was probably my favorite part of the honeymoon. We splurged on a high-end tour from Ampora Wine Tours, and it was definitely worth it. Our guide, Luli (stong contender for the title of cutest person in all of Argentina), spoke perfect English and set exactly the right tone for the tour. She was knowledgeable and enthusiastic yet unpretentious and fun at the same time.

Wine tourism is relatively new in Argentina, so things like tasting rooms and tours vary widely. Some of the wineries are still more like farms and others--especially the ones that offer free tastings--often won't let you taste their best wines. Most places also require advance reservations. Ampora specializes in mid- to high-end vineyards and has a max of 8 people on its tours. We visited 4 different bodegas (wineries), got to taste some excellent vintages and Ampora took care of all the logistics (so nice after the wedding madness!), including transportation, reservations, private tours and tastings for our group, lunch, and some nice little amenities like bottles of water and snacks, which were crucial to helping me stave off an early AM low-blood sugar meltdown that could have ruined the entire day.

We headed out to the Uco Valley, an up-and-coming area for wine cultivation, about an hour outside of Mendoza. The valley is at the base of the Andes and the scenery is unbelievable. Interestingly, all of the vineyards we visited were owned by foreigners--in this case, French, American, or Spanish. We visited a really interesting project called Clos de los 7, where seven established Frensh winemakers cultivate their own vines and produce their own wines on a huge property. Some of my favorites wines we tasted were Pasionado (a blend at Andeluna), Festival (a malbec rose at Monteviejo), and the Gran Malbec at Las Flechas de Los Andes. We took bottles of the last two home to remember the trip. We finished the day with an amazing lunch at Bodega O'Fournier, where Area 51 meets wine.