We're off to Sweden, a week-long follow-up to my thirty-six hour jaunt last November. I'm particularly excited to try the wine from the Europe's (and I believe the world's) northernmost wine region, specifically from Vingården Klagshamn and Hällåkra Vineyard. I'll also be flying aboard my first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, an experience that I've thus far been denied thanks to the likes of the Boeing 767, Boeing 747, and Airbus A330 that have recently stepped in to ferry me across the ocean. I hope you'll keep up with Wine:Thirty Flight via Twitter and Instagram.
Read moreCelebrate National Wine Day with our favorite bottles from the first half of 2017
May is a big month for wine themed holidays and celebrations. We've not only celebrated Oregon Wine Month and Aussie Wine Month, but tomorrow, May 25th, is National Wine Day in the United States. While we wish this occasion rose to the level of day-off-from-work holiday, we're settling for five of our favorite wines we've reviewed thus far this year. Think of this as a midyear preview of our "Best of 2017" lineup. Cheers!
Read moreFine dining in Virginia Wine Country at Winchester's One Block West restaurant
It's springtime in the old town of Winchester, to which we've driven through the lush green in the heart of Virginia Wine Country, just north of that sparkling constellation on the map, stars formed by some of the Commonwealth's brightest wineries: Delaplane, RdV, Linden, Glen Manor. We've come looking for One Block West, the unassuming restaurant tucked away on South Indian Alley, (unsurprisingly) one block west of the main street that traverses the historic town.
Read moreHow to fly for free using Chase credit cards
Next week my wife, Meghan, and I fly to Sweden on our third trip to Europe in seven months. We've paid exactly $0 for trans-Atlantic airfare thanks to to the way we our Chase Bank credit cards for most of our every day purchasing. I've written in the past about how to Travel further for less (or no) money by smartly earning and using credit card points, but here I'll specifically address why I find the Chase ecosystem to be so good at maximizing travel value, and I'll offer some simple tips so that you can realize this value yourself.
Read moreThese three great reds from three different regions are our picks for Aussie Wine Month
Our friend Casey at Travelling Corkscrew in Australia has reminded us that May is Aussie Wine Month, a momentous occasion that we're celebrating with these three great red wines from three of the country's wine regions. We're sad that we couldn't get our hands on a Pinot Noir from Tasmania -- one of our favorite tough to find (in the United States, at least) bottles -- but we're excited to share these with you. If you love Australian wine, consider following Travelling Corkscrew for more.
Read moreNasty Woman Wines offer great snark and a lineup of crowd pleasing wine from Oregon
Here at WTF we try to keep from getting political, but we believe that good wine is good wine, no matter where you are on the spectrum. So when Nasty Woman Wines sent us three wines to review a couple months back, we pledged to take a non-partisan standpoint on it, and it did not disappoint! We had a spring soiree at our apartment this past Saturday night, and decided to serve Nasty Woman Wines as the first round. Here’s what we found.
Read moreCelebrate Oregon Wine Month with these excellent, yet very different bottles of wine
May is Oregon Wine Month! We're celebrating with four (ok, five) recommendations, and we've worked really hard to select different varietals because we think that any "wine month" highlighting a specific region is a great opportunity to try things you'd not have otherwise considered. Cheers!
Read moreWhat to do, and not do, when visiting Porto, Portugal's great wine city on the Douro River
It's all about the river here. The city rises from its banks: festively colored buildings in seemingly ancient repose, crowned by the twelfth-century cathedral atop the hill, a stately contrast to the carnival of wine and revelry down at the waterfront. In times past the rabelos, cargo vessels native to this river alone, hauled Port wine to this the only port from it could be shipped. This is Porto, Portugal's second city and the source of the the fortified wine that has made the country famous in the hearts and palates of generations of connoisseurs around the world. This is what we found to do -- and, critically, what not to do -- when visiting.
Read moreReview: Madrid to Philadelphia in American Airlines economy class aboard the Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 has been my ride back to the United States from Europe a couple of times lately, most recently flying in American Airlines main cabin extra from Madrid to Philadelphia. While I missed the business class seat I had on my previous experience aboard this plane, I can actually say that the A330 is currently one of my favorite planes to fly on in any class of service. This is a really great flight by economy standards, one that I am sure we'll take again.
Read moreBecker Vineyards is making wine you should seek out, and go visit, in Texas Hill Country near Austin
The urban terrain of one of 21st century America's most vibrant cities melted into rolling hills, a curious mix of green and grey driving west from Austin into the wine country of the Texas hills. Rain poured sadly down, but the pastoral serenity of this place was as lovely as it was surprising to be found in a state conceptualized by most who are not from here as an endless prairie of scorched earth and heat. We had come looking for Becker Vineyards, the next chapter in our long standing fascination with wine from places you'd not expect, and surely but the first chapter in our flirtation with wine from Texas Hill Country.
Read moreTop five wines for May take us around the world with two whites, two rosés, and a great red
Casual wine drinkers, aficionados, and beginners alike: Each month we expose you to new things, educating and diversifying your palate with a lineup of our monthly wine picks. We're sharing some of the best we've tried in the last month so that you can seek them out and bring them to dinner this month. This geographically diverse lineup includes contestants from France, New York, New Zealand, California, and Spain. All are delicious. Enjoy!
Read moreBig, lively, and high quality Stone Tower Winery is a great addition to Virginia winemaking
You'd not expect this at the end of a country road -- stones crackling, trees bending, and through the thicket, green rolling hills and mountains beyond, stretched beneath soft clouds patched across the cerulean sky -- but this is where you will find the immense (by Virginia standards) Stone Tower Winery, a rare feat of a winery that manages to perfectly blend its big, fun atmosphere with seriously well-made wine.
Read moreAdventure, alternatives, and the fallacy of online wine services
We've recently been asked quite a bit for our thoughts on the online wine services and clubs that seem to be springing up everywhere. For the uninitiated, we're talking about services wherein the customer offers some basic personal taste information, and the service sends wine based on those preferences. The ultimate promise is easy wine without risk, always pleasing to its intended recipient, and (thanks to the the power of data) getting better all the time. Great, right?
Read moreReview: Three great duffel bags to elevate your weekend travel
We're living in a golden age of travel paraphernalia, where the miracle of crowd funding has made it such that almost any obscure need can be met with niche product. Sometimes the wheeled carry-on just feels like overkill, too much overhead (I assure you that pun was unintentional) for a quick weekend trip. So I went searching for the perfect duffel bag, and offer quick reviews of my three favorites here.
Read moreOur current picks for great food, wine, atmosphere in Madrid, Spain
I made the case just last week that Insanely great airfares make this the absolute right time to book your Europe trip for later in 2017, so am following up this week with our fourth and final (for now) installation of our Wine:Thirty Flight Guide to Madrid, Spain with what is arguably the most important piece of the series: Our favorite places for great wine, great food, and great dining atmosphere in one of my very favorite cities.
Read moreHouse (Wine) Hunters: Four tasty Italian reds from Barone di Bernaj, at $8.99 per bottle
It's been months since we last shared some good house wine recommendations in the form of a trio of Pinot Noirs last fall, but we're once again hunting for great wine at great prices so you can spend a bit less on wine by serving something that is better than its price. This lineup of Italian wines -- Barone di Bernaj -- all come from the same Sicilian producer, Madaudo. We happened into several cases that we really enjoyed. All were $8.99 per bottle when purchased by the case.
Read moreInsanely great airfares make this the absolute right time to book your Europe trip for later in 2017
If you've had a trip to Europe on your wishlist, now's the time to book it for later this year. We've been watching the airline prices from some of the big trans-Atlantic markets in the United States, and are feeling quite good about the fares available right now. The specifics will vary, but the bottom line is that we think now is the time to pull in a good deal (some even in the sub-$500 round trip range, flying economy class, of course).
Read moreRevisiting Arrington Vineyards and their "Premier Experience" tasting great Tennessee wine
We decided to revisit Arrington Vineyards for what turned out to be their excellent Premier Tasting experience. We are very glad we did – it turned out to be a very enjoyable day, well spent with some of our most favorite people! Located about 35 minutes outside of downtown Nashville, the winery is co-owned by Kix Brooks, of country music’s Brooks & Dunn fame, but it offers more than a famous owner to its visitors.
Read moreTwo-day guide to stunning beauty and charm of Lisbon, Portugal, Western Europe's oldest city
Night falls on Rua Augusta. White tiles -- polished by age beneath the feet of throngs who have walked here -- reflect the yellow street lamps as if we were standing atop the water of a reflecting pool. We've descended the hill above us, from Sé de Lisboa down to this pedestrian avenue animated by the energy of diners and evening revelers. Lisbon, Portugal, is the oldest in Western Europe, eclipsing Rome by nearly five centuries, and the other great capitals by at least a millennium. This is how you spend 48 hours here.
Read moreNavigating the big, beautiful, bright, and always efficient Madrid Barajas Airport
We've been putting together a brief guide to Madrid, one of our very favorite cities, over the last several months. Here we continue the "getting there" theme with specific advice for navigating the sprawling Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD), not just the gateway to the Spanish capital and the European Unions's third largest city, but an architecturally stunning feat that we think is one of the best airports through which to travel.
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