Ready to plan your best vacation ever? 🍷✨

Hi Wine Friends,

Can you believe how fast February has flown? With summer on the horizon, everyone seems to be averting the winter blues by planning their upcoming vacations. If you're eagerly dreaming up your next adventure, then next month's content is for you!

Here at Raise a Glass, March will be focused on traveling with wine. We'll cover everything from choosing the perfect destination to confidently scheduling tastings to navigating foreign wine lists to bringing your favorite wines home and so much more.

Ever found yourself asking: "Which wine regions could I visit in France?" "What's the wine scene like in the Canary Islands?" “What wines should I try in Florence?” or even simply, “I’ve never been to the Willamette Valley - where do I start?” Near or far - we've got you covered. 

Each week of March we'll unpack a different aspect of wine travel and then, in the interest of trying something fun and new, I’m going to host a virtual training at the end of the month on ‘Traveling With Wine’! It’s totally free and will arm you with the ability to plan your next wine adventure with ease.
 

Sign up to reserve your spot and I’ll look forward to seeing you on March 27th for a conversation on traveling with wine.
 

TRAVELING WITH WINE

A free virtual seminar

Wednesday, March 27th @ 1pm PST

The Magic of Drinking Local

We’ll get into nitty gritty travel tips in coming weeks but, for today, I just want you to start dreaming about your next vacation. Maybe it’s already on the calendar, or maybe it’s one you’ve wanted to take for years. Maybe it’s to a destination all the way across the globe, or maybe it’s right in your own backyard. Whatever it is, picture that adventure and ask yourself, ‘Could there be wine involved?’ You might be surprised at how many places give an answer of YES! (I was recently in Texas and Mexico and, in both places, I had a great time trying local wine)

My favorite travel activities are those that plug me into local culture: a cooking class, a walking tour, a visit to a local winery... It’s one thing to read about history in a textbook. But it’s another thing to taste it and understand it at a sensory level, rather than just an intellectual one.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to visit Sardinia. And, while the whole trip wasn’t wholly centered around wine, the one sojourn we made to a local winery ended up being the highlight of the vacation. Our host Mario Bagella is a fifth generation producer making wine out of his home just like his father did and his father before him. We showed up expecting to taste through a few wines and be on our way but Mario had other plans… 

(me and Mario and, no, we didn’t plan this)

After we’d sampled his garagiste fares, Mario drove us to his ancient seaside vineyards. We felt the Mediterranean sun on our skin, smelled the briny salt air, picked up hunks of limestone from the soil, and truly got a sense for where this wine came from. 

Then he whisked us to a tiny hillside village trattoria, where we were treated to the most authentically Sardinian meal of the trip: wild boar tart, suckling pig, cheese from the sheep next door, apricots from the backyard tree and, of course, many local wines. Getting to know Sardinia from a Sardinian - who treated us not like tourists but like family - gave us a better understanding of their culture than any book ever could.

Now I can’t promise that every winemaker will be as outstanding of a host as Mario. But I can promise you that visiting a small local winery offers a truly special taste into the heart of a culture. Because let’s not forget - wine has been at the heart of human civilization for over 8,000 years and it’s an integral part of life in most places.

Stay tuned for practical tips on planning your wine-filled journey! And if you need some inspiration, check out my favorite wine travel movies below.

Cheers and happy dreaming,

Kelsey

My Favorite Wine Travel Flicks:

Bottle Shock
Bottle Shock tells the iconic (and true) story of the Judgement of Paris - the 1976 blind tasting that put California wine on the map. Sure, it’s a little dated and Chris Pine’s hair is truly awful, but it will leave you craving a sojourn to Sonoma.

Under the Tuscan Sun
It’s not specifically wine-focused, but this quintessential vacation romance will have you dreaming of rolling hills, Tuscan courtyards and fresh picked tomato pasta paired with the perfect glass of Sangiovese.

Sideways
Upon release, Sideways effectively put Pinot Noir in center stage and pulled Merlot out of the equation completely. It might not be the most cheerful movie, but it definitely gets you in the mood for wine!

Wine Country
This one’s pretty silly but, if you need a good laugh, enjoy Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph wreaking hilarious havoc on a girls trip to wine country. 

Barolo Boys
This is a documentary, not a narrative film, but it sweeps you up into the beauty of Northern Italy and tells the fascinating story of the rebellious young winemakers who put this iconic region on the world stage. 

Love in the Villa
Don’t judge me but I have a soft spot for this cheesy rom-com. Set in Verona and centered around a wine trade show, Love in the Villa is the cliché tale of enemies turned lovers, but with Amarone and Shakespeare. What’s not to love?