Wine tours

Paso Robles Wine Tour, Create Your Own

Will you be visiting Paso Robles, California in the coming weeks or months? If so, it is likely that you will want to visit area wineries. After all, that is what the area is most well-known for. While you do have the option of taking a guided wine tour, you may wish to plan your own. If so, please continue reading on for a few helpful planning tips.

The Bardessono Hotel, Restaurant & Spa Yountville California

The Bardessono Hotel, Restaurant & Spa is a 62-room Napa Valley newcomer is raising the bar on green design. Built almost exclusively from salvaged stone and reclaimed wood, it’s one of four LEED Platinum–certified hotels in the U.S. But the modern, California-clean aesthetic (concrete floors, custom-designed couches) delivers a breath of fresh air amid Yountville’s faux French and Tuscan styles. Almost everything at the hotel, from the Coyuchi cotton bed linens to the seasonalmenu at the restaurant, is organic, sourced from within a 100-mile radius.

Villagio Inn & Spa a Destination Wedding In Napa Valley

Located on the 23-acre Vintage Estate, Villagio Inn & Spa has been dubbed by Town & Country Magazine as a “pleasure seeker’s heaven.” This Tuscan-inspired Yountville hotel property features flowing water fountain pathways weaved throughout lush Mediterranean-style gardens. Experience the warmth and richness of Villagio’s guestrooms and suites that the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine describes as “massive, terribly tasteful and terribly elegant.”

Argentina, Mendoza and Malbec wines a Perfect Vacation

400 years ago the Spanish came to Argentina and brought with them their love of wine. Catholic monks and priests began to grown produce wine for serving at communion and so the Argentine wine industry was born. It was in the 1800s, though, that European settlers arrived with wine expertise, more grape strains and, importantly, the railway. One of the arrivals was a seemingly insignificant dark grape from the south of France. This grape, called Malbec, found its true home in the foothills of the Andes and flourished.

The Heathman Hotel Portland Oregon

The Heathman Hotel lobby features a commissioned mural of an 18th century Japanese Buddhist silk robe. Built in 1927, the hotel includes Art Deco style with gold-leafed antique-style furnishings. The hotel serves regional cuisine with French influences at the Heathman Restaurant. The on-site Tea Court serves teas seasonally and includes a marble fireplace and an Austrian hand-cut chandelier. The Marble Bar features an Art Deco mirror from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.