Spirited Travels Worth Checking Out

My inbox fills up fast with interesting wine, spirits and travel ideas. I can’t even begin to check them all out personally, but some definitely look worth passing along. I’ve decided to make this a monthly column. I’ll clear out my inbox while giving my readers some ideas to plan for the weeks ahead.

Italy and wine, there’s no doubt that the two go together and you don’t have to twist my arm to get interested in a tour that involves both. Hallmark Travels is offering a weeklong Puglia Wine Tour that looks like it would quench anyone’s thirst. It includes visits to six wine makers with tours of the cellars and visits with vineyard experts before tastings with local foods. Hallmark even offers a video sneak peak on their website to get you ready to say “Ciao.”

It may be the last pairing you’d expect to hear about from Moet Hennessy’s Director of Communications, but Jeffrey Pogash let me in on an event that he was most proud of. The Hot Dog Lore brought together America’s ballpark staple with – champagne! Though the event (which included pairings like a Beans and Frank Dog with Dom Perignon) is over, Bark Hot Dogs in Brooklyn, New York’s Park Slope district is keeping bubbly on the menu, as well as wine and beer.

Another combination you may think of as unusual is Ohio and wine , but this Midwest state is taking the wine business serious. I honestly have not made it there yet (it’s definitely something I’m doing in the near future), but who can resist a try when they pair the wine with chocolate? The Panache Wine Trail featuring Bakers Chocolate is just one of the events coming up through the Ohio Wine Producers Association

The tour is a self driving tour of the wineries in northwest Ohio. Beginning on May 14^th, you have two weekends to visit all the wineries participating on the Lake Erie Shores and Islands Wine Trails. In addition to sampling wines, you’ll enjoy appetizers and collect luscious Baker's chocolates. You will also receive a Schott Zwiesel crystal wine glass and a candy dish at one of the wineries. The cost is only $45 per couple or $35 per single. Call 1-800-713-7779 or visit the Baker's Candies site for more information.

Photos courtesy of Hallmark Travels.