Wine and Spirits Travel

It was time to head home after another adventure with my friend Lisa, but I wanted to squeeze a bit more into the Michigan experience. We had an early breakfast with J. Michael DeAgostino, Public Relations Manager for Grand Traverse Resort . I wanted to hear about the seasonal activities available here that I might be able to check out on future visits.   He told me about the exciting winter he was looking forward to at the resort, with snowmobiling, snow shoeing, ice skating, cross country skiing and even dog sledding. All of these winter sports operate out of the golf pro shop, which is a busy spot in the spring, summer and fall as they have three award-winning courses and a golf school here. We bid J. Michael farewell and made a stop at the Dylan’s Candy Store in the hotel’s lobby. I had never been to this outlet and I definitely felt like a “kid in a candy store” with all these options. I was overwhelmed , and had a long drive ahead of me, so I decided to escap

We had a full day of Traverse City exploring, eating and drinking that started with a delicious breakfast at the Sweetwater Bistro in the Grand Traverse Resort where we were enjoying our stay. My friend Lisa feasted on the Salmon Eggs Benedict, while I was enthralled with the Cornflake-Crusted French Toast. It was a short meal as Michael Norton of the Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau was waiting to take us around town for the day.  I had met Mike on my last trip here and was looking forward to catching up and seeing what he had scheduled for us for the day. The first stop was at L. Mawby , known for their sparkling wines. I had visited them a few years ago, but was anxious to taste the latest. The winery had expanded their collection as well as opening a patio for tastings a year ago. Larry Mawby took us through the selection, which includes: Blanc de Blanc, a very good 100% chardonnay sparkling with a long finish; Cremant Classic, made from vignoles

I walked around Aspen for a while enjoying the warm day deciding what to do with the two hours I had free. Since I’ve been to a few of these food and wine festivals I know that it’s pretty impossible to do the Grand Market all at once. There’s just more food and drink than any person can consume. I decided to make more than one trip and headed downtown for my first. The Food & Wine Classic market wasn’t nearly as big as South Beach, but there was certainly plenty to try. I stopped at the British Airways table to find out more about how the chefs prepare food that works well with the plane’s altitude. I can’t say I fully understood the process, but it seemed to come together on my recent trip to London on that airline. Can you think of a better combination than Godiva Chocolate and ice cream? Godiva Chef David Funarc took it one step further by giving his Godiva Ice Cream Parlor Truffles flavors like Banana Split, Pecan Caramel Sundae and Rocky Road. The Wines

In the fall, I had a great trip to the Inn at Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills, Ohio.  During that trip I met Matthew Barbee of Rockmill Brewery . He came to the inn’s restaurant to have dinner with my friend Lisa and me, and to introduce us to his beer. Lisa loved it, but I didn’t drink any. The fact is, I hadn’t had any beer in about 30 years. I had wiped the beverage from my vocabulary after a bad experience. While Matt understood about the fact that I wouldn’t drink beer, I began to question my position. Honestly, I had never thought much about it before. After all, it’s not like there aren’t thousands of types of wines and spirits  for me to drink. But as I listened to him describe his beer, everything that goes into the small batches and how he pairs it with food and cheese, I thought that maybe I should reconsider. This may seem like a trivial revelation to most, but it wasn’t to me. I had been the only breathing sole at the Great American Beer Festival who had not t

The Colorado Tourism Board had scheduled Thursday as my free day to explore and I did just that, taking in as much of Denver as I could and spending some time at the biggest beer festival in the world. It had been a total coincidence that I ended up in Denver (with an unscheduled day) at the start of the Great American Beer Festival . The truth is, everyone knows about all of the breweries in Colorado and I was there to write about the spirits. There was also one other little detail…. I don’t drink beer. It’s not that I haven’t tried. An unfortunate incident years ago left me unable to even let it get to my lips. I’m working on it (anyone know a good hypnotist?), but despite the fact that I’m not a brew fan, I wasn’t going to miss a chance to check out the Great American Beer Festival, dubbed by everyone I know as the greatest in the world. Julia Herz, Craft Beer Program Director for the BrewersAssociation , took me around the convention center before the festival even s

I’ve been trying to remember how long it’s been since I’ve been to Colorado . I don’t think I’ve been there as an adult, but my memories from childhood are definitely good ones. My family and I frequently drove around the country and though we took various routes so we could see as much as possible, I seem to remember that we always went through Colorado. I know the mountains are beautiful and the air fresh and clean, but I was racking my brain for awhile trying to figure out why it was my father always made Colorado a must stop. Then, I arrived and it hit me the minute I saw it. Coors beer. You see, years ago, you couldn’t get Coors in New York. It was only available “west of the Rockies” and the Rockies were in Colorado. As much as my dad loved to drive through the Rockies, he also loved a good beer once in awhile and that’s why our yearly cross-country trip would almost always include Colorado! Beer was only a small consideration in my trip to Colorado. The big dra

One of the major reasons I decided to go to the Inn at Cedar Falls at this time was because it is paw paw season and this Inn has found many ways to take advantage of this tropical fruit grown in Ohio. (Yes, you read that right: tropical fruit in Ohio.)  I learned a bit about the antioxidant properties of the paw paw from Spa Director Randall Wellman before my massage , but I had yet to taste any. I was excited to learn that my friend Lisa and I would get to taste paw paws as well as cook with them during our time with Chef Anthony Schultz. Everything we had to eat at the Inn at Cedar Falls was delicious so I felt confident with Chef Schultz, who had previously worked at Eon in the Hamptons, not far from where I had grown up. As much as I love to cook I decided that I would get better notes and pictures as the observer so Lisa got to do the actual preparation. First, we learned about the paw paw. It really is a tropical fruit, the most northern tropical fruit you will find.

I was lucky enough to time my New York visit with the Colorado Tourism Harvest event and it was quite a preview into my trip to come. The event was held at The Little Owl venue down in the Village. It’s an interesting space that’s being used for pop-up dinners, with an open kitchen and plenty of room to mingle. I took my daughter, Sam, along and we spent some time mingling. I was excited to see Anna Watson, who was the lead on my trip to Champagne & Burgundy (she’s now working in the food industry and has a great blog, The Yellow Table ). I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the food and drinks at A Taste of Colorado Harvest event. There was no fish at all, so I was able to try everything. The food was prepared by Chef Justin Cucci (left), who oversees the food at the Denver restaurants Linger and Root Down . The menu was clever and fresh and consisted of passed oversized Hors d'oeuvre that highlighted what’s fresh in the state right now: COLORADO C