Wine and Spirits Travel

I had never been to Milwaukee before. I didn’t make it there during my traveling years and I hadn’t been there in the seven years I’ve been living in the Midwest. When I received an invitation to cover one of the biggest music festivals in the world that happened to be in Milwaukee, it didn’t take me long to say, “Yes!” My friend Lisa, who was living in Green Bay at the time, met me in Milwaukee for a girls’ weekend. Margaret Casey of Visit Milwaukee picked us up at the Hilton for our first day of tasting and touring. Our first stop was at Indulgence Chocolatiers . I wish we had a place like this in Champaign. Julie, the owner of Indulgence, fell in love with the chocolate shops in Europe and decided to open one in Milwaukee . She creates a selection of chocolate truffles, barks, and bars. Then, she pairs them with your choice of white wine, red wine, beer, whiskey, or cheese. Everything sounded scrumptious and we finally settled on sharing chocolate &

I've attended many food festivals around the country and the Grand Market is almost always my favorite event. It's a chance to sample many different foods, wines, and spirits, as well as watch cooking demonstrations and meet personalities. This year, the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, hosted by Caesar's Resort , moved their Grand Market outside for the first time. It was held in the park of Bally's Resort in Atlantic City. The weather cooperated and the outside location allowed some food trucks to join in the fun. With the help of my daughter, Sam, I was able to enjoy lots of finds -- some new and some old favorites. Guy Fieri's Fish Taco, from his new Bally's Restaurant, was a fan favorite. 14 Hands brought a fruit-filled Unoaked Chardonnay Bay Shore served a delicious Lobster Bisque. I was surprised that I hadn't previously sampled Absolut Texas, a limited edition worth trying. Goodway Gourmet Cafe had scrumptious

For those who have not been to the Whole Foods Grand Market at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival , it is hard to describe. The “market” consists of three blocks (on the beach) of food, wine and spirits. There are three rows in each block offering more than anyone could ingest in one day. Still, we all try our best. The food seminars on the Kitchen Aid states continued throughout the day and I got to catch some of the ones by Rocco Dispirito, Bobby Deen (mom Paula was also on the stage Sunday) and Countess Luann de Lesseps. They were all pretty full and the participants seemed to enjoy both the food and the cooking tips. The Whole Foods booth was actually a group of booths, from which the samples added up to an entire meal on its own. I really enjoyed the Spinach Feta Pinwheel. It went down perfectly with a Pom Pomegrante Bellini. Speaking of the Bellini, The Wilson Creek Peach Bellini sparkling wine was just great. It was pretty hot outside, but

February is one of my favorite months because it is the time of one of my favorite events. There is nothing that quite compares with the Food Network’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival for bringing together chefs and industry insiders.  This was my third year in a row attending and I was especially excited that I would also be covering for Ocean Drive Magazine . My flight was running a bit late, but I arrived in time to get changed for The Q. I was staying at The National Hotel for the first time and was happily surprised at the locale – right in the center of all the events. I had a very nice room with a view and best of all it was just a quick walk out the back door to the beach. It happened to be the same beach The Q was set up on, at the Delano. The Bubble Q had been my favorite event that previous years .   I had been disappointed to hear it would be cancelled, but happy to find out the new event, hosted by Moet Hennessy and called simply “The Q” would be very sim

After my morning tasting and exploring the North Market , I met Amy Weirick, who works with Experience Columbus . She put together a full day and it started at The Candle Lab in the city’s Short North section. We had time to mix our favorite fragrances into a candle (I choose hot chocolate and marshmallow), and do a little downtown shopping before heading off to lunch. We ate in the German Village, one of the many diverse neighborhoods in this Ohio city. Among the Cobblestone streets and brick houses was Lindey’s , a popular restaurant that was filled to the brim on this weekday. Amy ordered the Tuna Tartar, a favorite of hers, and I enjoyed a Spinach Quiche, that was very good with a hint of bacon. We stayed in the area a bit longer to head over to Pistacia Vera , which means true pistachio in Latin. You will find some pistachio items here, but the focus is all French. Like my favorite stops in Paris, there are macaroons that melt in your mouth, airy croissants and a se