Tag: Vinopanion

#Navarra5 Day 3: The Old & the Pago

2 Comments
Dawn broke for our third day (9/21/11) in the Kingdom of Navarra (Twitter, Facebook) with brilliant signs pointing to even more glorious weather to accompany our travels around this Spanish wine kingdom. From the window of my hotel room at the historic Palacio Guandelain in Pamplona, I could see and hear the rumblings of the (rare) early rising Navarrans in the plaza that stretched out from the hotel front. I couldn't wait to get started on our travels back to the Ribera Alta sub-region of the Navarra DO appellation. I felt rather rested, since I had given my body the morning off from my usual run, following my great success at getting thoroughly lost, the prior morning.

5th Annual New York Wine Expo 2012

Leave a comment
It's not everyday that you can walk around and try wines from a bunch of countries, all in one nifty location. OK true, Walt Disney World's Epcot World Showcase is a pretty dang good time, regardless of whether you try wines from each country. But I can't think of another fully awesome wine experience that can compare to over 600 wines from 12+ countries, all for one single ticket price. The 5th Annual New York Wine Expo is your portal for crazy, round-the-world, like-a-G6-style wine tasting! What does that actually translate to in actual wineries on this fine weekend of March 2-4, you might ask...how about 150+ vintners, along with tons of gourmet food booths, and numerous wine seminars with which to treat your favorite Vinopanion. Now, it's only because I like you, but I have a special gift: type in the code VINOPANION for $15 off Friday night's festivities! Get the full deets after the break:

#Navarra5 Day 2: Lost in Iruña, Malón de Echaide, & Bodegas Finca Albret

Leave a comment
Our second full day in Kingdom of Navarra (Twitter, Facebook) (day 3 if you're counting our travel day) started off a bit scary, due to the usual amount of stupidity that I tend to afford myself. As you've probably noticed from my previous post about Day 1 in Navarra, I love to go on a run in the cities that I visit around the world. I feel that it is one of the best ways to get to know a new foreign land and its people. Like an idiot always, I only carried my hotel keycard and a bit of cash in case I got into trouble and needed a taxi. I then headed out way before dawn at about 5:50am to streets unknown. Oh, and did I neglect to mention that I have absolutely no sense of direction?...I'm a total Marcus Brody. An hour later, my 20 minute jog has clearly turned into the definition of a lost tourist, replete with Spanglish as my only tool to communicate...no phone to call for a taxi, nor to even let my #Navarra5-mates know why I wouldn't be in the lobby at 7:45am!

#Navarra5 Day 1: D.O.ing Navarra, Inurrieta & Ochoa

3 Comments
The #Navarra5 team hit the ground running (not yet drinking) at the start of our first full day in the great Kingdom of Navarra (Twitter, Facebook) with our trusty guide and F1 driver Michael "Miguel" Mantilla (ARGOS Wine Consulting/Kraynick & Associates, Inc.). Technically I ran the day before, through parts of the glorious and small city of Pamplona, capital of Navarra/Navarre and the setting of many a famous scene in the writings of their adopted son, Ernest Hemingway. I ran past some of his favorite haunts during that afternoon jog, past the tolling bells of the Church of San Lorenzo, and through the ruins of the Citadel. One of my favorite ways to get to know a new city, neighborhood or surrounding land is to take a run through it's fresh splendor.

Jet Bag Defeats AA at WBC11

4 Comments
I do a lot of traveling for wine. Just the last 6 months has seen me pop up in New York twice and Charlottesville once. Strangely enough, this means that I tend to accumulate a fair amount of wine during my travels (I know, cue the weeping and lamentations). This does tend to present a Conundrum, however. When one needs to fly these days, it tends to be very difficult to hide 750 mL of glass-encased liquid. OK, but that's fine, right? I'll just check my baggage with the bottle of red stashed inside...surrounded by all of my favorite clothes because I just went to NYC for the first time. Hmm...not a recipe for success, especially as I watched the suplex being applied to my suitcase out on the tarmac. Cue: the Jet Bag.
Scroll to top