Real Travel Adventures
International
NEW Articles
Adventure Travels
Stories & Photos
By Terry “Travels With Terry” Zinn
By Victoria L. Cooksey
By Lisa Codianne Fowler
By Emma Krasov, Photos by Yuri Krasov
Enjoy our past features below:
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
Adventure Travel can often
take you all over the world,
but securing accommodation
wherever you travel can be
difficult, and costly. That's why
many adventurers who find
themselves traveling frequently
have decided to purchase a
timeshare resale.
The flexibility that these vacation
properties afford allows owners to
travel to thousands of locations on
a budget; and you can find
timeshares for sale all over the world.
International
Travel Adventures
Stories & Photos
We average nearly a half million unique visitors a year.
On Home Page
In Travel News
Your FREE online travel magazine e-zine of exciting travel adventures, travel reviews, travel photos from all ages and lifestyles of real travel in US and the world. International travel adventure - travel adventure magazine - travel reviews - trip planner - road trip planner - travel news - Real Travel Adventures Ezine with Book Review and Travel Guides for good reads and good listens on your trips and international travel adventures.
Sharing Travel Adventures & Adventure Travel
Discover Great get-aways, budget stays, and luxury travel to Dream About .Choose from Hundreds of Travel Reviews and and book reviews Outdoor and Nature Photos
Get Your Travel Review Published here!
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
Having Fun With Wine in Calistoga, California
©2009Emma Krasov, Photography by Yuri Krasov
Travelers to California Wine Country often start and end their adventure at the foot of Napa Valley. It happens for obvious reasons. The city of Napa, big-name wineries, and the abundance of destination restaurants in the area make a journey complete for the majority of tourists.
However, if you can resist the temptation of overtasting in Napa, take that Route 29 a little farther north, heading to the town of Calistoga for a change. Bennett Lane Winery is located at the northernmost edge of the valley. Its off-the-beaten track location grants a serene environment and an intimate setting for some leisurely wine sipping in its cozy tasting room.
A miniature “petting” vineyard in front of the Mediterranean villa-style building showcases different grapes for close comparison. Clearly marked rows of Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Chardonnay provide Fruit 101 at a glance, with their glossy or matt, smooth or warped leaves, and smaller or larger, darker or lighter grapes. During our visit, Rob Hunter, a consulting winemaker of Bennett Lane, offered detailed descriptions of local varieties, and let us try and compare each fruit from the vine.
He also orchestrated the Custom Blend Experience, well worth the trip… Our group of six was invited into a cellar room, where first we approached a table with different aromatics placed in empty wine glasses. Smells of fresh raspberry, blueberry preserves, or a candid pineapple were supposed to help us define the aroma of a cab or a char. Then, we sat down around another table, where Bennett Lane’s own Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah were lined up for the winery’s Maximus blend, characterized as “red feasting wine.”
In Custom Blend Experience classes, participants create their own versions of Maximus, mixing the three wines in any proportion according to their individual tastes. Then they bottle, cork, label, and take home their creations.
Handling a pipette and a beaker as well as pouring and mixing my own blend immediately made me think of infinite possibilities: of a winemaker’s talent probably buried deep inside my journalist’s soul. What if… And yes, tasting your own creation surely proves that the best wine for you is the one you like. The class also provides a great opportunity to see how tastes really differ in the people you thought you knew...
Bennett Lane is owned by Randy and Lisa Lynch, who purchased the winery some five years ago. Randy is a former NASCAR racer, who became the first team owner to put wine logo on a stock car shortly after acquiring the winery.
Bennett Lane produces five wines: Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Primus Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Los Carneros Reserve Chardonnay, Maximus, and white Maximus. Bennett Lane is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Custom Blend Experience sessions are offered for groups of six or more and require an advance reservation. There is a free picnic area behind the testing room, overlooking Mount St. Helena and the Palisades. No appointment necessary for the picnic area. Located at 3340 Highway 128, Calistoga. Call for reservations and more information: 707-942-6684, or visit: www.bennettlane.com.
Frank Family Vineyards occupies the historic Larkmead winery in Calistoga, the third oldest one in Napa. Built in 1884, it was clad with native sandstone in 1906. Today, the building is noted in the National Register of Historical Places and is named a Point of Historical Interest in the state of California.
A prominent Disney executive Rich Frank and his wife Connie own the winery. Last year, they opened a new tasting room in the original owners’ residence, a classic Craftsman bungalow. Actually, there are several rooms. The front one is for sparkling wines, which traditionally constitute a larger part of the whole production here. It has a spacious bar area and is generously decorated with Mr. Frank’s pictures in the company of one or another showbiz celeb, including Oprah among the most recent visitors. Other rooms are for still wines, for VIP receptions, and for private tastings, decorated like a 1950s club with pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich on the walls.
In the course of our visit, Todd Graff, the winemaker, took us on a tour of the original building, where he introduced the whole process of winemaking with the help of some out-of-barrel tasting. That was a rare chance to follow the journey of Frank Family’s nationally distributed Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from a cloudy mush to a finished product, delightful with the depth of flavor and the clarity of color.
It obviously takes an experienced winemaker to imagine how a yeasty liquid with a smell of laundry detergent would eventually evolve into crisp, cool, silky nectar. Five sparkling wines are handcrafted today in the old stone building, adorned with floor to ceiling antique barrels and modernized with technologically advanced refrigerated cellars. Signature Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Rouge, and a vintage Reserve are all made in the traditional French methode champenoise style. Among the still wines Frank Family produces Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and three Cabernet Sauvignons in small quantities, plus even more limited Reserve Chardonnay, Reserve Zinfandel, Reserve Sangiovese, Reserve Pinot Noir, and Port.
Frank Family Vineyards is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The tasting is free, as well as tours of the premises, and the use of picnic grounds. Located at 1091 Larkmead Lane, Calistoga. For more information, call 800-574-9463, or visit: www.frankfamilyvineyards.com.
_______________________________________
Book Your Travel To Almost Any Adventure Here
Great Help and Great Prices Book Now!
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Book & Audio Reviews For Your Travels_______________________________________
Click here to book your Real Travel Adventures
_________________________________________________
Subscribers:So that your free subscription is not mistaken for spam,
Please copy & paste our E-mail address into your address book: mail@realtraveladventures.com
It's that simple!
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Adventure Travels in your Free Ezine
If any links don't work
Thanks for visiting us!
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Real and Armchair Travelers: Enjoy best trip reviews, travel features, and excellent travel photos in RealTravelAdventures.com, your FREE on-line international magazine. Send your funny or outrageous travel experiences & photos and get published!
Visit or dream of fascintating places with Real Travel Adventures e-zine! This site offers travel humor, photos, stories, helpful guidebooks, and more. Visit for fun or to seek tips for your next travel adventure...and then share your own stories with us here at
realtraveladventures.com, your free online travel magazine, where you'll find great book reviews, international travel adventures magazine, airline tickets, real travel adventures, camping, RV travel, RV's, Cruises, restaurant reviews, RVing, FamilyTrips, traveling with kids and children, Nature and eco trips, ecology, international travel, Ski Trips, Spas, Spiritual Retreats, interviews with Special People, Travel Humor, Travel News, Unbelievable, WeddingTrips, restaurant reviews and advisor, traveling adventures, adventure travels, travel, virtual and armchair travel, Back Roads, off the beaten path, where to go Camping and enjoy RV trips, where to Dine and Sleep, fun Family Trips, our Favorite Finds, Arts and Crafts, cruises and cruise vacations, romantic trips, traveling tips, travel stories, audio book reviews for your travels, books reviews, good books for a trip, wedding trip planner, wedding Trips, Honeymoons, Unbelievable adventures, Travel News, humorous travel stories, spas and retreats, spiritual retreats, meditation retreats, ski trips, week-end trips Near You, nature's Best places, ecology trips, travel guide books, traveling with children, e-zines, FREE Ezines, Free travel magazines, magazine, free online magazines, internet magazines, free magazine subscriptions, web magazines, true stories, humorous articles, funny features, human interest features, nature photos, environment photographs, photos, adventurous stories, real true stories, true adventrues, camping gear, vacation, holidays, safaris, Caribbean vacations, cheap hotels, great places to go, nature hikes, nature photography, family vacations, family holidays, trip planner, great trips, scenic photos, holiday vacations, holidays, holiday stories, foreign destinations, International travel trips. And you can Get published here too! Send us your travel stories and pictures.
© 2009 Bonita Productions Inc.
If you wish to use our features or photos you must first contact us