We field tested the Tumi Alpha 2 International Expandable 4-Wheel Carry-on as my only suitcase through four four countries over 17 nights. The verdict? This thing is both an excellent and stylish performer whose expense you'll make up in reliability and the money you'll save not paying for to check your luggage. It deserves a spot on your Christmas list. Our review and tips for packing it for 17 nights are below.
Read moreSpanish Wine 101: Understanding regions, grapes, classifications, labels to help you choose the best
A little 101 on the basics of Spanish wine, looking at Spanish wine regions, grapes, and labels to help you navigate the Spain section of any wineshop, and to help you better understand all of the great wines we'll be sharing over the next several months. This is essential reading for anyone seeking to get your arms around the basics of Spanish wine.
Read moreThe spectacular city case for Madrid, Spain, Part 1: Plazas, restaurants, and the best spots to visit
I'll open with a bold statement: Madrid is the most spectacular western city that most readers of this blog have never been to. Wide avenues and narrow streets, outdoor plazas and taverns tucked away, the most intimate of neighborhoods in the European Union's third largest city... Madrid is the next city to which you should plan to say hello. Betting odds say that you'll fall in love with it, just as I once did years ago.
Read moreReview: Norwegian Air is a solid low-cost airline for European and some North American travelers
Norwegian seems (mostly) a higher quality low-cost airline in the mold of jetBlue and Southwest. With nine destinations from New York alone, the airline may be a compelling alternative for some cost-conscious travelers. You won't fly luxuriously, but I think you'll fly comfortably… and you'll have some money leftover to spend when you get to wherever you're going.
Read moreBest wine pairings for Thanksgiving dinner: Hearty Rosé, Oregonian Pinot Noir, Touriga Nacional
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with friends, family, and feasting next week. We're making Thanksgiving wine recommendations for WTF readers who will complete their turkey, stuffing, and pies just the right pairing selection. We'd start with something sparkling, serve hearty rosé and Oregonian Pinot Noirs at dinner -- consider getting creative with a still Touriga Nacional -- and finish it off with a glass of Port.
Read moreZephaniah Farm Vineyard in Leesburg, Virginia is our favorite winery when the weather grows cold
Weather cools, and we begin thinking of Zephaniah Farm Vineyard in Leesburg, Virginia -- one of our favorite fall and winter wine destinations. We're writing about Zephaniah now in mid-November because we really hope you'll take the time to visit the farm this winter when it's at it's best. You will feel at home from the moment you walk through the tasting room door in the old farm house, settle into a big chair next to the wood fire, taste their great lineup of small production wine, and enjoy the hospitality that only a family winery can share.
Read moreMesónes near Plaza Mayor, and their not-to-be-missed food and sangría when in Madrid, Spain
Down the steps in the southwest corner of Madrid’s Plaza Mayor, a sharp right back up the block of Calle Cava de San Miguel, and there you’ll find the wonderful Mesónes: Small intimate taverns filled with wooden tables and stools, truly warm people who have worked here for decades, delicious food and sangría, and filled with tourists and locals alike such that you know you've come to the right spot.
Read moreInsight and tips for your trans-Atlantic American Airlines flight on aging but reasonable Boeing 767
As I write, we're flying from New York JFK International Airport to Madrid Barajas International Airport (MAD) aboard an American Airlines Boeing 767-300, the smaller of the Boeing wide body long airplanes. We're spending this leg of the journey in Economy Class, so we're able to offer worthwhile tips to anyone flying similar American routes on this plane.
Read moreTop November wine picks feature two American Pinot Noirs and three Tempranillos from Spain
Casual wine drinkers, aficionados, and beginners alike: Each month we try to expose you to new things, educating you and diversifying your palate with a lineup of our monthly picks. We've been traveling through Spanish and Portuguese wine country as we write this month, and are also including two American Pinot Noirs in our November lineup.
Read moreChecking in from beautiful wine country in Spain and Portugal
Writing today from the wineries of Portugal's Douro Valley. We arrived in Madrid, Spain ten days ago before heading through the Spanish winemaking regions of Toro, Ribera del Duero, and Rioja. There is much to share, and much wine to tell you about, but on this Monday morning we wanted to check in with a few of the best things we've seen. Cheers!
Read moreWhen to book free travel with credit card points vs transferring to airline miles
There are really two ways for travel-oriented credit card holders to use their points towards free travel: Use those points like cash to purchase airline tickets directly through the credit card issuer, or
transfer those points to your airline account so that you can purchase tickets with miles. Which will give you the best deal?
Introducing you to affordable Balkan wines from Macedonia, Slovenia, and Croatia
We recently sampled bottles from Macedonia, Slovenia, and Croatia courtesy of the Balkan Wine Project and our friend Louis at the Vineyard wine shop in McLean, VA. There's great history wrapped in wine regions that most of us know very little about. Let's not fail to mention, also, how affordable these wines are. Balkans and otherwise, there's great value to be had buying wine off the beaten path.
Read moreHunter's Head Tavern, an authentic English Pub, is an essential Virginia Wine Country stop
You'll find Hunter's Head Tavern in the sleepy village of Upperville, in the heart of the best of Virginia wine country. Step through the door and feel you've slipped into a long time past in an authentic English Pub -- a true tavern in a house built around 1750 -- that's laced top to bottom with rustic sophistication. Old plank floors, fireplaces, exposed beams, farmhouse tables, and wooden chairs of which no two seam to be alike convey a homey sense of somewhere far away.
Read moreWe're off to wineries, capitals, and small towns of Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and the UK!
We're off to Europe, specifically to Spain, Portugal, the UK, and Sweden where we'll visit capitals, wineries, and small towns. We're making a point of sticking (mostly) to wineries that distribute in the United States, so that you can find what we're sharing even if you don't plan to travel yourself. We really hope that you'll follow along and share with your friends!
Read moreHouse (wine) Hunters review three low cost / better performing Pinot Noirs from California
Today we're hunting for great wine at great prices, what we call "house wine". With fall upon us, we've decided to test out an exclusively Pinot Noir lineup, all from California to make a fairly easy time of you finding similars at the store. Pinot is great red wine choice in the Spring and Fall transition months, and is particularly well suited to almost every Thanksgiving dish. Let us know what you think.
Read moreBig Hill Ciderworks mixes apples with winemaker passion in an extraordinary bottle lineup
We deeply respect talented winemakers for the passion they infuse in every barrel, every bottle, every glass they bring to life. Less well known, but possessed of equal passion for their craft, are the cider makers whose barrels, bottles, and glasses do with apples what winemakers do with grapes. At Big Hill Ciderworks in Gardners, Pennsylvania, cider makers Ben Kishbaugh and Troy Lehman draw apples' fine wine from 35 varietals and 25 acres.
Read moreFour countries, 17 nights, one Tumi international carry-on and a backpack. Your advice?
Next week we depart on a journey through four European countries -- Spain, Portugal, the UK, and Sweden -- that will take us from the city streets of Madrid, Lisbon, London, and Gothenburg to the wine country of Ribera del Duero, Rioja, and the Douro Valley. I'll boldly shoehorn 17 nights worth of kit into a Tumi International 4-Wheeled Expandable Carry On suitcase and their Knox Backpack. Any recommendations or packing tips as we take this on? What works for you?
Read moreNew wines are being poured at Northern Virginia's excellent Delaplane Cellars winery
Earlier this week we included Delaplane Cellars in our list of current Northern Virginia (and surrounding) wine, dine, and travel favorites. It's been six months since we last wrote about Delaplane, and they've got a nearly entirely new lineup of wines and vintages pouring at the winery right now. We thought we'd check in with some tasting notes and encouragement for you to pay them a visit.
Read moreThese are our Northern Virginia (and surrounding) wine, dine, and travel favorites right now
It's Columbus Day in the United States -- you know, that quasi-holiday that might be the federally recognized holiday that your employer is most likely to expect you to work on anyway? It's also an absolutely beautiful time in the Northern Virginia region that we (and a lot of great wineries) call home. These are some of our top regional recommendations right now.
Read moreTouching down in Phoenix for a little taste of Arizona wine and absolutely beautiful country
Returned from Phoenix, AZ with good things to say about the local Arizona wine, newly renovated American Airlines Admirals Club at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), and -- of course -- the beautiful scenery. It is absolutely beautiful country.
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