When you’re about to stay at the only boutique hotel in the city awarded the Forbes four-star rating, ranked one of the Top 5 trendiest hotels in the world by Tripadvisor and named a finalist for Best in the Northwest, you’re bound to come in with raised expectations. The Opus Hotel in Vancouver not only delivers on any preconceived notions, they lift those expectations to a whole new level, setting the bar for all future hotel stays.
Read More
An American in Spain
Dave Phinney is one of the rapidly rising stars in the American wine-making scene. From relatively humble beginnings as a harvest worker at Robert Mondavi in 1997 he started making wine for himself and others in 1998. He has also worked at Opus One and Whitehall Lane. He has since created his own highly successful label in Napa Valley called Orin Swift. The name is an homage to his parents; Orin being his father’s second name and Swift his mother’s maiden name. Orin Swift produces several wines, most notably a Zinfandel-based blend called The Prisoner. The Prisoner and its baby brother, Saldo (also a Zinfandel-based blend, sourced from vineyards across California, not just Napa) were sold in 2010 to Augustin Huneeus, owner of Napa’s Quintessa and Chile’s Veramonte.
Read More
The Wine Road Less Travelled – California’s Central Coast
When thinking of California wines, the first place that usually comes to most people’s minds are the Napa and Sonoma Valleys just over an hour’s drive from San Francisco. As an annual visitor to that region, I fully understand why. But I recently had the pleasure of visiting California’s central coast region and was thoroughly impressed both with the quality of wines and the characteristically dialed back nature of the area.
Fans of the wine road trip movie “Sideways” will recognize the name Solvang, the town we made our home base for the duration of our extended weekend stay. Known as the “Danish Capital of America” there’s no mistaking it as anything else with its windmills and numerous references to Hans Christian Anderson, the Little Mermaid and the Danish Royal Family. It’s borderline tacky but somehow manages to pull it off and clearly the number of people that are attracted to it don’t seem to mind.
Read More
Chef’s Table Experience at The Marc Restaurant
(Walla Walla, Washington)
As we checked in to the Marcus Whitman Hotel, our home for the balance of our trip to Walla Walla, a small sign on the front desk counter caught our eye. Phrases such as “Washington State Wine Award Restaurant of the Year” and “James Beard recognized chef” begged us to take a closer look and consider the Chef’s Table Experience at The Marc Restaurant located in the lobby of the hotel.
Read More
Recent Comments