The Wine, Travel Eats blog is a set of reflections and stories on the joys of travel, wine tasting, drinking fine alcohol, and eating amazing food in and around Napa, Sonoma, Suisun Valley, The Bay Area, and beyond.
The blog is a joint effort between David, a pedantic lover of wine and all things craft alcohol, and Amber, an at-home chef, foodie, and wine lover.
David comments: I consider accusations of being pedantic as a compliment. I firmly believe there are two forms of the language: American English and Actual English. Ten years of living in the United States has not changed my accent, pronunciation or vocabulary. I have developed a liking for seasons in which the sun shines all summer and the rain has the manners to keep itself in the winter. Living in wine country has opened my palate to a range of viticulture; which translates to the wine here is good and varied, so try as much as you can.
Amber comments: I think of myself as the open and friendly one of our writing team. I love to experience new food combinations and cooking methods (If they are done well). Having a background in hospitality as a retired major events director and hotel consultant, good service is extremely important in my book. When tasting food or alcohol I consider each flavor and the effort it took to create it. My favorite saying is: “Good Friends + Food + Wine + Laughter = the Fountain of Youth.”
As a couple, we love to entertain and have friends over often. Our other hobbies are wide-ranging: We are avid readers, history buffs, travelers, movie-goers and adventure seekers. David is a gamer, sports fan, car enthusiast and computer geek. I love to tease David about his pedantry and geekiness. Somehow, however, I seem to know more about Star Trek and other geek topics than I should; much to my disgust and dismay and to his delight!
We would like to introduce our chef extraordinaire April. She is a nurse, professional wedding cake baker, at home chef and all around foodie. She is a country girl who enjoys old-fashioned canning and preserving as well as growing many of the fruits and vegetables she uses in her own garden. Ms. April has accompanied us on many of our adventures and has been a huge supporter of our blog. We couldn’t be happier to have her as part of our team. Her cute personality and writing style makes her a great addition. She has many creative tips and tricks to share with our readers.
Our blog contributor Wendy Baune (Wen) is a born traveler with a love of life who spends about 3 months of the year in hotels across the United States for both business and pleasure. She explores the world of traveling, wine, and fine dining keeping an active healthy lifestyle in mind. Wen’s love for travel and food comes naturally; a passion that she has inherited from her father. Some of her fondest memories at an early age is of the two of them traveling around the country eating at the local restaurants wherever they would roam.
Wen’s love of wine came later in life when she made a friend with deep connections in the Woodinville, Washington’s winery scene. Through this friendship, Wen’s love of wine was born. When not traveling, Wen lives in the Seattle area enjoying all of the benefits of city living where there is a vibrant food and wine scene. #WenDoes is her travel hashtag on Twitter where she chronicles her travel, fun, food, and beverage adventures.
We try to write this blog in an easy-going way. Sometimes there are typos as we don’t always catch them. When writing about travel, wine, and food experiences, we try to do so in easy to follow language rather than being overly pretentious or snobby. After all, wine, travel, and food should be fun things to experience (if you are doing it right). We try to be amusing and as positive as we can when reviewing the places we visit. After all, we are talking about people’s livelihoods and we value that. We are also honest, and we try to write helpful and constructive comments if there are areas that need improvement.
Since there are several contributors speaking on our blog, there is one main writer for each post, and the other people comment in italics with their name. Hopefully, that will make the voices clear to you.
If you have comments about Wine Travel Eats or you want us to feature your restaurant or winery please contact us. We kindly accept (and encourage) samples of wine, products and other forms of hospitality from wineries, PR companies, and product-related companies. When we speak, we are talking about our own experiences and honest opinions in an effort to share with others who have a passion for wine, food, and travel. If a sample or hospitality is received, we will make every effort to write our review in a timely manner. When reviewing, we will make sure that our readers know that it was a sample product.