A Wine Vacation, or a Vacation from Wine?
Choosing between the two is almost as important as where you go
Posted: Jul 11, 2012 10:00am ET
Vacations generally fall into two categories: active and
relaxing. Some people like to explore exotic locales or scamper to the top of
large and dangerous things, while others prefer to beach themselves in the sun
for a week. It also depends on what vacation you're in the mood for. It's more
complicated for wine lovers, however. Should you take a wine vacation or a
vacation from wine?
Before I started writing about wine for a living, I explored
all the wine regions of California. I must have visited a thousand tasting
rooms. Later, I ventured to Bordeaux and Champagne, the Rhône and Provence.
Once you get the fever, planning treks through Tuscany or Willamette Valley or
venturing south to Argentina can be an addicting way to spend your time off.
Of course you don't need to be near vineyards to have a
wine-oriented holiday. I have friends who like nothing better than spending a
week in New York or San Francisco (and why not Paris?) eating at restaurants
with great wine lists. And what wine buff hasn't raided the cellar before
heading out to Tahoe or Maine or some shore somewhere and planned a week of
dinners and barbecues around special bottles?
And yet vacations from
wine can be good, too. When your life revolves around wine—I live in Sonoma
County and work in Napa Valley—it becomes a necessity, especially if you've
been in the business for a while.
On my first trip to Hawaii 20 years ago, I schlepped along a
case to get us through the week, but on our last visit I barely drank a glass
or two. The last thing I wanted to think about was choosing the best wine for
dinner. Or, even more demanding, creating a dinner around a bottle I was
anxious to open. I just needed to shut down my wine-and-food pairing brain and
sip something like a mai tai or a mojito.
That's the sort of vacation I'm looking forward to this
year. What about you? Will you have a wine getaway or a getaway from wine? And
I'm thinking something relaxing instead of active, as well. None of this
running about.
My mind already wanders there, to a warm breeze and a pool. "Oh Miss,
take this wine list away and bring me something with a paper umbrella in it.
Make it a double!"
We are headed off to Australia for three weeks at the end of the year, and in spite of its numerous wine regions and outstanding wines found down Under we will be spending but one day touring a handful of boutique wineries in the Barossa. Other than that it is critters, beaches, new sights, and the fireworks in Sydney for New Years' eve. (I will not promise not to spend my usual inordinate time perusing wine lists at dinner however. Old habits are hard to break.)