The late summer/early fall 2023 wine harvest began slightly later this year due to rainy, cooler conditions in the late winter and spring – but we are now officially “in season.” This means an abundance of wine tasting, events up and down “the Valley” and unique “hands-on” tours, like grape-picking and grape-stomping. (Years ago in … Wine Tasting Napa Valley – It’s Harvest Season 2023 READ MORE »

Several years ago, Chef Gary Danko brought a small kitchen crew and an elaborate multi-course meal to a friend’s home in San Francisco’s North Bay. The evening was sponsored by Lexus as a marketing activity for regular patrons, and the delivered Chef Danko as the key attraction for our 10 business colleagues and friends. Despite … At Gary Danko San Francisco – A Meal of a Lifetime READ MORE »

Imagine a private tour of a significant contemporary art collection with the curator, followed by a sumptuous tasting of some of Napa Valley’s most prestigious wines in a beautiful garden up on the mountain. You can have it all – and here’s how. Swiss-born entrepreneur Donald Hess came to Napa to expand his mineral water … The Hess Art Collection – Hidden Gem in Napa Valley READ MORE »

I’ll never look at a wine cork the same way again after touring Lafitte Cork & Capsule in Napa Valley. Cork-making is just as meticulous as the wine bottle it protects. (I write this story as an example of the individualized, memorable travel experiences we can shape based on friends, family and local contacts and, … Cork Making in Napa – An Insider’s Tour READ MORE »

About 10 days after the singer Tina Turner died, I “met” Tina Turner, the cheese robot in West Marin, CA. She was performing on film. This chance encounter happened because two of us Womentravelers decided to drive out to the Pacific Coast on a chilly foggy day in the San Francisco Bay Area. We started … Tina Turner, the Cheese Robot READ MORE »

California Wine Country is not for the faint of heart, but in more respects than I can count on ten fingers, it is one of the most beautiful destinations on earth. I’m not referring to the multiple tastings wherever you turn – but rather the exquisite, breathtaking beauty of growth, rejuvenation and resilience. Conquering rocky … Sonoma in Summer – and a Touch of Napa READ MORE »

I look around my California condo and all I see is “packing.” No provocative books or magazines to read, no challenging writing projects, no menus to create around a special Vermentino. Endless sorting, organizing, throwing out and for what’s left (which is most of it), packing. My best friend is The Container Store, where I … Going Home READ MORE »

The perfect 36 hours in LA begins and ends in Santa Monica and Venice along the coast with two fantastic restaurant dinners that bracket a day of shopping. But where to start with so many possibilities? Here’s one itinerary. Dinner #1 – Hotel Casa del Mar, Santa Monica. The grand old Italian Renaissance on the … 36 Hours in Los Angeles READ MORE »

Today I channeled MFK Fisher in Sonoma County wine country and the town of Glen Ellen, about 40 minutes north of San Francisco. The remarkable sage of food writing and gastronomic pleasure died in 1992, and her cottage retreat, “Last House,” is now part of the Audubon Canyon Ranch’s 535-acre Bouverie Preserve. Chronicled in Luke … Channeling MFK Fisher in Sonoma READ MORE »

We took off in the convertible early in the morning along the curvy drive of Highway 1 just north of San Francisco and over Mt. Tamalpais to the secluded wild Pacific Ocean beaches and folksy villages of West Marin. The day was drenched with the clear, crisp light that prevails when the fog is tamed … West Marin – Crisp Days, Cheese Trails and Wild Beauty READ MORE »

On the fourth day of the last deluge of steady rains, I headed to the beach for some fresh air and a beach walk between showers. It felt as though I was emerging from Middle Earth. There were more people than usual on the Marina del Rey stretch between the Venice beach pier and the … Los Angeles: Alas, The Winter Season Rains READ MORE »

Who says road trips are a guy thing? My friend Peggy and I took a “Sideways” tour in Santa Barbara, California wine country a couple of years before the Oscar-contending came out. It was fun to realize that we were ahead of the curve, shaping our Sideways tour most likely about the time Paul Giamatti … Sideways in Santa Barbara READ MORE »

“Welcome to Wonderland.” I had traveled to San Francisco often and stayed in some of the finest hotels, but the intrigue of the pretentiously cool W Hotel “south of Market” landed two of us girlfriends there one recent weekend via a great Internet deal. The three-story lobby was dramatically moderne, votive candles glimmered in the … Hearts in San Francisco READ MORE »