I'm jaded. I get to travel and eat in restaurants all over the world. No, I don't do food tourism any more though. Those days are long gone as the thrill of a three star Michelin has been replaced by discovering the new place in a town or city I've been to before. And, what … Read more
I originally wrote and posted this over on the Xceptional blog. In thinking about it, I decided that the VoIPWatch audience should see it to. After having GoogleFi on my Google Pixel for a few months, I finally got to use the service outside the United States on an extended three-week trip to the UK, … Read more
It's time for new faces and voices in wine. For many years we have all been following the writing, commentary and views of pretty much the same critics, reviewers and voices when it comes to wine. This isn't just a US phenomena, it's global. The wine world follows the same people, and in turn their … Read more
During my stay in France's Rhone Valley, Languedoc and Roussillion in early April (2017) I had the good fortune taste through many, but not all of my favorite Rose wines. Top of the heap has wines from Chateau de Roquefort's Corail, a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan and Vermentino showing its usual stuff right out of … Read more
Maybe Donald Trump is right about bringing jobs back home. Let me compare two experiences I recently had with British Air under the exact same scenario. My flight to Marseille from LAX was on two separate record locators. In the past all that took to correct was a call to BA’s executive club desk and … Read more
This is one of the most controversial tech subjects I know of. VoIP on airplanes. A recent survey in the APAC region shows that 42 percent of the travelers there would like to see VoIP calling allowed in-flight. That's 2 out of every five traveler who want to be able to make a call from … Read more
Michel Smith started his career as a journalist in Paris and began to write about wine. His well storied career has led to his being one of the leading proponents of wines from both the Languedoc and Roussillion regions, and unquestionably is one of the most well informed and witty wine and food writer/critics around. … Read more
Long time friend of more than 20 years Sylvain Fadat of Domaine du Aupilhac rewarded himself and his friends after a long day of work at the annual Montpeyroux Toutes Caves Ouvertes, which loosely translated means "All cellars open." For a Sunday in April, let alone Easter Sunday, the wine producing town in the hills … Read more
It has been a long time since I did a deep dive into any one wine region. Back in the day I would spend a week or more going from village to village tasting many different producers. Other times it would be at massive wine events like Vinisud and Decouvertes du Rhone where I had … Read more
This week I've stayed in three Accor brand hotels, a Mercure and two Ibis Styles. Granted they are not my usual type of accommodations, but when it comes to traveling along the wine route for Decouvertes du Rhone, they are conveniently located and value priced. What they don't have though is functioning Wi-Fi and never … Read more
