A Sommelier's wine secrets
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Did you miss your fight to Los Angles (LAX)? Inclement weather strand you at Chicago O’Hare (ORD)? How about that 4-hour layover in Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)? Why not turn these unplanned, unforeseen and potentially unpleasant circumstances into an opportunity to visit the closest airport wine bar? There, you can discover a new favorite wine while enjoying beautifully paired tapas or light fare. Sinking back into a comfortable, welcoming wine bar will make the worst travel situation tolerable, if not somewhat enjoyable. Historically, most international airports have had an excess of fast-food restaurants, coffee kiosks and seedy lounges, but during the past few years, more and more airports have introduced wine bars that offer quality wine selections. The most impressive wine bar network is VinoVolo Wine Bar and Café which has 28 airport locations within North America including New York (JFK), Dallas (DFW), Boston (BOS), Washington Dulles (IAD) and San Francisco (SFO). Beaudevin, another airport wine bar chain with locations in Chicago (ORD), Charlottesville, NC (CLT), San Diego (SAN) and Miami (MIA), offers an array of wine flights and food offerings to suit the needs of any traveler. In the next few months, while planning your upcoming holiday travel, make sure you verify your flight information, TSA Pre-Check status and most importantly, the location of the closes airport wine bar. Nothing beats tasting a flight before taking a flight. Wine is inexorably linked to special, festive occasions, relaxation, and to a certain extent, decadence. The imagery and symbolism of sipping a glass of wine can elevate a simple travel narrative into a sensory experience. For this reason, travel writers should seriously consider slipping a mention, sidebar or descriptive paragraph about wine into their articles. There are numerous ways to approach this enhancement of your essays. Perhaps you might reflect on the wines of the region you’re exploring. Every destination on earth has some type of regional or desirable wine. We all know about the beautiful Tuscan wines surrounding Sienna or great Champagnes near Paris, but what about the wines in Andalusia or Dalmatia? Another consideration is to cater to the demographics of the people who typically visit your travel destination. For example, the majority of tourists who visit Fiji and Bora Bora are oenophiles from Australia and New Zealand, so of course the island resorts have a plethora of coveted Shiraz and Pinot Noir available. A particularly simple way to introduce wines to your readers is to identify any wine-related activities happening during your trip. Oenophiles love to discover unexpected wine tasting events or stumble upon vineyards. I once attended a wine tasting on a Cruise ship repositioning to Alaska. Including wine in your articles will not only provide additional opportunities for your readers to discover a sense of the location, but it provides your writing with a sense of indulgence and pleasure that makes your travel experience that much more enticing. |
Annette Solomon, CS
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December 2021
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