Wine & Food Travel

04/05/2026

Most wineries are built for visitors.

This one isn’t.

We’re in Taurasi, Italy at Terre Irpine—a place with no tasting room, no polished experience, and no English being spoken.

Just wine… the way it’s meant to be.

Jaime and I were brought into their cellar—quiet, raw, untouched by trends. Barrels aging longer than most wineries would ever allow. Wines resting for years before they ever see the light of day.

This isn’t about volume.
This isn’t about marketing.

This is about time. Tradition. Respect.

These are the kinds of wineries you don’t find online.
You don’t book them.

You’re brought into them.

This is what real wine travel looks like.

02/21/2026

I remember standing in the middle of a quiet barrel room in Spain — rows and rows stretching out in every direction.

It was cool. Still. Almost sacred.

And for a moment, I just stood there.

In Rioja and Ribera del Duero, you don’t just taste wine — you feel time.

You see it in the vineyards that seem endless under the Spanish sky.
You see it in the hands that harvest the grapes — hands that learned from parents, who learned from theirs.
You see it in cellars where barrels hold not just wine, but patience.

One winemaker spoke about the land as if it were a member of the family. Not as property. Not as inventory. But as something to honor and protect.

That stayed with me.

Craftsmanship there isn’t loud. It isn’t rushed. It isn’t chasing attention.

It’s woven into daily life.
It’s generational.
It’s respected and fiercely protected.

Adventure took us through winding vineyard roads, through historic streets, through tastings that surprised and delighted.

But what moved me most wasn’t the first sip.

It was the quiet understanding that the best things — wine, tradition, mastery — are built slowly. Intentionally. Over time.

Spain reminded me that when something is crafted with care, it carries a piece of everyone who came before it.

And that’s something worth raising a glass to.

🍷🇪🇸

02/04/2026

Barolo isn’t just a wine — it’s a terroir story in a glass.

Same grape. Same region. Totally different results — sometimes from vineyards just minutes apart.

Barolo is made from Nebbiolo, one of Italy’s most transparent grapes when it comes to soil and site. It acts like a messenger for the land.

Two major soil types shape Barolo styles:

Clay-rich soils
→ More structure, deeper tannin, darker fruit, longer aging potential

Sandy / marl soils
→ More perfume, elegance, earlier approachability, lifted aromatics

That’s why one Barolo can feel powerful and muscular, while another feels floral and silky — even within the same village.

When Jamie and Marcus visit producers in Barolo, tasting vineyard by vineyard makes this difference unmistakable. You’re not just tasting wine — you’re tasting geology and microclimate.

When you drink Barolo, do you prefer bold and structured — or more aromatic and elegant styles? 👇🍇

02/03/2026

Campuget Winery in Provence is where sunlight, limestone, and precision collide. Rows of vines stretch toward the Rhône, and every bottle tells the story of this historic estate founded in 1942. We walked the cellars, tasted through their Rhône-influenced whites and rosés, and saw firsthand how tradition and modern technique shape each vintage. A glimpse into Provence winemaking at its most authentic.

02/02/2026

Have you ever visited a winery in person?

Yes or no — and where was it? 🍇👇

01/07/2026

Domaine Paul Autard

01/01/2026

What if the wine region everyone overlooks becomes the most unforgettable wine experience of your life?

Traveling with Marcus and Jamie isn’t about checking boxes — it’s about going where the real stories live. Valle de Guadalupe is one of the wine world’s greatest anomalies, and most people have no idea what’s happening here.

When you travel with us, you don’t just taste wine.
You learn why Mexican wines taste the way they do, how extreme terroir, old vines, ocean influence, and bold winemaking philosophies collide — and why this region is quietly rewriting the rules of the global wine industry.

As the owners of Aroma Thyme Bistro and unofficial ambassadors of Mexican wine, we’ve been coming to this region a dozen times — walking the vineyards, sitting with winemakers, tasting from barrels, and seeing what never makes it into the brochures.

Our promise is simple:
We’ll show you a wine region most people don’t know exists.
We’ll share the industry secrets, the hidden producers, and the wines you can’t find back home.
And we’ll give you access — real access — not tourist tastings.

This is Mexico beyond tequila.
This is wine without filters, velvet ropes, or mass production.
And once you see it, you’ll never think about Mexican wine the same way again.

This is how we travel.
This is VIP Winery Vacations.

12/17/2025

12/09/2025

Marseille is one of those cities that unfolds slowly, layer by layer.
The light on the limestone. The sea air around La Major.
Orange-blossom navettes, real Savon de Marseille, and quiet corners that feel unchanged by time.
These are the moments that stay with you long after the trip ends.

12/05/2025

A late-morning walk through Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. Oysters, prawns, charcuterie, cheese, and Iberico Bellota Jamón. One of the greatest food halls in the world, captured in a single pass through its iconic aisles.

12/02/2025

Some hosts pour wine. Franklin opened his entire world.

Our stay at Campuget felt like stepping into a secret chapter of Southern France—one where the hours stretch gently, the light turns golden, and hospitality becomes something almost sacred.

This 400-year-old estate, quietly regal and castle-like, welcomed us with its newly renovated rooms—each one unique, each one a small museum of stories. One of our guests even stayed in their own historic building: the original gardener’s quarters from the 1600s. That’s the magic here… history you don’t just tour, but live inside of.

Before dinner, Franklin led us on an unhurried walk through the vineyards and olive groves. Not a rehearsed tour—just an intimate stroll with someone who knows every vine, every stone, every season by heart. Then came a private tasting where we explored their wines, their sustainability ethos, and the generations of family woven through each bottle.

Dinner was cooked by Franklin’s sister—pure southern French comfort elevated by precision and heart. Rustic elegance at its finest. And those potatoes with cheese… the entire table froze. Total show-stoppers.

We slept steps from the vines, wrapped in silence and soft morning light. Breakfast with Franklin felt like being welcomed into the family’s rhythm as the estate slowly awakened around us.