10
Sep

Where to Wine: The LATEST List

Posted on September 10th, 2009 :: Posted in Alcoholic Beverage, AReallyGoodeJob, Tips

We’ve been crazy about both travel and wine long enough to have amassed a list of some truly breathtaking places to enjoy awesome wine. We’re not selfish, so we’ve decided to start sending a quick Tweet about the best dive bars, five star bars, campsites, infinity edge bath tubs, mountain tops, riverside patios, BBQ joints and luxury hotels to enjoy a glass of wine at. Follow us on Twitter, then follow up right here on our blog where we’ll elaborate on each Tweet including photos, links, past Travel Journal entries from our web site and published reviews of the place. Most importantly, we’ll also suggest a wine that pairs perfectly.

Glasses ready?

#7: September 10, 2009 NEW! NEW! NEW!

Where: Lake O’Hara campground, Yoho National Park, Alberta, Canada

Why: Iconic Lake O’Hara offers views of Mt. Lafroy and Victoria Peak on the Continental Divide plus grizzly bears, elk and other members of the Canadian Rockies Wildlife Top 5 list. The area is also a hiker’s paradise with one stunning route after another. Don’t miss the Alpine Loop which connects four separate trails into one epic 15 mile circuit that takes you through a range of mountain terrain from dense forest to above-the-tree line-scree. Some sections are literally chiseled into the stony mountain face. The beauty of the place is such a draw that Parks Canada restricts access to the area’s 30 coveted back country camp sites in order to reduce wear and tear on the land and safeguard crucial migration corridors for the area’s big mammals.

Which Wine: Manage to get a camping reservation at Lake O’Hara and you’ll want to celebrate. Thankfully the campground is mere steps from where a school bus drops you and your stuff off–more than accessible enough to bring along a couple of Nalgene or Camelbak or SIGG bottles full of wine. We suggest King Shag 2007 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The adorable penguin on the label of this extremely affordable and delicious New Zealand wine makes a nice addition to the existing wildlife.

#6: July 23, 2009

Where: Triple Creek Ranch Darby, Montana

Why: This is NOT a dude ranch. Yes, there are horses and cowboys and cabins and mountains and cattle and elk and saddles and a few dudes. However, this is a world class luxury hideaway which consistently tops travel magazines’ “Best/Top/Most” lists (if you believe in those sorts of things) and is a member of the elite Relais & Chateaux group. The wines here, housed in a glass-enclosed 3,000 bottle cellar, have earned Triple Creek Ranch the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence every year since 2005 and, even better, a selection of those wines is included in the all-inclusive room rates (which are admittedly steep at $650-$2,495 double occupancy). Bottles are even re-stocked in your luxe cabin during your stay just in case you feel like a glass or two in your private hot tub. Read Karen’s full review of Triple Creek Ranch for www.itravelishop.com.

Which Wine: The so-called “house wines,” which are included in the room rate, are absolutely delicious–or splurge and choose something from their wine list. We got turned onto Schlumberger Cuvee Klimt Brut Champagne during our stay here and the resort currently has a great bottle from Paso Robles on the list (L’Aventure, “Optimus” 2003).

#5: July 17, 2009

Where: Cafe Italia, El Paso

Why: Don’t let the strip mall location fool you. This BYOB pizzeria is the real thing, particularly if you’re a wine lover. They’ve got a real wood-fired brick pizza oven, feature organic and local homegrown veggies, all the mozzarella is homemade AND their corkage fee is just $1. That’s, like 1908 prices! Really, when we saw the corkage fee at the bottom the menu we thought it was a typo. The owner, Dan, will undoubtedly be on hand to make sure you fall in love with every bite and he’s always handy with the bottle opener. Generously sized and topped pizzas are just $14 (the Gracie’s is outstanding) and we recommend you go nuts and have Dan toss some silky, buttery prosciuto de parma on top as well. The menu changes seasonally as well, giving you more reasons to return again and again.

Which Wine: That’s entirely (blissfully) up to you. That $1 corkage fee means you can bring as many of your favorite bottles as you like or an armful of new ones to try.

#4 – July 8, 2009

Where: Non Solo Panino cafe in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, Mexico

Why: This pint-size cafe off a tranquil park in one of Mexico City’s most bohemian neighborhoods offers delicious salads, linger-inducing sidewalk tables, a riotous casts of chain-smoking and lap-dog-toting regulars and a short but refreshingly Italian wine list–all things that are in short supply in Mexico.

Which Wine: Does it matter at 25 pesos (roughly US$2) per very generously poured glass? Go nuts and get a whole liter of perfectly enjoyable vino della casa for $7.

#3 – July 1, 2009

Where: The bathtub in bungalow 16 at Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, Florida

Why: With just 30 free-standing, thatched-roof, totally-luxe bungalows on the whole private island this award-winning hideaway in the Florida Keys is one of the most romantic spots on earth. Bungalow 16 has one of the most romantic bathtubs on earth–an elegantly curved copper monster right in the middle of the room with a chandelier hanging over it. Here’s Karen’s full review of Little Palm Island for www.itravelishop.com.

Which Wine: Start with the bottle of bubbly the resort gives you at check in then really work the room by ordering up the resort’s Romance Package. You’ll return to your room after dinner to discover an even better bottle of champagne, a specially drawn bath, chocolate covered strawberries and rose petals all over the place.

#2 – June 26, 2009

Where: Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park Campground

Why: This lightly-visited park offers a forest of ancient coastal redwoods so thick that the park remains largely trail-less and some roads have vehicle size restrictions. Campground sites are also shaded by towering redwoods, creating the perfect ambiance for a glass or two around the fire ring.

Which Wine: A camping standby for us is Goats do Roam, a no nonsense Rhone varietal blend made by a South African winemaker with a delicious sense of humor. We also love the sturdy constitution of this tasty red which helps it keep its balance even in the shifting temperatures that come with camping.

Wine+Redwoods_small

#1 – June 25, 2009

Where: The Lounge in the DiRoNA Award, Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and James Beard House award-winning Granary Restaurant at Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming.

Why: The Granary Lounge at Spring Creek Ranch offers more than a dozen wines by the glass at reasonable prices and more than a hundred old and new world bottles from the $20s to the $200s PLUS the best view of the Grand Teton mountain range in the area. Do yourself a favor and go at sunset. Here’s Karen’s review of Spring Creek Ranch for www.itravelishop.com.

Which Wine: The wine list at the Granary Lounge evolves constantly, however, we enjoyed a bottle of Dry Creek Vineyards 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon.

granary_new

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6
Jul

Are You Murphy-Better?

Posted on July 6th, 2009 :: Posted in Announcement, AReallyGoodeJob, Murphy Goode

You know, by now, that despite our best efforts we did not make last week’s first cut of applicants vying for a six month job as Wine Lifestyle Correspondent for Murphy-Goode Winery. We tried our best and you tried your best (thanks for all your votes) and, honestly, we were a little surprised we didn’t make the top 50 given the raucous laughter our application video inspired, our deep online presence, our hundreds of online followers, our very impressive wine consumption and enthusiasm (in that order) and our contributions to lay-it-on-the-line wine discussions (thanks for including us, Andrea). Some top-50ers don’t even seem to have a Twitter account for heaven’s sake.

Others were shocked and disappointed too. One supporter, who happens to be the marketing manager of a major corporation for which we recently created a successful six month online branding and marketing campaign, had this measured reaction: “Those Bastards! I’m from Cleveland. I know people. I’ll take care of it. They’ll never dance on grapes again if you know what I mean!”

But instead of the bad kind of whining (there’s been plenty of the good kind of wining), we started thinking. If Murphy-Goode “borrowed” the buzz-generating online job contest idea from Tourism Queensland’s “Best Job in the World” competition (which it did) why can’t we “borrow” MG’s contest and give it a little twist?

After all, there must be other wineries out there in need of high-performance social media marketing makeovers, right? Right. So we’re announcing our own online contest called Who’s Murphy-Better?

It goes like this: if you’re a winery in need of a short term dose of innovative, effective, creative and fun social media marketing work in the form of words, pictures and moving images that boost your brand, your wines, your wine country, your vineyard owls, your kooky winemaker, your obsessive card playing and anything else that might get more of your wine in more people’s glasses feel free to apply to hire us.

We could ask you to make a 60 second video about why we would want to work for you, but we won’t. Instead, just send a link to your winery’s web site (Don’t have one? That’s what we’re here for!), the proposed duration and salary/benefits of the Murphy-Better Wine Lifestyle Correspondent position that you’re offering to us and a way to reach you that does not require carrier pigeons and we’ll think about it.

Oh, and we reserve the right to close applications if we receive 5,000 or more.

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23
Jun

Application Anxiety! Or…Which MG Wine Goes with Nerves?

Posted on June 23rd, 2009 :: Posted in Alcoholic Beverage, AReallyGoodeJob, Murphy Goode, video

Exactly two months ago we read a Twitter post about Murphy-Goode Winery’s call for applicants for a Really Goode Job as their Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent for six months this summer and fall and it was love at first sight. An opportunity to combine our journalism and new media skills with our love of wine and the Cali wine country lifestyle AND earn some much needed money to fuel the remaining years and miles of our Trans-Americas Journey? We’re in.

So we shifted gears, quite literally pulling our little road trip over to the side of the road in Ajijic, Mexico where we sat out the swine flu and began conceptualizing, writing, shooting and editing our application video, complete with an original soundtrack. We worked hard, but made sure we also had fun tossing around ideas for the video over many, many glasses of wine with our friends.

During the video production process we also began taking our love of wine from the conceptual (we love it, we drink it, it’s part of our life, duh) to the concrete: why do we love it and how can we become the best vessels for most effectively communicating all the wonderful things about wine, winemakers and the wine lifestyle to as many people as possible?

We worked hard, got creative, stayed committed, met new people and learned new things and made sacrifices–the same approach we used to make our Trans-Americas Journey a reality. We’ve even returned to the U.S. from Mexico in preparation for the call (or email or Twitter) we hope is coming our way.

Stills

Every day for the past two months we get up in the morning and screen all the new application videos over coffee. Then we hit Twitter to spread the word about the funniest one of the day. Then it’s time to read through the best new posts on various web sites from contenders and non-contenders and post some mini-thesis of our own as the conversation about how best to use web 2.0 tools to market wine and boost brands rages on across the internet on neutral sites like Andy’s Goode Life.

Through it all we’ve honestly been too busy to be nervous. Until now. In less than four days, on Friday June 26, the folks at Murphy-Goode Winery will narrow down the 1,000+ applications they’ve received to 50 finalists. In mid July those 50 will become just 10 and those final finalists will be brought to the winery for some in-person evaluation and other Sonoma shenanigans.

The other night, as we opened a couple of bottles of wine from a winery in New Mexico (the fume blanc was good but the chardonnay was somehow leaden and thin at the same time), it hit us how invested we are in getting this job. As the last of the sunset light turned the Franklin Mountains above El Paso a tender shade of pink, we started feeling applicant anxiety for the very first time. If we get this job we not only earn the right to an amazing continuation of the hard work, creativity, learning and commitment we’ve already invested in the application process, but the future of our Trans-Americas Journey will be assured. If we don’t get this job, well, we prefer to stay positive.

As Friday approaches we’ll be self-medicating by planning a brief return to the road to visit some area wineries (watch this space to hear all about what we discover in Texas and New Mexico wine country). With your help and a little luck we look forward to celebrating Friday’s announcement with a bottle of 2003 Murphy-Goode Wild Card Claret (possibly the last bottle to be found in west Texas) which we’ve been hoarding in our friends’ new wine refrigerator, which we’re still on the fence about.

Please, if you haven’t already watched and voted for our one minute application video, make like an Iranian and GO VOTE!