Hello from Southern California Wine Country

[SoCalPappy]

Hi all, I just found these forums as I started researching land-based travel in Europe. My wife and I have been sailing on cruise ships for a loooong time, now that I've retired, we're looking at other ways to really dig in to the cultural experiences to be had at a slower pace (see what I did there?) Looking forward to picking everybody's brains for all the best tips and hints!

 

[Ian Sutton]

Welcome! Certainly some superb Italian wine regions to discover, albeit visiting wineries will be a very different experience to California, with few (walk-in) tasting rooms and visits typically booked in advance, but on the flip side, offer much more personal experiences.

Plus of course there's much more beside that, and hopefully the forum will be able to offer suggestions that really suit what you're looking for

 

[SoCalPappy]

Welcome! Certainly some superb Italian wine regions to discover, albeit visiting wineries will be a very different experience to California, with few (walk-in) tasting rooms and visits typically booked in advance, but on the flip side, offer much more personal experiences.

Plus of course there's much more beside that, and hopefully the forum will be able to offer suggestions that really suit what you're looking for

Thanks, Ian! We've done a couple trips to Italy - one of the local wineries here sponsored a visit to northern Italy in 2016; last year we spent 4 days in Tuscany before a western Med cruise; this year we did a 3-day pre cruise stay in Venice. We're scouting our next Europe visit with France as a strong possibility - my wife's ancestry traces back to the northwest of France. So many places to consider!
BTW, we share a surname... related?

 

[Ian Sutton]

Thanks, Ian! We've done a couple trips to Italy - one of the local wineries here sponsored a visit to northern Italy in 2016; last year we spent 4 days in Tuscany before a western Med cruise; this year we did a 3-day pre cruise stay in Venice. We're scouting our next Europe visit with France as a strong possibility - my wife's ancestry traces back to the northwest of France. So many places to consider!
BTW, we share a surname... related?

LOL . I'm not aware of any US rellies, but you never know!

 

[Ian Sutton]

we've rather enjoyed our brief stays in NW France, initially as a stop-off on outward and return legs of a holiday in Italy (driving from the UK), staying at a wonderfully quirky place in (IIRC) Ardres. We followed it up with a lovely relaxed stay (again IIRC) near Nordausques.

It can feel like something of a backwater around here. but that means there's good and reasonably varied countryside, and a nice relaxed feel. A super place for us to find a balance between activity and relaxation.

On the subject of wine... there's a super wine shop rather hidden away behind a small food shop frontage (and just off the main road). It's called Halles de Quercamps and they have a superb selection. Something of a forum favourite on the UK wine pages forum.