If you are planning on taking off on your own wine tasting trip this summer, there are some steps you can take to make sure that your winery adventure meets your expectations. The following suggestions will help make it an experience to remember.

There are several great resources on the internet where you can find information on wineries in many areas. Your best bet is to choose one winery that you definitely want to visit - then build from there. Insert the city of the winery you chose into a search engine's yellow pages. (MSN is my favorite...it has a nice distance search). Search for wineries in a specific radius from this city...around 50 miles usually works. Unless you have chosen a very remote winery, this search will usually yield many more wineries to choose from and add to your agenda.

If you are lucky, most of the wineries you have found will have an informative website where you can check exact locations, operating hours, types of wine they produce, special events and more. Choose no more than five total wineries to visit in one day. Be sure to call any wineries that do not have a website, especially if you are not traveling during the summer months. Some of the smaller wineries do not keep regular business hours, so it's best to verify operating hours before you finalize your plans.

After you know exactly which wineries you will be visiting...and in what order...try to book accommodations very close to the last winery. Using a search engine's yellow pages distance search (like you did when searching for wineries) is also great for this. Book as early as possible. Many times the closest accommodations are small inns or bed and breakfasts and they tend to book-up quickly.

While on your journey, please taste responsibly.

About the Author

A wine enthusiast and frequent wine traveler, Sharon Alexander, is owner of Winery Adventures.com. The Winery Adventures web site features winery reviews and tips for wine travelers. The site also features monthly wine recommendations, articles, wine classifieds and a free monthly newsletter.

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Wrought iron wine racks are made to last. It takes skilled artisans to design and replicate these metal wine racks. It is important when purchasing wr...


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Housewarming Wine Products we recommend

Grand Edition Gourmet Food Gift Basket - Medium

Impress friends, family or valued clients with this classic and elegant gift basket filled to overflowing with a grand selection of gourmet goodies - perfect for 2-4 guests to share. The medium basket is pictured above featuring the finest in Wine Flavored Cheese, rich Chocolate Decadence Cake, savory Italian Salami, Angelina's Sweet Butter Cookies, decadent Belgian Chocolate truffles, Stone Ground Mustard, Sesame Crackers, Black Peppercorn Crackers, and a delicious White Chocolate Amaretto Cookie. Each gift is carefully hand crafted with attention to detail, tied with an elegant gold bow and includes a personalized gift message from you to convey your best wishes. Copyright Art of Appreciation. We offer shipping and delivery service Monday through Friday only; standard ground shipping has an expected delivery 4-8 business days after you place your order, expedited shipping has an expected delivery 2-5 business days after you place your order. To determine when your gift will be delivered, please review the "Shipping Rates and Policies" link.

Customer Review: Dad's birthday gift

I have purchased a number of different food gift baskets over the years online, and its always a little difficult to determine which one to get. You have to carefully read the content descriptions, as some baskets have a lot of "filler" items. This makes it appear that you are getting a lot of food, but its crackers and condiments. My father liked this basket, he said the salami and other things were of good quality, so I would recommend it to others.

I would really like to see more food gift baskets that were filled with more "hard" food items like meat & cheese and less "fluff"

Customer Review: Great food

The grand edition food basket was delightfully received and very much enjoyed. Good choice for a gift anytime of year.
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Save on cabinet spaces, sport your stems. Our sleek chrome stemware rack, hangs and holds up to 18 wine stems. It is designed to fit and hang under cabinets and other shelving systems, including our Swedish Pine wine rack collection. Easy to mount, hardware included. Will fit glassware that has up to 3-1/2" bases. Smaller size available. Size: 25-1/2L x 10W x 1-1/4D

Customer Review: Very nice, easy to install

This wine rack looks really nice, installs easily and takes up virtually no space with its under counter design. Installation took about 5 minutes with a cordless screwdriver and 6 provided screws. The front-to-back fit is fairly snug, so if your cabinets have any of those plastic stapled in support brackets you will have to remove/move them first.

Customer Review: Under cabinet stemware rack

I measured my under cabinet area to compare to the product measurements. It was a perfect fit. It's sturdy, simple and attractive and shows off my stemware beautifully. I was limited on cabinet and counter space so it is a great alternative. The order was processed and delivered in a timely manner. I would definitely purchase again should I need another one.
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HJC IS-33 Helmet Advanced Polycarbonate Composite Shell
Lightweight, superior fit and comfort using advanced CAD technology
Aerodynamic shell with large eyeport for greater visibility
Impact absorbing, multi-density EPS liner
SunShield Visor System
One-touch integrated smoke-tinted SunShield Patent Pending 11335,855 deploys and retracts quickly and easily
Adjustable to three positions
ACS Advanced Channeling Ventilation System provides flow-through ventilation
Multi-stage intake vents and exhaust vents allow full front to back fresh airflow that flushes heat and humidity out of the helmet
SilverCool Interior
Moisture-wicking and odor-free interior with advanced SilverCool antibacterial fabric
Comfortable, removable and washable
HJ-17J Shield and QuickSlide Shield Replacement System
QuickSlide shield replacement system allows for quick, secure and tool-less shield removal and installation
Optically correct face shield offers 95% UV protection
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Neatly secures chin strap

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Playfully designed to resemble a bunch of grapes, this antique-look copper wine rack even includes two decorative copper grape leaves and a vine that curves into a handle (for carrying the rack when empty). Nine bottles can rest in this rack at the ideal storing angle. Made of heavy-duty metal tubing and measuring 23 by 4 by 14-1/2 inches, the wine rack fits neatly on a countertop or in a pantry.

Care of the copper wine rack is easy: Wipe clean by hand and avoid harsh pads or cleansers that can scratch the finish. Because Old Dutch copperware is hand-crafted, slight variations from one piece to another are to be expected. The rack comes fully assembled. --Ann Bieri

Customer Review: Disappointed

As with the review before me, I also received this rack with 2 broken welds on the single circle at the end tip. It is nice looking, but poorly constructed.

Customer Review: Mediocre in every way

This was a seventh anniversaty gift, and being made of copper is its only real benefit. Two of the welded connections between the rings were broken upon receipt and it's light and relatively shabby in construction.



It's difficult to find a 7th anniversary gift made of copper, and to that end, this fit the bill. But its real value, even for the intended purpose, is very limited.
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