Women & Wine

The Bonds Created by a Love of Travel

My life with Women & Wine thus far has been full of surprises - all good.  The overwhelming interest in a new company with a focus on travel for women to wine country destinations showed me that people want to celebrate women's independence and do something for themselves - explore, learn, indulge. 

The kudos that I've received via email from people who didn't know me but connected with the idea for Women & Wine showed me that there was a large audience our there who share a love of wine and travel.

Today I followed up on an introduction by Andrea Learned to Karen Kane who has a company called Paris By Design (www.parisbydesign.com).  My love of Paris gave Karen and I a lot to talk about but our mutual love of travel and wanting to recommend good things to people created an instant bond even though there's an entire country between us (she's based in VT and I'm in LA).

Send us your recommendations for great travel finds. We'd love to hear from you!

Julie Brosterman, Founder

MOTHER - DAUGHTER VACATIONS

"Fishing?! Mom, you've gotta be kidding!"

That's what my 26 year-old daughter Julia said when I called her with my proposal for a mother-daughter vacation. We've taken annual trips together since she graduated from high school (it helps that I write travel articles) -- a cruise up the Danube, scuba-diving in Belize, losing our lunch on a small plane flying across Panama in a tropical storm (that one we won't repeat)... But fishing? Julia's only interest in fish is when it's on top of sushi, preferably at a trendy restaurant in New York where she lives. Never mind that I was feeling nostalgic about when I was a kid in Seattle and my dad was in the fish business and we used to go down to the fishing boats and pick up fresh salmon. Julia wasn't buying.

Until I sweetened the deal by choosing as our destination the King Pacific Lodge, a luxury wilderness resort in northern British Columbia where the fantastic-view rooms have 400-count sheets on the beds; there's a spa where they wrap you in (fresh!) seaweed and massage you with hot stones; the food is great; and they have a helicopter to take you up to the top of a mountain to go hiking.

As it turned out, Julia and I did everything the King Pacific Lodge had to offer (We flew in their helicopter though we went hiking closer to the lodge). And we even each caught a salmon, which we had vacuum-packed and flash-frozen to bring home. Talk about mother-daughter bonding. Our trip to King Pacific Lodge was the Super Glue of mother-daughter bonding!

Oh, and we were introduced to some terrific wines. After a day out kayaking, hiking or fishing, what fun to gather for dinner and try British Columbian wines. And what a surprise to find several that were as good as any in California -- Hester Creek Trebbiano 2002 , NK Mip Pinot Noir 2002 -- even a Sumac Ridge Brut sparkler.

Yes, drinking wine together also adds to mother-daughter bonding-- and female bonding in general. Which is why I'm thrilled to be developing the Women & Wine on-line community.  Care to share some personal women-and-wine bonding stories? We'd love to hear them.

Sharon Boorstin

Sr. V.P. & Editorial Director

Women & WineWhich is why

Family Vacations

This is the first blog of the Women & Wine site which will be relaunched in August 2005 as a web community for women who love travel, wine, food and the good things that life has to offer. Whether you can travel alone, with family and friends, or just from your armchair in front of the computer, Women & Wine has something for you. 

When the new site is launched, it will connect you with people and places around the world.

This past weekend, I had the joy of spending a few days in Jackson Hole, WY with my family celebrating my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Our mulit-generational family included ages 8-75.

As we sat around a big round table in the dining room for a Dom Perignon toast - followed by two bottles of Chateau Margaux 1995, it struck me that so many memories are created around the table. The food, the people, the place and the wine. Long after the last drop is consumed, they linger on.

Tell us about your travels, your daily life and how connecting with people and places create memories to be savored and shared. We're here to be a voice for you to talk about your discoveries in your community or on the road. In your home, or your favorite restaurant.

We're here for you, everyday. Wish us luck!

Julie Brosterman, Founder

www.WomenWine.com