Elaine N. Schoch

A Winemakers Tale: Adam Campbell, Elk Cove Vineyards
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A Winemakers Tale: Adam Campbell, Elk Cove Vineyards

Welcome to this month’s edition of A Winemakers Tale where I feature interviews with winemakers from different wine regions around the world. Seeing as I’m still feeding (or rather sipping) my mild obsession with Oregon wine country I have discovered yet another AMAZING Pinot Noir to grace my dinner table. It seemed only fitting to try and interview its…

A Winemakers Tale: Alexandrine Roy, Winemaker for Phelps Creek Vineyards & Domaine Marc Roy
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A Winemakers Tale: Alexandrine Roy, Winemaker for Phelps Creek Vineyards & Domaine Marc Roy

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are two of my favorite summer wines. This summer I discovered two new favorites from Phelps Creek Vineyards in the Oregon wine country. I  recently had the privilege to interview its winemaker, Alexandrine Roy who brings a bit of old world to new world winemaking. Alexandrine is a fourth-generation winemaker at Domaine Marc Roy in the village of…

Sometimes a Souvenir Can Be Much More Than Just a Souvenir

Sometimes a Souvenir Can Be Much More Than Just a Souvenir

It wasn’t just any courtroom. It was a Russian courtroom, in Chita, Siberia – The City of Exiles. The famed city in Russia where prominent intellectuals, including the Decembrist and many more were exiled. A “closed city” that foreigners and many Russian citizens weren’t allowed to visit until the collapse of the Soviet Union. I…

Travel Inspiration: The more people who travel, the better the world is
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Travel Inspiration: The more people who travel, the better the world is

My kids teach me a lot. Sometimes I think they teach me more than I will ever be able to teach them…especially when it comes to life. Children don’t filter themselves, their thoughts or what they loudly blurt out in a crowded airplane or elevator. They live life without filters and have this built-in tolerance…

Vacation Unplugged: How to unplug and enjoy your vacation
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Vacation Unplugged: How to unplug and enjoy your vacation

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”  If you’re one of the ‘50% of U.S. travelers expected to leave unused vacation days on the table this year’ I’m talking to you. When I was working in an office for someone else and had two weeks of vacation to use, I used it….

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Napa Valley: Charles Krug Winery – 150 years in the making

The last of my Mondavi visits this trip to the Napa Valley was to Charles Krug Wineryin St. Helena. There are still more Mondavi family wineries to visit next time though…I had not realized how excited I was to visit Charles Krug Winery until we were driving down the long, olive tree lined driveway to…

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Napa Valley: Opus One

I’m mildly obsessed with Robert Mondavi and his family’s story in the Napa Valley. The Mondavi family really helped shape what the Napa Valley wine industry is today by introducing higher quality wine making equipment and techniques to the area. They also put the Napa Valley on the wine map for the rest of the wine world through strategic…