A few years back, I was experiencing a period in life when I felt a strong desire for more female friends. For so many years, my focus was on my child and our family. With her going off to college, I felt the need for a circle of close ‘girlfriends’ who would light a different part of my soul. I also had a love of good food, gourmet cooking, fresh ingredients and travel. I was a foodie at heart who yearned to travel more and learn about a region’s culture through it’s cuisine. So my foodie tours, which I prefer to call ‘adventures’ were born.
I wanted to organize tours that had an adventurous and learning element specifically for women. I wanted to provide women with the ability to learn about a location through its local food (and wine, in the case of the Napa tours). At that time, being over 40 and headed in to a ‘new chapter’, this brainstorm propelled me forward to create a travel business niche centered around women 40+ who desire travel, love good food, love learning and discovery of a region. I have found that we women 40+ have new stories to tell…life stories. We have lived at least half of our lives and have many experiences behind us. I think this is called ‘wisdom’. These foodie tours are about sharing our wisdom, if we so choose, and experiencing more together.
So, women 40+ come from many walks of life to these adventures. My focus is on:
- girlfriend getaways
- solo women’s travel
- moms who need a break
- retired women
- a circle of co-workers
- female family members, i.e. mothers and grown daughters, sisters, etc.
One way or another, the Napa and Maine tours are getaways everyone can benefit from, at any point in life. You can count on fun, camaraderie, laughs, learning and sharing. I am there to help you experience all of it so you can relax and enjoy without worrying about the logistics of trip planning. My job is to be sure the tour runs smoothly, as planned, while I use local tour guides to ensure that we learn about the region they know so well.
So ‘pack your fork’, ladies, we are headed for some unique foodie adventures!
n the Schooner Stephen Taber five years ago with my family. I can tell you it is one of the best vacations we have ever had – if not THE BEST! The combination of the ocean air, the incredible food, the ever-entertaining Captain Noah, the camaraderie of the crew and passengers with the Maine coastal scenery is simply unforgettable! The Schooner Stephen Taber is one of the twelve Historic Maine Windjammers operating today. She is almost 150 years old but still going strong thanks to Noah and Jane Barnes, her owners, who have kept her in tip-top shape. Captain Noah has traveled widely and sailed in many parts of the world. He considers the Maine coast home. Noah grew up sailing with his parents, Ellen and Ken Barnes, former owners of the Taber. “Sailing the Maine coast is unparralled. It’s challenging and rewarding and just an intrinsically good experience,” Noah says. “We think the food aesthetic should match our surroundings.” Head chef, Ann Miller, is a culinary genius. Known for making fresh breads, pastries from scratch, serving the freshest of seafood and incorporating farm-raised ingredients, the food (and wine) is key in drawing the group together to create an on-board community. The quality of the Taber’s food is the highest and has been featured in the Boston Globe, The New York Times and the Food Network. A typical menu might feature artisanal cheese, hand-rolled gnocchi, fresh salmon, osso bucco or vegetarian lasagna. “We go a bit crazy with our appetizers,” says Noah. You might find hand-rolled sushi, duck confit blintzes or artichokes with buerre blanc to enjoy with a glass of wine before dinner. As is customary, if you go on the Stepehen Taber, you can expect an all-you-can-eat island Lobster Bake. Noah explains that he doesn’t have a food budget. “We’ll go to just about any length to educate and entertain our guests.”
We loved the women-owned winery, cafe and culinary gardens at St. Clair Brown in downtown Napa. Elaine St. Clair and Lana Brown have a vision and are making it happen! They have created a lovely farm-to-table setting nestled in an urban environment. You can wave at the folks on the Wine Train as it rolls by. Everyone has a smile on their face whether it be from the passengers on the train or the visitors to this lovely cafe. St. Clair Brown serves light, garden-inspired organic food paired with their wonderful wines. A perfect setting for our first night in Napa!
The next day on to the Carneros Valley – a luscious place with its rolling vine-covered hills, farmland and cooler air. It’s peppered with wineries and farms to explore. Our stop at The Hess Collection included a tour of their vineyard and the history of the winery, Donald Hess’ contemporary art collection and a tastings of their wines. Hess has a long history; the buildings are made of heavy mortar and stone. It’s a fascinating place. You come away with a sense that these people truly know their industry and have been at it for a long time. You can taste it in their wines!
Especially loved by the guests was the tour of Talcott Olive Oil Ranch. What a vista of the Carneros Valley! Breathtaking! We had a terrific introduction about how Jim and Patricia Talcott came upon 3000 ‘baby’ Tuscan olive trees delivered in styrofoam cups at their doorstep! They planted all of them and now that beautiful grove of trees supplies the olives for their award-winning olive oil. It bursts in your mouth when you taste it – so fresh and delicious! Try good, fresh olive oil with cracked pepper and salt on vanilla ice cream. You will be surprised! Yummmm…
We all loved the Wine Train. Although, I would consider this more of a tourist attraction, we were able to meet the Executive Chef, Kelly Macdonald, who greeted us upon boarding and took us on a tour of his kitchen car. It’s amazing how he can turn out delicious meals in such a confined space and unique kitchen! The nice thing about the Napa Wine Train is that you can watch the vineyards and local action go by while sipping on wine and enjoying a your meal – all from a lovely 18th century pullman rail car.
Another highlight for everyone was the morning with Chef Julie at Oxbow Public Market. Oxbow is foodie heaven! Filled with its array of cafes, food vendors and culinary items, we could have stayed there a lot longer. But we had a job to do – shop for our cooking class meal. We walked the farmers market with Julie who stopped at various vendors to point out California produce most of us had never seen, what to look for when buying fruits and vegetables, unique meat products, spices from around the world, various salts for cooking and a myriad of great cooking tips and tricks using ‘chef gear’ at Oxbow. Along the way, she purchased ingredients for our afternoon cooking class and feast. Once out of Oxbow, we were on to our fully-stocked commercial kitchen readied just for us. After a detailed demonstration of what we would be preparing, we each took to a station with a glass of wine in hand. What fun to create a meal together! It was sheer teamwork to finish our dish as had been demonstrated to be served at our group feast! In my view, the most important ‘ingredients’ in the meal were the jokes, laughs and camaraderie that made this total experience. I personally got ‘chopped’ by Chef Julie! It was all in fun and so well-deserved. She was spot on but it was all in jest! The meal was delicious and we all walked away with fond memories, new skills and a delicious menu we could prepare at home.
Of course Napa Valley is ‘ripe’ with wineries and estates waiting to be tasted. Our two favorites were Hall Winery and CADE Estate & Winery. Both of these are experiences not to be missed! The wine was superb and the settings unforgettable! Hall Winery is a lovely combination of an indoor and outdoor modern art collection, tasting rooms which were a work of art themselves, a sleek demonstration kitchen and views that took your breath away. Guests can sit in one of their many outdoor adirondak lounge chairs poised in a direction to allow one to gaze at the infinity fountain and the incredible vineyard scenery.
CADE Estate and Winery is set high above the Napa Valley floor on Howell Mountain with views as far as the eye can see. The buildings are unique, modern and the architecture reflects a respect for this special environment. Surrounded by Manzanita trees, vineyards and forest you feel like you are on top of the world. We sat under umbrellas on their lovely terrace sipping wine while gazing past the infinity pool at a backdrop etched in our minds forever. CADE should be on everyone’s Bucket List!