Jacana Camp is located on a little island on the open floodplains of Jao Flats in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. When the water is high it is surrounded by water; this time of year it is not, but the landscape is still so beautiful.

Our experience here will be hard to beat. We heard lions, leopards and hyenas at night along with many, many birds. Animal and bird sightings were outstanding. A few of our favorite sightings: a newborn hippo, tsessebe, lion, bushbuck and dung beetle (no kidding, there’s a lot of drama taking place in a pile of elephant dung!) We had dinner under the stars and lunch along a waterway. Sundowners in a different location (including a mokoro experience) were always beautiful. The food was delicious, the staff made us feel right at home and our guide, Gora, was the best. Thanks to camp manager, Abu, for creating such a welcoming experience. 👏👏 to @wearewilderness and to @expertafrica for helping us plan our trip.
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#botswana #okavangodelta #jaoflats #jacanacamp #wearewilderness #wildernesssafari #travelbotswana #travelafrica #botswanasafari #jacanacamp #jaoreserveconcession

Tonight’s sunset cruise on the Zambezi River was outstanding. Thanks to Kuda and Panache for making us feel welcome on board the Zambezi Explorer. Our small group gave us plenty of time to chat. Meeting locals when we travel is always a highlight for us and we have met so many proud Zimbabweans during this stay. Food and drinks were included with our cruise and both were absolutely delicious.

Elephants bathing in the river competed with the gorgeous sunset for our attention. Then there were elephants grazing the grounds as we disembarked. One trumpeted at us to keep us moving. A memorable evening to say the least. Thanks to Expert Africa for suggesting Pure Africa.

Negative Covid PCR tests today mean we get to move on to Botswana tomorrow. Can’t wait! @pure.africa @expertafrica
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#pureafrica #zambezirivercruise #zambezisunset #zimbabwe #zimbawe🇿🇼 #victoriafalls #MosioaTunya #africa #africatravel #expertafrica #elephants #elephantsinthezambezi #africanelephants #travelafrica

#sample Today we’re pretending to be in Provence, sitting at a shady table sipping rosé. We’re waiting for lunch to arrive and planning a lazy afternoon. A glass of Domaine de Cala Rosé helps with the illusion.

The flavors are bright, lively, fresh with berries, pears and stone fruit. At $18 it’s a deal. Today on the blog we share a brief history of Domaine de Cala and Coteaux Varois en Provence appellation. Happy sipping! @domainedecala @jarviscomm
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#provence #rosé #pinkwine #rosélover #roséallday #drinkpink #drinkrosé #provençalrose #vindusud #coteauxvaroisenprovence #grenache #rolle #vermentino #cinsault #syrah #winelover #winetime #tastingnotes

#samples An excerpt from our recent blog post, “Certified sustainability initiatives have become a part of many wineries’ operations. These certifications are sometimes promoted by wine regions, sometimes individual wineries seek certification on their own, and sometimes, as is the case with Chile’s Sustainability Code for the Chilean Wine Industry (SCWI), they are the result of a country-wide effort.”

Each winery may take its own path toward sustainability but within a defined framework if they seek certification. In addition, some wineries also follow organic and biodynamic practices in the vineyard and some are even certified as such. The most recent wave of certifications involves regenerative agriculture.

As consumers it can be difficult to know just what a winery’s sustainability practices are simply by looking at a wine bottle label. Unless there is a certification seal on that label that tells you just what the commitment is, you are left studying a winery’s website. I don’t know about you, but I appreciate seeing those seals for sustainability, organic, biodynamic and regenerative certification on the wine bottle.

Recently, we tasted through a collection of Chilean wines all with their own sustainability story to tell. It was interesting to read about each winery’s effort and discover just how personalized each approach is. Our recent blog post about Chile’s sustainability efforts includes our tasting notes for these six wines, and their certifications. Link in my profile. Cheers! @drinkchile @emilianaorganic @vinakoyle @vinatarapaca @maquiswines @viumanentwinery @conchaytoro
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#chile #sustainablewine #winesofchile #drinkchile #sustainablechile #chileanwine #drinksustainable #sustainableviticulture #sustainablewine #ecocert #organicwine #biodynamicwine #instawine #wino #winetime

#Samples At 142, California has the most AVAs of any state in the US, so I guess it is to be expected that we haven’t tasted wine from all of them. 😉 Until recently Suisun Valley AVA was a blank slate for us. We have driven through Suisun Valley AVA coming home from Napa several times (when we wanted to take the scenic route, it’s very pretty) but we never managed to stop and taste the wine.

We recently received a sampling of Petite Sirah from five Suisun Valley wineries that provided a delicious introduction to the region and a grape variety they are particularly proud of. In researching the region we learned a great deal about the history of the Suisun Valley and what makes the AVA unique. We also discovered the stories of the five family wineries whose wines we tasted. We share our discoveries and our tasting notes today on the blog. Link in my profile. Cheers! @visitsuisunvalley
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#suisunvalley #visitsuisunvalley #seeyouinsuisun #sipwithsuisun #californiawine #drinklocal #familywinery #winetravel #winetasting #winenotes #tastingnotes #winetime #wineoclock #winewednesday #winegeek #californiawinelover

This has been the most delightful sipping. I do love Mondeuse and this 2016 Château de Mérande Arbin Mondeuse, AOC Vin de Savoie has everything I love in a red wine: red fruit and dried herb aromas, flavors of cranberries and pomegranates with a bit of earth and spice all in a light body with smooth tannins. It’s super delish chilled. Low abv is alway welcome and 12% suits me just fine. Don’t recall what we paid for it. I’m sorry this bottle is now empty.

Organic and biodynamic principles are applied in the vineyard (and certified as such) and winemaking uses natural yeast, sulfur only at bottling and a variety of stainless steel and fiberglass tanks, demi-muid barrels, barriques, small foudre and concrete eggs. Brothers Daniel and Andre fully assumed responsibilities on the family estate from their parents to continue the legacy established by their father Alexis Genoux who first bottled Arbin Mondeuse in the 1960s. Source: “Wines of the French Alps” by Wink Lorch. I love that book! Hope you’re sipping something delicious. ☮️
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#mondeuse #mondeusenoire #vindedsvoie #mondeusearbin #savoie #organic #biodynamic #frenchalps #vinnaturel #vinfrancais #winelover #winetime #winetaster #tastingnotes #vineyard #winery #instawine

Time to rake leaves and sip Primitivo. Not necessarily in that order. Think I’ll sip Primitivo now and maybe Peter will rake the leaves later. (Hint, hint.)🍂

2018 DaVero Primitivo, Treborce Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County — very light ruby in the glass with aromas of mixed berries, spices and earth. Flavors include boysenberries, blackberries, earth and that same spiciness in the aromas. Smooth tannins, a bit warm on the finish. Just medium bodied. Love the lighter color and body, not to mention that delicious spicy character with fruit that doesn’t taste overripe. 14.7% abv. $50, direct from the winery.

Primitivo is sourced from grower Bob Littell who began farming Treborce Vineyard biodynamically in 2017. The vineyard is located on bench lands on the east side of Dry Creek Valley. Plantings include one Petite Sirah block and four Zinfandel blocks. The Zinfandel is sourced from 100-year-old budwood collected from Dry Creek Valley and Geyserville grafted on St. George rootstock. The first planting in 1999 was 8×8 spacing; subsequent planting in 2001 decreased spacing to 4×8. Primitivo and Zinfandel are interplanted. (Information from Treborce Vineyards website.) This vineyard is well known for its Zinfandel/Primitivo. I’m very glad we tasted this at DaVero. Hope you’re sipping something delicious. @daverowines
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#drycreekvalley #sonomacounty #primitivo #zinfandel #treborcevineyard #biodynamicwine #biodynamic #winelover #winetasting #foodandwine #winetime #tastingnotes #winerylover #wineoclock #winewednesday #instawine

There is definitely more to a wine than it’s color, but I admit to being drawn to brilliant, translucent red wines. Just as we eat with our eyes first, so too we sip with our eyes first.

2019 Tablas Creek Vineyard Counoise, Adelaida District, Paso Robles — generous ripe boysenberry and cherry aromas with spicy background notes. Flavors follow with cherries, cranberries, pomegranates, earth and ripe blackberries. Tannins are smooth and acidity is lively and bright. Flavors aren’t quite tart, but they’re vibrant. Barely medium bodied. Even more enjoyable slightly chilled. 13% abv. SRP $35

From Tablas Creek, “We tend to ferment our Counoise lots in stainless steel to protect it from oxidation, and to age it in neutral oak to avoid weighing down its bright fruit flavors. The lots that we chose for our varietal Counoise were selected and blended in June 2020 and bottled in February 2021, under screwcap to preserve its freshness.”

Counoise is usually a blending component in other Tablas Creek wines, but in years when the variety really shines it is bottled as a varietal wine. This bottling is 100% Counoise. You have to appreciate a 100% varietal wine that shows complexity, depth and balance. And Tablas Creek is the world’s first vineyard to be Regenerative Organic Certified. 👏 I hope you’re sipping something delicious. @tablascreek
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#counoise #tablascreek #pasorobles #pasowine #rhonewine #adelaidadistrict #californiawine #californiawinemonth #winegeek #wineoclock #tastingnotes #winetime #winemaking #varietalwine #winediscovery

Chardonnay and pie for dinner? Not to worry, it was tomato pie. Temperatures here have been more like summer than fall and the tomatoes at our Farmers Market are ripe and juicy, so we’re holding on to summer a bit longer. And the Chardonnay was stellar. 🤩

2016 Stony Hill Chardonnay, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley — a gorgeous, lean but aromatic and flavorful Chardonnay that tastes like Chardonnay with all its glorious fruit, gravelly minerality and generous acidity. 13% abv. $37.50 direct from the winery. Relatively light-weight bottle. 👏

Stony Hill has a long history on Spring Mountain that dates back to Fred and Eleanor McCrea’s first harvest in 1952. They were among the first to plant Chardonnay in Napa and their wines became highly regarded. After being owned by the Hall family of Long Meadow Ranch for a brief period, Gaylon Lawrence Jr. and Carlton McCoy Jr. purchased Stony Hill in December 2020. The new winemaker is Jaimee Motley and Laurie Taboulet is estate director. See Elaine Chukan Brown’s article on Demeine Estates’ website for more of the story.

Tomato pie is one of my favorite summertime dishes. I love the savory, buttery crust, richness of fresh ricotta and the sweet flavors of various kinds of tomatoes. All of those flavors baked together are so satisfying. And Stony Hill Chardonnay was the perfect pairing. I hope you’re sipping something delicious. @stonyhillvineyard
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#springmountaindistrict #springmountain #napavalley #mountainchardonnay #chardonnay #californiachardonnay #californiawinemonth #drinklocal #drinkcaliforniawine #winelover #winegeek #chardonnaylover #winenoted #winery #winetasting #winestagram #instawine