Gabe The Travel Guy

We’ll dedicate most of the ink here this year to touting Santa Barbara and all its wine wonders. Our region may, in fact, be the most diverse viticultural region in all of California, and home to many of its most talented wine growers. But California is vast, home to 100-plus AVAs and more than a half-million acres of wine grapes. So, to ensure that our sipping doesn’t become overly provincial – and to broaden not only our own wine savvy but our appreciation of California’s enological treasure trove – here are four other Golden State regions well worth the travel in 2020. South Coast Winery Resort in Temecula offers overnight stays Temecula and San Diego : Yes, there’s an attractive and burgeoning wine region south of LA. Viticulturally speaking, Temecula has gone through some growing pains in the last couple of decades, but the wine country experience it’s created recently – including rolling estates, vineyard-side B&Bs and unique events like the annual Balloon & Wine ...

 My latest work trip to Ireland in October 2019 was fueled by food. The island nation was in the throes of a new three-month festival, Taste the Island, spotlighting its current culinary renaissance and luring international travelers with myriad foodie events. I spent the week doing recon by following my taste buds, and by happily gaining a few pounds along the way.   Check out my video story about Ireland's Taste the Island Festival!  Among my most fascinating finds was the recent growth in one of Ireland’s longstanding traditions: whiskey. The spirit’s smoothness is legendary, of course: it’s triple distilled, which, for many of us, offers it the flavors, aromas and soft mouth feel   that makes it an easier commitment than Scotch or bourbon. And a new batch of distilleries is putting a new, modern spin on this timeworn tradition.   An industry that began to grow in the late 18 th century and flourished in the mid-19 th century found itself la...

Little known fact about the 2004 cult film, Sideways: if George Clooney and Brad Pitt had gotten their way, the heartthrob pair would have seen their own names on the movie’s marquee. Director Alexander Payne turned them down, though, opting instead to cast lesser known names that wouldn’t steal the spotlight from the story or its characters. In the end, Payne’s calls paid off, reeling in five Oscar nominations and one win for Sideways and launching a funny little film about two bachelors fumbling their way through Santa Barbara wine country – often with a fair amount of raunch tossed in – into Tinsel Town immortality.   Me, actor Paul Giamatti and chef-winemaker Frank Ostini at a Sideways 10th anniversary party in 2014 Indeed, here we are, 15 years later, still talking about Sideways and counting down the days to its crystal anniversary on October 22 nd , the date of its official U.S. release. In fact, preparations for "Sideways Fest" are already underway – a thre...

Chef Massimo Falsini has a real love affair with Mother Nature.   “Caruso’s menu in entirely built on Mother Nature’s will,” says the chef behind one of the year’s most anticipated restaurant openings in Santa Barbara. Caruso’s is the flagship restaurant inside the new Rosewood Miramar Beach resort, named after the man who dreamed it up, L.A. developer Rick Caruso. Chef Massimo Falsini Chef Falsini on his ingredients: “The perfection of Mother Nature is right under our eyes, every day. We just forget how to look at it, how to spot it. Take a Romanesco cauliflower, observe its geometry, really look at it. Then you will know.”   The chef’s affection for food is certainly defining the culinary experience at Caruso’s and, by extension, the Santa Barbara dining experience itself. Seasonality and regionality reign supreme here, and the menu follows their lead, even if on a daily basis. “The menu is alive and dynamic, with constant changes, tweaks and adjustment,” says ...

My visit w/Catherine Fulvio at Ballyknocken in February 2019 “You come here, you experience Ireland in one fell swoop.” Chef Catherine Fulvio is talking about Ballyknocken, her childhood home in Ireland’s County Wicklow and, today, one of the island nation’s premier culinary destinations. “When we welcome guests,” she continues, “it gives us a chance to share our passion for all things Irish – our culture, our home, our food.” Mrs. Fulvio is a well-known personality in Ireland, a bona fide celebrity chef, with six Irish TV series and six cookbooks to her name; American audiences will recognize her from Netflix’s popular cooking show, “Lords and Ladles.” Her celebrity, certainly, has bolstered Ballyknocken’s success as a place to stay – a sprawling 280-acre estate less than 40 miles south of Dublin that’s embraced by the undulating Wicklow Mountains and a rippling green landscape as far as the eye can see. Click here for my video story about Chef Fulvio and the oth...

The upcoming Four Seasons Maui Wine & Food Classic is a glimpse into the future of travel: Americans are seeking experiences that are as memorable as they are transformative, and they’re seeking luxury. And this Classic, the first of its kind, aims to deliver.   “This is about changing a culture of how we experience wine, and in a region that will make an impact,” says Christian Navarro, president and co-owner of the Wally’s culinary enterprises in L.A. and a man regularly dubbed, ‘sommelier to the stars.’ Wally’s is co-creator of the Classic with the Four Seasons Resort Maui, oceanfront celebrity haven where the inaugural three-day foodie spectacular will take place March 1 st through 3 rd .   The Four Seasons Resort Maui “We’re living in an era where people are forgetting to listen,” Navarro continues, referencing the trend toward larger, impersonal consumer events that define the American wine industry today. The Classic, with a three-day guest total...