Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

In 1914 William and Agnes Bourne decided to build themselves a home for their retirement. To this end, they bought 654 acres of land in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California, built a large country house and then surrounded it with 16 acres of formal gardens. Luckily William was the owner of one of… Continue reading Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

My First $300 Bottle of Wine

Robert Mondavi helped to put California wines on the map in the mid-twentieth century, and it’s good to see that his descendants aren’t just resting on their laurels (or their grape vines) and counting the cash they raked in when the winery was taken over. Instead they’ve set up a new winery in the Napa… Continue reading My First $300 Bottle of Wine

If you go down to the woods today …

In true Mr Toad style I have enthusiastically embraced a brand new favourite hobby … snowshoeing. It’s ideal for people like me, who want to enjoy the mountain scenery in winter, but have no desire to hurtle down a slope at 70 miles an hour, pitching headfirst into snowdrifts on the way down. The house… Continue reading If you go down to the woods today …

The Dangers of Drinking Wine

I wholeheartedly recommend holidaying in the company of a wine expert. Good wineries are researched, appointments are made, and all I have to do is turn up and taste the wine. Ridge Winery makes an award-winning red called Monte Bello which was one of the wines chosen for the famous blind tasting in 1976, known… Continue reading The Dangers of Drinking Wine