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Petite Wine Traveler™ Wine Travel Media• Wine Media Personality• Luxury Wine Travel Writer• Named Top 50 Most Influential Women in Wine Hospitality •International Wine Judge• 🥂

Excited to finally share!!! On October 1, I’ll be heading to Sonoma County, California as a Featured Speaker at the Sono...
08/28/2026

Excited to finally share!!! On October 1, I’ll be heading to Sonoma County, California as a Featured Speaker at the Sonoma County Tourism Annual Meeting, where I’ll be sharing the program with none other than Rick Steves. Yes, I can’t wait!!

I’ll be presenting Wine as a Passport: Giving Travelers a Reason to Stay, Savor and Return, exploring how wine, food, culture and sense of place can become powerful tools for creating deeper travel experiences, stronger destination identity and the kind of connection that makes people want to come back. I’ll also be leading a breakout session afterward so we can take the conversation even further.

And I have to say, sharing the featured speaker bill with Rick Steves Rick Steves' Europe feels especially meaningful. I’ve long admired his belief in travel as a way to open our minds, understand other cultures and experience the world with greater curiosity. That philosophy feels very close to the heart of my own Wine as a Passport work.

So Sonoma, I’m coming for you. 🍷 If you work in travel, hospitality, wine, tourism or destination marketing, or simply love a really good conversation about why travel matters, please join us October 1.✨

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One of the things I help people understand about wine travel is that visiting a region is not the same as truly experien...
08/27/2026

One of the things I help people understand about wine travel is that visiting a region is not the same as truly experiencing it.

You can stand in a vineyard, taste the wines, take the photos, and still leave without really understanding the place.

A good traveler does not simply arrive. A good traveler pays attention.

They listen to the people who live there. They learn what grows in the soil, what is cooked at the table, what customs shape daily life, what stories are carried through the landscape, and why certain wines could only come from that particular place. That is the heart of enotourism.

Wine travel is not just about tasting what is in the glass. It is about understanding the region around the glass: the food, the hospitality, the farming, the architecture, the traditions, the climate, the family histories, the local pride, and the way people welcome you into their world.

This is why my Wine as a Passport work matters so much to me.

Wine can open the door to a destination, but only if we are willing to walk through that door with curiosity. The most meaningful wine regions do not just pour wine for travelers. They invite people into a culture, a landscape, and a way of life.

For wineries, hotels, tourism boards, and wine regions, this is also the opportunity. Travelers today are not only looking for beautiful places to visit. They are looking for experiences that help them feel connected to where they are.

The goal is not simply for someone to say, “I tasted that wine.” The goal is for them to leave saying, “I understand that place differently now.”

That is when wine travel becomes more than tourism. It becomes transformation. That is Wine As A Passport!

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Headed back stateside… but apparently not quite ready to go home yet. 🍷✈️Before I make it back to Santa Barbara, I’m sto...
08/26/2026

Headed back stateside… but apparently not quite ready to go home yet. 🍷✈️

Before I make it back to Santa Barbara, I’m stopping in San Diego to join CBS 8 Spotlight this Thursday at 4:15 p.m. PT, to talk all things Rioja Rioja (DOCa Rioja) and give a little taste of what’s coming to the Del Mar Wine & Food Festival.

Rioja is a region I’ve had the pleasure of presenting before, and I’m always happy to return to its story. Tempranillo may be the star, but there is so much more in the glass, from beautiful whites and rosés to Reserva, Gran Reserva and some wonderfully food friendly wines.

I’ll be pouring a few favorites, talking wine, food, travel and why Rioja continues to be one of Spain’s great wine destinations.

Then the celebration continues at Del Mar Wine & Food, where you can discover even more at the Rioja Lounge.

Ahhh… the life of a wine traveler. One suitcase, several wine glasses and apparently one more stop before home. 🍷✨

Watch CBS 8 Spotlight, Thursday at 4:15 p.m. PT

WineTourism Enotourism PetiteWineTraveler

My Wine as a Passport 🍷✈️There is something wonderfully symbolic about sitting in an airport lounge with a half sipped g...
08/21/2026

My Wine as a Passport 🍷✈️

There is something wonderfully symbolic about sitting in an airport lounge with a half sipped glass of rosé in front of me and a departure board filled with possibilities.

I will admit something. I do not always love the getting there. The packing, the airports, the long flights and the small upheaval that comes with leaving home again. There are moments when I wonder why I keep doing it.

And then there are these quiet moments before a journey begins.

A glass of wine. A little time to myself. A chance to look at the places on the board and imagine all the lives being lived beyond those destinations. A few minutes to check my phone, reconnect with friends and settle into the idea that another adventure is about to unfold.

Because once I arrive, I remember. Put me in a vineyard with a winemaker telling me why they planted that particular hillside. Sit me around a table with people who are every bit as fascinated by wine, food, culture and place as I am. Let me walk through the vines, taste something I have never tasted before and hear the story behind what is in my glass.

Suddenly, there is nowhere else I would rather be.

That is what wine travel means to me. Wine has become my passport into places, cultures, friendships and stories I might never have discovered otherwise. It has carried me across the world, but more importantly, it has given me a way to understand the world once I arrive. I believe it has made me a better traveler and a better Jamie!

So as I sit here contemplating the next journey, rosé in hand, I am reminded that sometimes the most extraordinary destinations, and the most meaningful chapters of our lives, take a little effort to reach.

And they are so often worth the journey. 🍷🌍

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One of the pleasures of writing about Santa Barbara wine is experiencing the region through the people, wines and places...
08/21/2026

One of the pleasures of writing about Santa Barbara wine is experiencing the region through the people, wines and places that continue to shape its identity.

Last night brought all three together at the BOUNTY Dinner at Rosewood Miramar Beach one of the loveliest settings in Montecito. The intimate Chef’s Garden becomes a communal table for the series, bringing local winemakers together with Executive Chef Edgar Beas’ seasonal cooking and a decidedly Santa Barbara sense of luxury. Beautiful food, serious wine, but never too serious an evening.

This dinner featured Sandhi Sandhi Wines and winemaking partner Sashi Moorman, whose work has become deeply connected to the story of the Sta. Rita Hills. Sandhi focuses primarily on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from distinctive vineyard sites, looking for freshness, precision and a transparent expression of place rather than excess in the cellar.

We tasted through a fascinating progression of wines, from sparkling Chardonnay and beautifully expressive Chardonnay to Pinot Noir, including Sanford & Benedict and Romance, with a gorgeous look at the 2024 La Côte from Domaine de la Côte as well. It was a wonderful reminder of just how much nuance exists within this relatively small stretch of Santa Barbara wine country.

What I especially love about the BOUNTY concept is the access. The winemaker is at the table, the cooking happens just feet away, bottles are opened and passed, and conversations unfold naturally as the evening progresses. This is the kind of wine experience travelers increasingly want because it connects the glass to the people and place behind it.

And when the place happens to be the Miramar on a warm Montecito evening, all the better. 🥂✨

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The life of a wine traveler never stops… and I’m off again. 🇩🇪🍷✈️Next stop: Wiesbaden, Germany, where I’ve been invited ...
08/19/2026

The life of a wine traveler never stops… and I’m off again. 🇩🇪🍷✈️

Next stop: Wiesbaden, Germany, where I’ve been invited to join a select group of international tasters for the VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS Vorpremiere 2026.

We’ll have the opportunity to taste the new vintage of Germany’s GG wines before their market release, and I am especially looking forward to returning to the Rhine, tasting plenty of Riesling, reconnecting with German wine country and discovering the stories behind what is in the glass.

These are the moments I love most about wine travel. The wines, certainly, but also the people, landscapes, traditions and places they lead us to.

Germany, I’m coming back. Prost! 🥂

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The wine industry does not need to panic. It needs to pivot. ✨🥂Yes, wine is facing a correction. Sales are softer, young...
08/18/2026

The wine industry does not need to panic. It needs to pivot. ✨🥂

Yes, wine is facing a correction. Sales are softer, younger drinkers are approaching alcohol differently, and many producers are rethinking what growth looks like.

But wine is not disappearing. It is being asked to compete differently.

During Covid, wine had a very real moment. People were home, cooking more, opening better bottles, discovering new regions online, joining wine clubs, and having wine shipped directly to their doors. I saw it firsthand while hosting more than 100 IGTV winemaker interviews to help producers stay visible and connect with people drinking at home.

Now consumers are back out in the world, traveling, dining, exploring wellness, and seeking more intentional experiences. This is where wine tourism becomes essential.

The next generation may not be building cellars the same way, but they are still curious. They want stories, beautiful settings, food, culture, authenticity, and a reason to care.

A tasting room can no longer be just a counter with five pours and technical notes. The pivot is experience.

Bring people into the vineyard. Pair wine with food, travel, music, design, wellness, art, culture, and place. Create moments worth remembering and sharing.

Wine is not over. The old playbook just is not enough.

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08/14/2026

Spain is calling me back. 🇪🇸🍷

I’m honored to have been selected to participate in the 2026 VinoInfluencers World Awards in Valladolid, Spain, joining an international community of wine creators, communicators, and professionals celebrating the stories, people, and places shaping the world of wine.

As a wine travel writer, global wine travel presenter, Contributing Writer for Decanter, Forbes Travel Guide Speaker, and 2026 Wine Travel Influencer of the Year, this invitation feels especially meaningful. My work has always been about looking beyond the glass and discovering how wine connects us to culture, landscape, food, hospitality, and a true sense of place.

And Spain holds a very special place in that journey. As a Spanish Wine Scholar, Rioja Wine Educator, and Cava Educator, I have spent years studying, writing about, presenting, and traveling through Spanish wine. I cannot wait to return, this time to Valladolid, to reconnect with Spain’s extraordinary wine culture and meet wine professionals and creators from around the world.

I’m especially excited for the conversations around wine travel, enotourism, global wine communication, and destination storytelling, and for the opportunity to experience more of Castilla y León through the glass.

See you in Valladolid on September 19. 🇪🇸🍷🌍
Nos vemos en Valladolid. ¡Salud!

.valladolid

SpanishWine WineSpain Enotourism WineTourism Valladolid CastillayLeon DestinationStorytelling WineTravelMedia PetiteWineTraveler

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