Four Things to Pack for Your Wine Vacay
We speak from experience.
Approach Guides Wine App This “sommelier in your pocket” is rated No. 1 by Food & Wine magazine. Download this wine app before you depart to your wine country destination to read detailed profiles on the region, appellations, grape varieties and vintages. The app also allows you to mark your favorite wines and keep your personal tasting notes all in one place.
Naked Cashmere In both Napa and Middleburg, you can expect highs in the mid-70s in May, though evenings are still pretty chilly. Layer up with cashmere pieces from Naked Cashmere. The company has joggers, wide leg pants, hoodies, tanks and tops for both women and men that will take you from daytime tastings to evenings around the hotel’s fire pit. Naked Cashmere is one of the direct-to-consumer companies that has sprung up over the last several years, so its premium cashmere is a good value. It is also sustainable, fair-trade and traceable.
Oak Street Bootmakers Boots You can wear the handsome Chelsea Boot from this made-in-America company while tramping around vineyards during the day as well as to dinner at Napa and Middleburg’s best restaurants at night. The stylish boots are handcrafted from a single piece of leather using proprietary techniques and formulas developed over 100 years ago in a factory still owned and operated by the Horween family in Chicago. The Dainite rubber-studded soles make them practical. Choose from black, brown, natural and Cognac. $482
VinGardeValise Wine Suitcase This wine suitcase is the brainchild of a group of traveling wine enthusiasts from Napa. It solves the dilemma you might find yourself in if you come from a state that doesn’t allow out-of-state wine shipments or you want to bring home bottles from a boutique winery that doesn’t ship. The shell is made of 100% proprietary compound material. The foam wine cavities are designed to hold a combination of 750ml bottles of almost any shape. And the Hinomoto wheels make ferrying your wine a breeze. Comes in 5-, 8- and 12-bottle sizes, all of which have a TSA compliant lock. Choose from black, silver and burgundy (natch). $249+
