Wine Touring 102

[trip style = wine tasting]

The sand and rocks that make up the soil in BC's only desert offer the most optimal conditions for growing grapes. Within this plot of land, there's a micro area called The Golden Mile, known worldwide for its production of fine wine. {More on this region Thursday}.

I spent the latter part of last week partaking in one of my favourite trip styles, wine tasting, exploring the Okanagan's Golden Mile. Only in wine country for 2.5 days, I had to take advantage of my surroundings quickly and efficiently, yet slowly and savoringly to enjoy the fruits of the winemakers' labour! On the second day of zipping from one winery to another as if in a pinball machine, I was reminded of some basic wine touring 101 lessons I learned and wrote about last year, as well as some new insights I picked up for the next time you partake in trip style = wine tasting!

Wine Touring 102

• See Wine Tasting 101: basic guidelines and etiquette for tasting anywhere from Napa to the Naramata Bench.
• Map out where you want to taste in advance based on how much time you have, the geography of the area, what wines you already love and where other wineries suggest you sip and swirl.
• Don't try to do too many wineries at once. You won't have the same interest and attention span at the end of the day to properly appreciate the wines you're tasting.
• Plan time for lunch, whether you eat at a winery's restaurant or pack a picnic in a cooler you leave in the car.
• Bring lots of water and crackers with you to re-hydrate and ensure something is in your stomach at all times.
• If it's a hot summer day, seek solace in the tasting rooms from 12 - 3pm and relax the rest of the day.
• When tasting wines from white to red, always have at least 3 sips of each wine you taste. The first cleanses the palate, the second offers a first glimpse of the taste, and the third is the full effect.
• Talk to wine tasting hosts as if they are your friends, most are good with people and know a lot about wine.
• Take notes. What wines did you love, how is the wine best enjoyed, what wine making philosophy did you love, etc.
• Make note of what wines you can buy at wine shops versus only at the winery.
• Doing sequential tastings at multiple wineries tunes your taste buds to what you like and dislike.
• If there's a tasting fee, most wineries will wave or refund it with a minimum wine purchase.
• Hire a shuttle, limo or car service if you're planning on seeing more than a few wineries and not planning on using the spittoon.

Did you know? The bulk of the flavour in wine comes from the inside the grape, just under the skin.

Related Content
Wine Touring 101
OK Wine Tasting
Beat the Heat in Sonoma
Travel Apps :: Wine Touring in BC

Tanning Is Out

[trip style = sun]

{Editor's Note: In addition to the below tanning tips, also see my interview about playing it safe in the sun with The Canadian Cancer Society! What an honour to collaborate with such a worthy cause!}

I travel to a lot of sunny places {though there are still a bazillion destinations I'd like to see}, but I'm far from a bronzed miracle and proud of it. Here's an excerpt of questions I'm often asked when I come home from the tropics: Friend: Weren't you just in Hawaii? Me: Yes. Friend: Where's your tan? Me: It's muted, I wear A LOT of sunscreen.

The Canadian Cancer Society and I have been recently chatting about sun safety, and when I heard about the Tanning Is Out campaign, I wanted to support the plea to raise awareness about the dangers of sun exposure and tanning bed use, given my passion for sun protection and obsession with hats and sunscreen.

A Speech I remember doing a speech about sun safety in grade 4. Looking back, it is always something I've been interested in, but it wasn't until I was 25---and about to leave for my honeymoon in Jamaica---I started taking it really seriously. I cringe when I think about my early Trip Styling days in university, spending my 'reading breaks' in Honolulu. I would hit the tanning bed pre-trip, spend 8 hours of the day on the beach sans sunscreen, and rationalize that my almost florescent red burn would turn into a tan... My teenage and 20-something self should have taken my grade 4 self's basic instructions...

One Fine Day One event that forced me to get serious about sun protection was the discovery of Melasma on my face---a skin disorder where sun exposure causes symmetrical dark marks on the skin. Luckily, the larger, freckle-like splotches fade with creams, but the best way to manage it is with highly limited and strategic sun exposure {see more below}---a sometimes tricky task for an outdoor-loving and sun-seeking Trip Styler.

Opportunity & Responsibility With opportunity comes responsibility. Whether it's spending time outside enjoying The West Coast's glorious summer weather, jetting off to a sun-drenched island or even skiing at the top of Blackcomb {we can't forget about sun protection in winter}, I don't take the opportunity to be under nature's heat lamp lightly. I try to enjoy it responsibly using the following precautions:

• Face - Apply broad spectrum protection 30spf in winter/70spf in summer, or anytime I'm in a literal hotspot.
• Body - Apply a minimum of 30spf sunscreen before and at regular intervals during sun exposure.
• Hat - I keep one with me at all times---in my purse, the car, and in my suitcases---and don it when I run, or am out and about. I just purchased a hat with an 8" brim to wear when I'm in the desert or tropics. It is very chic, aside from the fact that it's the size of a child's umbrella!
• Time - Yes, I spend time in the sun, and LOVE relaxing by the pool or beach, or out on the water, but I do so wearing 30 - 50spf sunscreen and often spend the peak hours {11am - 4pm} sipping umbrella drinks in the shade.

I used to be embarrassed about my white face, but now it makes me happy knowing I'm following dermatologists and beauty experts' MOST IMPORTANT anti-aging rule: wear sunscreen daily {even if it's cloudy}. And if I'm feeling really pale, there's always bronzer, self-tanner, a spray tan or creams with a light shimmer to the rescue!

PS - if you like musicals, check out this entertaining 3-minute Tanning is out video. Also find more information on the Tanning is Out campaign on its website and Facebook group. {Including their logo, conceived by heather, our travel fashion contributor.}

{photo by @nate_fri, taken of 70 spf-adorned @tripstyler wearing a hat, cover-up and sunglasses on Wilson Island in Australia}

Size Matters

[trip style = weekending] With airlines continuing to jack up prices for checked baggage, and carry-on allowances getting more scant, traveling with the right type and size of carry-on can increase your packing space and provide peace of mind. Any time I'm travelling on an airline with stingy or overly strict carry-on requirements, or on a summer road trip, I bring a flexible bag instead of a structured carry-on, here's why...

Why Carry-On Type And Size Matter If an airline ever has any suspicion about your bag’s size, it will be tested in either the carry-on ‘cage’ or with a measuring tape. And if your bag’s wheels stick out even 2 cm beyond the guidelines, too bad so sad. Not only is your thoughtfully packed carry-on going under the plane, you may even get stuck with a fee. After leaning 'the hard way' from an experience with Allegiant Airlines, from now on, if my carry-on does not exactly fit with the airline’s baggage requirements, I will always travel with a flexible bag (like my preferred Longchamp Le Pliage), so it can be moulded and punched into place if selected for a sizing test.

Flexible Bags a) Maintain the convenience of carry-on travel. b) Allow you to pack to the fullest knowing that if required, the bag could be forced into the airline’s carry-on configuration. c) Are lighter than structured carry-ons, allowing you to maximize the weight inside the bag! d) Provide travel {and packing} confidence.

Tips

• always favour bags in darker colours, they stand out less and seldom attract a ‘random measurement.’
• know your airline’s baggage sizing requirements, and be able to quote them if your bag is in question---being confident and assertive helps.
• if you think there’s any grey area between your measurement and the airline’s measurement of your bag, bring a smaller size or buy an unstructured bag to cram into the measurement cage, if requested.
• when buying a carry-on, look for long and lean versus short and wide. wider bags ‘appear’ bigger.
• most airlines allow a max carry-on size of 45″ total, or 22″ x 14″ x 9″.
• don’t forget about weight, many airlines' max carry-on weight is now 25 pounds or less, and again, if you bag looks big, it will be weighed.

Trip Styler Tip :: Flexible, dark-coloured, duffel-like bags are also great for summer road trips, weekending at the cabin or boating. They can be crammed into small spaces like a crevice in your trunk or boat, and beaten-up a little enroute. Your casual weekend clothes won't mind, just remember to pack your toiletries extra well, or keep them with you.

Related Packing 103 Packing 102 Mastering the Art of Packing {Packing 101} Travel Essentials for Any Trip Style High Rolling :: To Roll or Lay Flat? A Summer Weekend Packing List Go-To Carry-On Toiletries Travel iPhone Apps :: PackingPro The Art of Carry-On Travel Going Away? Packing and To Do List

[photo: Longchamp Extendible Le Pliage bag from Neiman Marcus in the US, and here in Canada.]

Travel Trends :: Summer Vacation Ideas :: The Add-On

[trip style = multiple]

Vacation add-on: Extending a work or family/friend trip for extra travel benefit.

A trend that comes and goes with the state of the economy and rising fuel prices: the vacation add-on---both part of our regular Travel Trend Thursday feature, as well as the third installment of our three-part Summer Vacation Ideas series {see parts one and two below}.

Pay Less Do More Savvy travelers use vacation add-ons to maximize their travel at every opportunity, especially when the destination is appealing. Similar to booking trips with airline mileage or hotel points, extending a work or personal trip is a great way to pay less and do more. Whether your work is already paying for your flights and hotel anyway, or you're paying for a family event or destination wedding, doing a little more while there---or using it as a jumping off point to explore nearby areas---is worth it.

Add-Ons About one-fifth of the trips my husband and I take are add-ons---a way to travel with less budgetary impact. This year we've added time to work trips in LA in November, Scottsdale in February and NYC in May. I have friends and family who are also very good at vacation add-ons too, and have used work trips or family trips to add time in places they want to see, as well as discover destinations off their radar. Trips to Santa Barbara become trips to Vegas, trips to Denver become trips to Colorado's mountain resorts, trips to Boston become trips to New York, trips to Cape Town become safaris and trips to Victoria become trips across Vancouver Island.

How To Maximize the Add-On Trip

• Plan ahead
• Decide: is it best to tack a few days before or after the work or family-related trip? If so, what best suits your work schedule?
• Do you want wifi? If so, find a hotel that offers it.
• Consider this: if you're taking a ferry or car and staying in a hotel, then most of the journey is already paid for---both for you and your companion---aside from the extra nights.
• Can you use hotel loyalty points or travel credit card kickbacks to extend your stay versus making an out-of-pocket payment?
• Is there a nearby retreat or city you've been dying to explore?
• Are the flights cheap to bring a companion with you, or are you able to use points to fly them free?

Good Trip Styles For Vacation Add-Ons

• trip style = active & adventure - plan a few days of hiking or biking.
• trip style = beach - spend a weekend at a nearby beach town.
• trip style = cruise - near a cruise port? Book a 3-night cruise.
• trip style = safari - near the wild? Book a nature tour or safari.
• trip style = sightseeing - take some extra time to explore the area's important sights.
• trip style = ski - pre- or post-trip ski? Sounds good to me.
• trip style = spa - relax for a few days at the spahhhhhhh.
• trip style = urban - pound the pavement in the your destination or a nearby city.*
• trip style = wine tasting - if you're lucky enough to be near a wine region, well, that's an obvious add-on :)

*Don't rule out nearby cities for your vacation add-on. For example, if you're in LA, take the train to SF; if you're in Ottawa, take the train to Montreal; if you're in Honolulu fly to Kauai etc...

Don't Miss Summer Vacation Ideas :: Luxury Summer Vacation Ideas :: Budget

PS – Aside from our regularly scheduled content, don’t miss next month’s feature: Off The Beaten Path Escapes!

[photos by OKC + @tripstyler]

Party Like It's Your Birthday

[trip style = budget conscious + luxury]

Make it a Practice If you're going away to celebrate a special occasion, or if that occasion falls during your getaway, remember to tell your hotel or resort. Whether you're booking a trip style = budget conscious or trip style = luxury accommodation, you should let the property know what you're celebrating. Most hotels would love to enhance your stay with simple touches, so it's worth emailing or calling them in advance with details.

Speak Up Over the past 10 years, I've learned to speak up when there's a special occasion. 90% of the time, hotels will go the extra mile, providing a little plate of cake or chocolates for a birthday, or champagne or berries for an anniversary.

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams Whether you're staying at a motel or a high-end resort, tell them about your occasion. For example, my husband and I were travelling last month around the time of his birthday. Over a two-night period, we stayed at a simple hotel and then an ultra-luxe resort in Australia's Whitsundays. His birthday fell on the check-out day from one property and the check-in day at the other, so we told each hotel. At the first hotel, my husband simply wrote in a comment field when booking "It's my birthday!" and there was a bottle of champagne waiting for us in the fridge with an accompanying birthday note. At the second resort, I emailed them in advance, and there was another bottle of champagne waiting in the room. Cheers!

They may not always rise to the occasion, but give your hotel {or restaurant} the opportunity to do something nice when you're celebrating a milestone at their property. Over the years, I've been given champagne, wine, fruit plates, signature tea, chocolate, cake, biscotti, etc... Say something---you might even get a room upgrade!

Related It's the Little Things {Special hotel treats} 5 Ways to get the Best Hotel Room It Never Hurts to Ask {Speaking up in your travels}

[photo by @tripstyler]