You may file today’s blog under, “Three Wine Things We Like That Aren’t Wine.”Or, if your file folder flap isn’t big enough for all those words, just go with “Wine Things.”

Thing No. 1: Wine Country Inn
You can really feel as if you’re away from it all at Beltane Ranch, located in the Sonoma Valley town of Glen Ellen. The inn is surrounded by vineyards (which produce a very nice Sauvignon Blanc), as well as orchards and gardens. Breakfast includes items featuring garden-fresh veggies, eggs laid by the ranch’s hens, and jams made from orchard-grown fruit.

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Today is my birthday. Exactly which birthday is none of your business. (Oops, did that sound harsh? Sorry...let me rephrase: Exactly which birthday is a closely guarded secret.)

Feel free to sing the “Happy Birthday” song while you read this blog. Then choose a present (for moi!) from Bob’s Birthday Wish List...

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In yesterday’s blog, we talked about the big role that food plays in vacations. Since we’re eating out all the time, chances are good that at least a few of the meals we consume while on the road will be among the highlights of the trip.

We also noted that a good number of the programs on the Travel Channel revolve around food, and that several programs on the Food Network focus on travel.

Well, it turns out the same thing is true in the world of magazines, as the May issues of Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure demonstrate.

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What do we talk about with friends when the subject turns to our most recent vacation?

It depends on where we’ve been, of course, but the topics may include the gorgeous scenery, the serenity (if a tropical island) or breakneck pace of life (if a big city), shopping, tourist attractions visited, tacky tourist traps avoided and cab drivers. (It seems as if no matter where we go, we can find a gift shop hawking t-shirts with the inscription, “I survived a [fill in the name of the city] cab ride.”)

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A number of my friends refer to me as a “wine expert.” It’s a nice compliment, but I’ve always felt that an “expert” at anything is simply someone who clearly understands that there’s always a lot more to learn.

With that in mind, we’ve decided to introduce an occasional series of blogs called, “Things I Don’t Understand About Wine.” Today, we begin with two things that have me scratching my head in bewilderment...

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In the world of music, some critics, magazines and websites try to educate and inform their readers by using verbiage such as this: “If you like So-and-So, you might also like Such-and-Such.”

It’s actually a “play” on a marketing ploy that has been used by businesses in innumerable industries for years. Think about what happens when you add something to your “cart” on a website such as Amazon. The next thing you’ll see on your screen is a message noting, “Other customers who purchased this item also purchased...”

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Sometimes I feel as if I live in a different universe when I read stories like this one.

It’s about a recent wine auction in Houston called “Rodeo Uncorked!” And as the report details, there was a whole lot of Texas-sized bidding taking place—including one (yes, successful) bid for $211,000.

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I was one of those people who savored the full Borders Bookstore experience.

I loved to browse the aisles in search of books not just for myself, but also for friends and my grandkids.

I loved to hang out in the café, drink coffee, enjoy a pastry, plug in my computer and catch up with email.

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Before grapes become wine, they become grape juice.

And winegrape juice “really wants to ferment,” said Al Curtice of Oregon’s Draper Valley Vineyard in a recent USA Today story.

In fact, preventing that fermentation from taking place naturally can be quite challenging. That’s one reason—the other being the value of those grapes—that you seldom encounter juice made from winegrape varieties.

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Which is the best season to visit California’s Napa Valley?

It depends on what you like... or don’t like... because each season has its own charms.

Personally, I try to avoid the summer months, even though the weather is wonderful, because that’s the high tourist season in the valley. Right in the middle of one of the most beautiful places on Earth, you’ll run into a phenomenon that most of us hope to escape when on vacation: traffic.

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