#609-Colghagua Classics-Mendoza Magic

From Chile’s Colchagua Valley come the wines of MontGras, hillside wines that challenge the drinker to put down the glass.   I’ll ride through the vineyards on horseback to soak up the essence of MontGras and Colchagua, and I’ll do a little food and wine pairing during a spectacular multi-course meal crafted by one of Chile’s top chefs.   Across the Andes, I land in Argentina’s Mendoza region-the home of Navarro Correas, one of the most important wineries in the country.   Now housed in a new state of the art winery, the wines of Novarro Correas have never been better-nor has the food at restaurant 1884 where I’ll match some of Novarro’s big reds to some big cuts of Argentine beef.   It just doesn’t get much better than this!

Hang onto you hats wine lovers because I’ve got a real treat for you in this program.   Come along as I visit five wineries across North and South America.   From Chile, there is Montes and Los Vascos, two outstanding producers in the Colchagua Valley.   With Montes M-a Cabernet Sauvignon, and Folley-a Syrah, this winery has crafted two of the finest red wines in all of the world.   And, at Los Vascos, France’s Lafite-Rothschild is creating its own legacy of great red wines.   Heading back to California, I’ll stop at Fetzer, undoubtedly the most prominent winery in Mendocino County, and Bonterra, an organic operation where the wines and the scenery are equally spectacular!   Different settings, different stories, classic wines-only on Culinary Travels with Dave Eckert!

#611-Ottawa’s Winterlude

It’s winter in Ottawa, and that means pastry treats known as “beaver tails,” skating on the canal, ice carving, and the famed culinary delights of the Cordon Bleu culinary school.   Those are just a few of the visual and taste treats we’ll be providing from Canada’s capitol city.   The Byward Market is one of the best around.   I’ll take you on a tour from an authentic Italian deli and grocery, to an impressive bakery, to a butcher who’s only interested in the best.   We’ll also hit several of Ottawa’s terrific restaurants and anchor our stay at the equally excellent Fairmont Chateau Laurier.   If you’ve never seen someone destroy a professional ice carving, now’s your chance.   I’ll give you a hint-his initials are “Dave Eckert.”

#612-Mexican Memories

This marks my third trip into the land of tequila, and the products just keep getting better.   This segment features the tequila of El Tesoro, which does tequila the old-fashioned way.   Master Distiller Carlos Camerena crafts some of the finest tequilas in the land.   We’ll visit the blue agave fields, which provide the fruit, and the distillery, where they slow cook the fruit and crush it with a small tractor and a huge stone wheel.   I’ll also tour the produce market in Guadalajara, and highlight one of my favorite resorts in the world-the lovely Marriott Casa Magna-Puerto Vallarta.   Great tequila, an impressive market, and a luxurious resort-what’s not to love about that?